Agriculture Workforce Training for Collaborative Leadership (AWT4CL)

Author: Jama S. Coartney     -- Empowering Students Through Curiosity: Embedding the “Ask Good Questions” Badge into Your Curriculum The ability to ask good questions can be a differentiator in the workplace. Beyond the classroom, it’s about cultivating curiosity, fostering deeper understanding, and building authentic professional relationships. Yet, despite its critical role in communication and career readiness, question-asking is often an underdeveloped skill. Why “Asking Good Questions” Matters Research highlights a significant disconnect in perceptions about career readiness. While students rate themselves as fairly competent at asking questions, employers and faculty often disagree. This gap points to a need for intentional instruction and practice to better develop this skill. Asking good questions is particularly crucial in fields like agriculture, where learners frequently interact with diverse stakeholders, including farmers, specialists, and policymakers. Her...

Author: Jama S. Coartney     -- Boosting Workforce Readiness: Integrating the “Listen Effectively” Badge into Your Curriculum Why Listening Matters Now More Than Ever In the evolving workforce, communication is more than just speaking clearly—it’s about truly listening. Listening effectively is a foundational skill for career readiness that too often gets overlooked. According to the APLU report on Critical Growth Areas for Students Today, “Listen Effectively” is a competency where students frequently overestimate their preparedness compared to assessments from faculty and employers. The takeaway? Listening needs a more intentional place in our curricula. As educators and workforce readiness professionals, we can bridge this gap with a simple but impactful tool: digital learning badges . Introducing the Listen Effectively Digital Learning Badge The Listen Effectively Badge is one of three digital learning badges in a professional communication series, alongside Co...