Ideas for Enhancing Agriculture Workforce Training

By Jama S. Coartney and Eric K. Kaufman -- 

The Agriculture Workforce Training for Collaborative Leadership cohort met January 13, 2023, to check in and discuss topics of mutual interest, including PDSA projects, opportunities to share key insights with a broader audience, and the potential of incorporating digital badges into the learning management system.

During the summer of 2022, each member of the cohort drafted a PDSA proposal to focus on an aspect of their teaching they would like to improve and test.  The January 2023 meeting focused on updates on this work.  

The cohort faculty used IdeaBoardz to share news on pilot projects, gain feedback and insight from others, and explore ideas for future improvements.This video summarizes a discussion around the challenges faculty face with balancing the amount of class time to both engage with students and cover content.  The project blog contains some updates from various cohort members. Their posts (see below) explore a rich set of topics related to the student experience and curricular development. 



Do social interactions and project ownership promote student success?

Horticultural Jeopardy: Motivation through Gamification

Can Industry
 Introductions Lead to Internship Increases?

Using Structured
Activities to Teach Durable Skills

In addition to project updates, the group discussed options for sharing their findings more broadly, such as the 2023 New Horizons Conference or 2023 NACTA Conference. These venues provide opportunities to exchange ideas and information with state and national groups of agriculture educators.

Digital badges continue to be a topic that sparks discussion on the various ways in which they might be used. For a quick intro to digital badging, watch this 3:30 minute video: What is a digital Badge? Several cohort members have indicated an interest in incorporating badges into aspects of their courses.

The discussion closed with a focus on what's next.  Plans will soon be underway for a Summer 2023 Cohort Connection as faculty continue to develop resources, based on key learnings and insights.

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