Agriculture Workforce Training for Collaborative Leadership (AWT4CL)

by Ben Casteel --  I have fond memories of my time as a Scout; and though I never made it to Eagle rank, I proudly wore the sash embroidered with the merit badges I earned.  When we began working on digital badging for students in our Agriculture & Natural Resources programs in conjunction with the AWT4CL project , I couldn’t help but to reminisce and draw parallels to the BSA merit badge process .  After two years of piloting the AWT4CL Digital Learning Badges , I strongly believe that there is so much more to these virtual credentials; and what better way to confirm this than by working directly with employers. As a program chair in a technical field, I am not only concerned with grades but even more so for the students employability.  It is for this reason that we meet annually with our Curriculum Advisory Committees at Virginia Highlands Community College.  The Horticulture and Natural Sciences Committee is comprised of 9 representatives (mostly owners/...

Author: Curtis R. Friedel     -- Solving complex problems can be challenging, and often more complexity in the problem requires more individuals to be involved as a team. To facilitate the problem-solving process in a team, it helps to think about the different aspects of solving a problem. These include characteristics of the individual, the desired outcome from solving the problem, the situation or context of the problem, and the problem-solving process. Each of these aspects of the problem-solving are independent of each other.  To be able to better Identify and Analyze Problems , one must better understand the complexity of problems of agriculture that affect everyone from producers to consumers. Knowing what step one is in the problem-solving process, can indicate what step is next and what technique to use. If we use the right techniques throughout the problem-solving process, we can be more effective in finding solutions that offer the most benefit. More Abo...