Annual/Termination Reports:

[08/19/2015] [09/25/2016] [10/12/2016] [11/02/2017] [11/21/2018] [11/01/2019]

Report Information

Participants

Members Present:
Debra Spielmaker, Utah State University (chair) debra.spielmaker@usu.edu
Kellie Enns, Colorado State University (vice chair) kellie.enns@colostate.edu
Denise Stewardson, Utah State University (secretary) denise.stewardson@usu.edu
Gaea Hock, Mississippi State University gaea.hock@msstate.edu
Michael Martin, Colorado State University Michael.j.martin@colostate.edu
Kathryn Stofer, University of Florida stofer@ufl.edu
Jennifer Keshwani, Nebraska Cooperative Extension jmelander7@unl.edu
Ania Wieczoreli, University of Hawaii ania@hawaii.edu
Cory Forbes, University of Nebraska-Lincoln cforbes3@unl.edu
Cary Trexler, University of California, Davis cjtrexler@ucdavis.edu

Guests:
Carley Calico, Mississippi State University cpc215@msstate.edu
Michael Newman, Mississippi State University men1@mssgate.edu
Katie Bigness, Cornell University (via phone) kse45@cornell.edu

Members Absent:
Nancy Irlbeck, Colorado State University (excused) nancy.irlbeck@colostate.edu
Carl Igo, Montana State University cigo@montana.edu
Monica Pastor, University of Arizona Extension (excused) mpastor@cals.arizona.edu
Robert Martin, Iowa State University drmartin@iastate.edu
Kerry Schwartz, University of Arizona (excused) kschwartz@ag.arizona.edu

Brief Summary of Minutes

The meeting minutes are located on: http://w2006.wikispaces.com/Minutes

Accomplishments

After receiving notification in October of 2014 that our proposal for a Multistate Agricultural Literacy Research Committee had been approved, the committee held a video conference on April 1, 2015 to discuss the committee objectives, identify stakeholders, and discuss additional research resources and opportunities with the National Center for Agricultural Literacy. The group developed a Stakeholder Concept Map and identified possible resources to further research goals. The minutes for this meeting can be found on http://w2006.wikispaces.com/Minutes. <br /> <br /> On May 19, 2015, the first face-to-face committee meeting was held in San Antonio Texas in conjunction with the American Association of Agricultural Educators (AAAE). Ten members participated. The April 1, 2015 minutes were reviewed and approved. The meeting focused on the research objectives and members were asked to share research they were working on and select the objectives they would be working on for the next few years. The group briefly discussed instrumentation and decided to make this a priority area for sharing in a working-meeting at the Western Region AAAE meeting in Corvallis, Oregon. The members decided that research should be submitted various journals and that the group should work toward a research session at the AAAE Annual Research Meeting. A meta-analysis was also discussed and all agreed that this would be helpful with a definition for agricultural literacy and establish a baseline collection of research. A great deal of conversation centered on the development and publication of the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes (Spielmaker, 2014, http://agclassroom.org/get/doc/NALObooklet.pdf). The group discussed these as a framework for instrumentation and for use in testing reliability. The minutes of the meeting can be found on http://w2006.wikispaces.com/Minutes.<br /> <br /> At the Western Region AAAE meeting in Corvallis, September 14, 2015. Members of the W2006 will present current and/or planned research underway addressing the multistate objectives. Members are planning to share research questions they are investigating along with research timelines. The bulk of the meeting will be spent working in small groups reviewing, evaluating and discussing frameworks and examples of instrumentation to measure the research objectives.

Publications

There were no publications reported in this our first meeting.

Impact Statements

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Report Information

Participants

Members Present:
Debra Spielmaker, Utah State University (chair) debra.spielmaker@usu.edu
Kellie Enns, Colorado State University (vice chair) kellie.enns@colostate.edu
Denise Stewardson, Utah State University (secretary) denise.stewardson@usu.edu
Gaea Hock, Mississippi State University gaea.hock@msstate.edu
Michael Martin, Colorado State University Michael.j.martin@colostate.edu
Kathryn Stofer, University of Florida (via phone) stofer@ufl.edu
Brian Warnick, Utah State University (admin. advisor) brian.warnick@usu.edu
Guests:
Katie Bigness, Cornell University (via phone) kse45@cornell.edu
Members Absent:
Jennifer Keshwani, Nebraska Cooperative Extension jmelander7@unl.edu
Ania Wieczoreli, University of Hawaii ania@hawaii.edu
Cory Forbes, University of Nebraska-Lincoln cforbes3@unl.edu
Cary Trexler, University of California, Davis cjtrexler@ucdavis.edu
Carl Igo, Montana State University cigo@montana.edu
Monica Pastor, University of Arizona Extension mpastor@cals.arizona.edu
Robert Martin, Iowa State University drmartin@iastate.edu
Kerry Schwartz, University of Arizona kschwartz@ag.arizona.edu

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

<p>The following is a list of major activities related to the research objectives achieved in year one by the multistate research committee; results to date, and key impacts and accomplishments (changes in knowledge, action, or condition). During this first year research has focused on the development of instrumentation, a necessary first step for gathering valid and reliable data for analysis. Once this has been achieved, measurement can be done to determine programming impacts and provide essential information to assist educators with research-based evidence to determine effective methodology to increase agricultural literacy.<br /><br />The W2006 agreed to use the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes (NALO) (Spielmaker &amp; Leising, 2014, <a href="http://agclassroom.org/get/doc/NALObooklet.pdf">http://agclassroom.org/get/doc/NALObooklet.pdf</a>) as the framework for measuring agricultural literacy among K-12 populations. Spielmaker completed the research on the on the NALO shortly after the committee was approved (October 2014). This essential work provides the basis for developing instrumentation for measuring baseline agricultural knowledge (Objective 1) and evaluating agricultural literacy program impact (Objective 3). To date this document has been adopted by the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization for curriculum development and program evaluation. In addition, Forbs (University of Nebraska) has been developing an instrument for grades 3-5 based on the NALOs. The questions are currently being field tested with the target population for reliability and validity. The finalized questions will be made available for instrument development and use by other researchers to aid with assessing objectives 1 and 3. The process used in this instrument development will be used to address Objective 2 concerning attitudes, perception, and the acquisition of agricultural concepts. The Forbs research will be presented at our multistate meeting and submitted for publication. In addition, the research methodology for developing this instrument will be replicated for additional instrument development for the K-12 students and the general population. The work on the NALOs and instrumentation support the primary outcome of the multistate project to &ldquo;gather baseline data on agricultural knowledge possessed by the general population.&rdquo; This information helps educators with the development of agricultural literacy programming and sets benchmarks for achievable changes in knowledge. The W2006 hopes to see more progress in this area in years two and three to more accurately measure the impact of the NALOs and agricultural literacy programming.<br /><br />Spielmaker developed a publically available Agricultural Literacy Database,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zotero.org/groups/agricultural_literacy/items">https://www.zotero.org/groups/agricultural_literacy/items</a>, and an agricultural literacy wiki, <a href="http://agliteracy.wikispaces.com/">http://agliteracy.wikispaces.com/</a>.&nbsp; Members can post additional links or engage in online discussions about agricultural literacy research on the wiki site. This publically accessible database of agricultural literacy research (powered by Zotero) aides W2006 researchers and anyone else with internet access, by categorizing important and relevant research related to Objective 1, 2, and 3. In the next year (year 2), this database will be connected to a new website to more accurately determine its use with Google Analytics. The resource has been used extensively by two doctoral students in and three master&rsquo;s students at four institutions under the direction of W2006 researchers. The completion of these projects should result in publications related to this multistate project. In addition, a graduate student at Mississippi State (Wimmer-Hock) conducted a literature review to reveal the search terms that are commonly used as related to agricultural literacy concepts and research. This synthesis of search terminology is part of the agricultural literacy wiki. In addition to these two research tools that are part of the wiki, the wiki also aids researchers with the most widely used definitions of agricultural literacy, provides links to STEM ag literacy resources, links to the Agricultural Literacy Logic Model, and links to other resources to support instrumentation development to meet project Objectives 1 and 2. The development of these database and wiki tools also sort out relevant program research to use a theoretical framework to address Objective 3 concerning effective agricultural literacy programing. In year 2, instrumentation will be developed for measuring program effectiveness based on the research identified in the database and wiki. This foundational work aides all agricultural literacy researchers working on Objectives 1-3. In year two, additional analytics will be applied, reviewed and reported.&nbsp; This will help to determine areas of growth and development in agricultural literacy and help determine when and where programs can have the most impact.<br /><br />Martin and Enns (CSU) work primarily on Objective 2 (to): Assess attitudes and perceptions and motivations concerning agriculture of diverse segments of the population. a) How are perceptions, attitudes and motivations developed? b) What decisions are made based upon assessed attitudes, perceptions and motivations?<br /><br />This objective is a new area in agricultural literacy research, but related to agricultural communications research. Most agricultural literacy research has been based on evaluation research related to specific interventions. The CSU team had developed instrumentation based on agricultural literacy research and motivation and acquisition models. The instruments are being pilot tested for reliability and validity and should be made available to others in the fall of 2016.&nbsp; This research addresses the multistate outcome for baseline data on the general public&rsquo;s perceptions, attitudes, and motivations for learning more about agriculture. The findings from this research will assist educators in developing programming which can match the expectations and needs of a larger audience.<br /><br />To further address Objective 3 regarding effective programming, Spielmaker and Stewardson developed two instruments based on the NALOs (for content), and attitudes related to perceptions to measure both short-term and longitudinal impact. These instruments were piloted in the fall of 2015 with Utah elementary and secondary pre-service teachers. The results are currently being analyzed. The finalized versions will be distributed nationally to the Agriculture in the Classroom state staff responsible for pre-service programming, and used to develop a similar tool for in-service teachers. These tools will help to gather data nationally through a Qualtrics database and surveying tool, thereby collecting data nationally, with the same instrumentation, to aid in determining program impact affecting K-12 students nationwide. This Qualtrics database and additional tools are part of the final deliverables required by this multistate project. K-12 agricultural literacy programs need to measure quantifiable growth in their participants&rsquo; agricultural literacy to determine specific benchmarks and program effectiveness. This information will assist with data-driven decisions for more effective curriculum and delivery.</p>

Publications

<p>Spielmaker, D. M., Pastor, M., &amp; Stewardson, D. M. (2014). A logic model for agricultural literacy programming. Proceedings of the 41st annual meeting of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Snowbird, UT. Retrieved from <a href="http://www.aaaeonline.org/uploads/allconferences/5-8-2014_148_2014_AAAE_Poster_Proceedings.pdf">http://www.aaaeonline.org/uploads/allconferences/5-8-2014_148_2014_AAAE_Poster_Proceedings.pdf</a>. [Blind review, awarded first place in the innovative poster category, 230 participants]<br /><br />Spielmaker, D. M., &amp; Leising, J. G. (2013). National agricultural literacy outcomes. Logan, UT: Utah State University, School of Applied Sciences &amp; Technology. Retrieved from <a href="http://www.agclassroom.org/get/doc/NALObooklet.pdf">http://www.agclassroom.org/get/doc/NALObooklet.pdf</a><a href="http://www.agclassroom.org/get/doc/NALObooklet.pdf"><br /><br /></a>Yamashita, L., Hayes, K., &amp; Trexler, C. J. (2015). How pre-service teachers navigate trade-offs of food systems across time scales: a lens for exploring understandings of sustainability. Environmental Education Research, 1-33. Retrieved from&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504622.2015.1074662#.Vg21PflVhBc">http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504622.2015.1074662#.Vg21PflVhBc</a></p>

Impact Statements

1. Developed instruments to measure agricultural literacy

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Report Information

Participants

Members Present:
Debra Spielmaker, Utah State University (chair)
Kellie Enns, Colorado State University (vice chair)
Denise Stewardson, Utah State University (secretary)
Cory Forbes, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Gaea Hock, Kansas State University
Michael Martin, Colorado State University
Kathryn Stofer, University of Florida (via phone)
Brian Warnick, Utah State University (admin. advisor)

Guests Present:
Paige Wray, Utah State University
M’Randa Sandlin, University of Hawaii
James Christiansen, Texas A & M University

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

<p>The following is a list of major activities related to the research objectives achieved in year two by the multistate research committee; results to date, and key impacts and accomplishments (changes in knowledge, action, or condition). During this second year research has focused on the continued development of instrumentation, surveys of the target population, database development and research related to the validation of the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes. In addition four of the W2006 members collaborated to draft the American Association for Agricultural Education - National Research Agenda for 2016-2020, Priority 1 (Public and Policy Maker Understanding of Agriculture and Natural Resources) http://aaaeonline.org/National-Research-Agenda. This agenda focuses the research in the area of agricultural literacy for the next five year. Along with this publication, W2006 members also collaborated on additional research publishing five papers, posters, or theses.&nbsp; These 2016 publications are noted in a separate section of this report but can also be found on this website <a href="http://agliteracy.wikispaces.com/Multistate+Research">http://agliteracy.wikispaces.com/Multistate+Research</a>.<br /><br />Spielmaker (UT) updated the Agricultural Literacy Database, https://www.zotero.org/groups/agricultural_literacy/items, and updated the agricultural literacy wiki http://agliteracy.wikispaces.com/ navigation to work with efforts of the National Center for Agricultural Literacy which Spielmaker also chairs, http://agliteracy.org. These publically available resources for agricultural literacy research provide researchers and other professionals with access evaluation tools and categorizes important and relevant research related to W2006 Objective 1, 2, and 3. It is hoped that by linking these website domains traffic will to the site and database will increase. As the analytics are new this year a comparison will be made next year.<br /><br />Instrumentation was developed further this year with the analysis of the year 1 data. This foundational work will result in common student metrics and common measures for evaluating agricultural literacy programs in year three.<br /><br />Martin and Enns (CSU) work primarily on Objective 2 (to): Assess attitudes and perceptions and motivations concerning agriculture of diverse segments of the population. a) How are perceptions, attitudes and motivations developed? b) What decisions are made based upon assessed attitudes, perceptions and motivations?<br /><br />The CSU team used instrumentation developed in year one to research the motivation and acquisition models for agricultural literacy. This research addressed the multistate outcome for baseline data on the general public&rsquo;s perceptions, attitudes, and motivations for learning more about agriculture. The research focused on: Measuring and Comparing Student's Knowledge on Genetically Modified Organisms (objective 1); the conflicts of agriculture: exploring the agriculture values of university agricultural education students (objective 2); a survey on the Public Attitudes about Colorado Agriculture Survey (objective 2); and, an evaluation of starting school gardens in the Denver metro area (objective 3). Cory Forbs (the University of Nebraska-Lincoln) completed a research project exploring elementary students&rsquo; agricultural and scientific knowledge using evidence centered design.<br /><br />During 2016 the W2006 met once in Tucson, Arizona, September 19, 2016. At this time the committee reviewed the accomplishments during the past year and discussed future research. In late 2015 the committee had submitted a proposal to develop a National research agenda prioritizing agricultural literacy research.&nbsp; The proposal was submitted and accepted in January of 2016 as <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/National-Research-Agenda"><em>The American Association for Agricultural Education - National Research Agenda for 2016-2020</em></a><em>.</em> This Priority elevated the importance of agricultural literacy research related to public and policymaker understandings of agriculture and natural resources. This document is an influential publication as it adds significance to agricultural literacy research.<br /><br />A new website, agliteracy.org, was developed to increase the reach or the National Center for Agricultural Literacy coordinated by Debra Spielmaker at Utah State University. This site was connected with the W2006 database/wiki and the National Agriculture in the Classroom website for further distribution of resources and to provide agricultural literacy researchers with a vetted porthole of agricultural literacy resources. The site had 243 hits in 2016 and it was suggested that more be done in 2017 to promote the site to agricultural teacher educators and researchers. The page with the largest number of hits (147) was the &ldquo;Evaluation Tools&rdquo; page that includes instrumentation for assessing agricultural literacy. W2006 members (Enns &amp; Martin, CSU) contributed by adding questionnaire items on the subjects on agricultural values, animal care in agriculture, genetically modified organisms, and organic foods. The CSU team used instrumentation developed in year one to research the motivation and acquisition models for agricultural literacy. This research addressed the multistate outcome for baseline data on the general public&rsquo;s perceptions, attitudes, and motivations for learning more about agriculture. The research focused on: Measuring and Comparing Student's Knowledge on Genetically Modified Organisms (objective 1); the conflicts of agriculture: exploring the agriculture values of university agricultural education students (objective 2); a survey on the Public Attitudes about Colorado Agriculture Survey (objective 2); and, an evaluation of starting school gardens in the Denver metro area (objective 3).<br /><br />Spielmaker added questionnaire items for elementary and secondary preservice teacher training workshops. These questions were correlated with the <a href="http://agliteracy.wikispaces.com/National+Agricultural+Literacy+Outcomes">National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes (2014)</a> and shared with the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization in the fall of 2016 and will be part of their professional development program in 2017. In addition, data was collected by Spielmaker and Stewardson in 2016 using these instruments. The results will be submitted as a research poster in 2017. Cory Forbs (the University of Nebraska-Lincoln) completed a research project exploring elementary students&rsquo; agricultural and scientific knowledge using evidence centered design and the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes (NALOs, 2014). A webinar for using this instrument was broadcast to five sites and recorded. The webinar can be viewed by others who will be developing research with the NALOs (two such projects are underway for 2017).<br /><br />The Zotero database, part of the agricultural literacy wiki initiated in year 1, was updated with 20 new citations in five categories. This resource is publicly accessible, <a href="https://www.zotero.org/groups/agricultural_literacy/items">https://www.zotero.org/groups/agricultural_literacy/items</a>.&nbsp; In addition, W2006 members worked together to produces several publication in 2016. The following is a summary of the accomplishments and impacts by research objective (these can all be viewed online at <a href="http://agliteracy.wikispaces.com/Multistate+Research">http://agliteracy.wikispaces.com/Multistate+Research</a>).</p>

Publications

<p><strong>Publications related to Research Objective 1<br /><br /></strong>Brandt, M. R. (2016). Exploring elementary students&rsquo; agricultural and scientific knowledge using evidence centered design (Master&rsquo;s thesis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln). Retrieved from <a href="http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/natresdiss/131/">http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/natresdiss/131/</a>. (Major Professor, Cory Forbs, W2006)<br /><br />Edwards, E. B. (2016). <em>Dig</em> into learning: A program evaluation of an agricultural literacy innovation (Doctoral dissertation, GARDNER-WEBB UNIVERSITY). Retrieved from <a href="http://gradworks.umi.com/10/11/10118994.html">http://gradworks.umi.com/10/11/10118994.html</a>. (Committee Member, Debra Spielmaker, W2006)<br /><br />Enns, K., Martin, M., &amp; Spielmaker, D. M. (2016). <em>Research Priority 1: Public and Policy Maker Understanding of Agriculture and Natural Resources.</em> Roberts, T. G., Harder, A., &amp; Brashears, M. T. (Eds). American Association for Agricultural Education national research agenda: 2016-2020. Gainesville, FL: Department of Agricultural Education and Communication. Retrieved from <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/National-Research-Agenda">http://aaaeonline.org/National-Research-Agenda</a><a href="http://aaaeonline.org/National-Research-Agenda"><br /><br /></a>Keeton, E., Hock, G., Enns, Martin, M., Spielmaker, D. M., &amp; Stewardson, D. M. (2016, September). Simplifying the process: Agricultural literacy publications search framework. Poster session presented at the Western Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Tucson, AZ. Retrieved from <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf">http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf</a><a href="http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf"><br /><br /></a>Spielmaker, D. M. (2016, September). Developing agricultural literacy outcomes: A synthesis of research-based expectations. Poster presented at the Western Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Tucson, AZ. Retrieved from <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf">http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf</a><a href="http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf"><br /><br /></a><strong>Publications related to Research Objective 2<br /><br /></strong>Chriestenson, C., Martin M. J., Thilmany, D., Sullins, M., &amp; Jablonksi, B. (2017). <em>Public attitudes about agriculture in Colorado. A study by the Colorado Department of Agriculture.</em> Retrieved from <a href="https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/2016%20Public%20Attitudes%20Report%20Final.pdf">https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/2016%20Public%20Attitudes%20Report%20Final.pdf</a><a href="https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/2016%20Public%20Attitudes%20Report%20Final.pdf"><br /><br /></a>Martin, M. J. (2016). The polarization of agriculture: The evolving context of Extension work. <em>Journal of Extension, 54</em>(2). Retrieved from <a href="http://www.joe.org/joe/2016april/comm1.php">http://www.joe.org/joe/2016april/comm1.php</a><a href="http://www.joe.org/joe/2016april/comm1.php"><br /><br /></a>Martin, M. J., &amp; Enns, K. J. (2017). The conflicts of agriculture: Exploring the agriculture values of university agricultural education students. <em>Journal of Agricultural Education, 58</em>(1), 210-255. Retrieved from <a href="https://doi:10.5032">https://doi:10.5032/jae.2017.01210</a><a href="https://doi:10.5032"><br /><br /></a>Martin, M. J., &amp; Wight, R. A. (2016). The need for a critical pedagogy of agriculture. <em>NACTA Journal, 60</em>(4), 448.<br /><br />Stofer, K. A., &amp; Newberry, III, M. G. (2017). When defining agriculture and science, explicit is not a bad word. Journal of Agricultural Education, 58(1), 131-150. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2017.01131">https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2017.01131<br /><br /></a><strong>Publications related to Research Objective 3<br /><br /></strong>Martin, M. J., Hill, R. L., van Sandt, A., &amp; Thilmany, D. D. (2016). Colorado residents trusted Sources of agricultural, biotechnology and food information. <em>AgBioForum, 19</em>(1), 1-10. Retrieved from <a href="http://agbioforum.org/v19n1/v19n1a04-martin.htm">http://agbioforum.org/v19n1/v19n1a04-martin.htm</a><a href="http://agbioforum.org/v19n1/v19n1a04-martin.htm"><br /><br /></a><strong>Other Products<br /><br /></strong>Databases - The Zotero database initiated in year 1 was updated with 20 new citations in five categories. This resource is public is publicly accessible, https://www.zotero.org/groups/agricultural_literacy/items. This database was also linked to a new website for the National Center for Agricultural Literacy, agliteracy.org.<br /><br />Evaluation Instruments - The evaluation tool developed in year 1 was finalized and shared with two state Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) programs for out-of-state pilot testing (the initial pilot was conducted with Utah teachers. The Utah results are being analyzed, and will become part of a one-year follow-up study. This tool will also become part of a national AITC Common Measure Toolbox. State Agriculture in the Classroom leaders will receive inservice on the new tool in 2017.<br /><br />Other - A new website, agliteracy.org, was developed to increase the reach or the National Center for Agricultural Literacy coordinated by Debra Spielmaker at Utah State University. This site now links with the W2006 database/wiki and the National Agriculture in the Classroom website for further distribution of resources.</p>

Impact Statements

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Report Information

Participants

Members of the committee present:
Debra Spielmaker, Utah State University (co-chair)
Michael Martin, Colorado State University (co-chair)
Kellie Enns, Colorado State University (vice chair)
Denise Stewardson, Utah State University (secretary)
Gaea Hock, Kansas State University
Monica Pastor, University of Arizona
Matthew Mars, University of Arizona
Carl Igo, Montana State University
Kimberly Bellah, Murray State University
Brian Warnick (administrative advisor)

Guests present:
M’Randa Sandlin, University of Hawaii
Michael Newman, Mississippi State University
Katie Hartmann, Colorado State University
James Christensen, Texas A&M University
Amelia Miller, Michigan Farm Bureau
Rose Judd-Murray, Utah State University

Brief Summary of Minutes

Multistate Agricultural Literacy Research Committee (W2006) Meeting

May 15, 2017

Embassy Suites

San Luis Obispo, CA

 

Members Present:

Debra Spielmaker, Utah State University (co-chair)         debra.spielmaker@usu.edu
Michael Martin, Colorado State University (co-chair)      Michael.j.martin@colostate.edu
Kellie Enns, Colorado State University (vice chair)          kellie.enns@colostate.edu
Denise Stewardson, Utah State University (secretary)      denise.stewardson@usu.edu
Gaea Hock, Kansas State University                                ghock@ksu.edu
Monica Pastor, University of Arizona 

Guests Present:

M’Randa Sandlin, University of Hawaii                           msandlin@hawaii.edu
Michael Newman, Mississippi State University               men1@msstate.edu
Kimberly Bellah, Murray State University                        kbellah@murraystate.edu
Amelia Miller, Michigan Farm Bureau                             amille2@michfb.com
Rose Judd-Murray, Utah State University                        rose.juddmurray@usu.edu

 Members Absent:

Kathryn Stofer, University of Florida                               stofer@ufl.edu
Jennifer Melander, Nebraska Cooperative Extension        jmelander7@unl.edu
Ania Wieczorek, University of Hawaii                             ania@hawaii.edu
Cary Trexler, University of California, Davis                   cjtrexler@ucdavis.edu
Carl Igo, Montana State University                                   cigo@montana.edu
Robert Martin, Iowa State University                               drmartin@iastate.edu
Kerry Schwartz, University of Arizona                            kschwartz@ag.arizona.edu

 Mike Martin, committee co-chair, called the meeting to order at 2:00 PM and reviewed the meeting agenda. 

Members and guests of the committee introduced themselves. 

Motion by Kellie Enns to approve minutes of the September 19, 2016, meeting in Tucson, AZ; seconded by Mike Martin. Motion passed. 

Gaea Hock started the discussion regarding “marketing” of this committee’s research. Ideas included putting postcards in registration bags. Debra Spielmaker noted that the W2006 listserve is available, and the National Center for Agricultural Literacy (NCAL) wiki page is public. NCAL is now housed at Utah State University with Spielmaker administrating.

Martin asked for committee members’ updates regarding research and projects related to W2006. 

Debra Spielmaker

• Conducted farm field days needs assessment with graduate student


• Created KWL with students prior to field day experience


• Identified misconceptions and missed opportunities


• Conducting research related to STEM 4H Youth with graduate student. (Not a good agricultural literacy connection; therefore, not published with W2006.)

 

Mike Martin

• Serving as theme editor for upcoming issue of The Agricultural Education Magazine


• Working on a consumer study with Colorado Department of Agriculture


• When consumers start to feel distrustful of agricultural practices, their trust of all sources goes down with the exception of environmental organizations (confirmation bias)


• Study is conducted every 5 years


• Published conflicts in undergraduate classrooms: horticulture and organics students


• Conducting program review on barriers of school volunteers in metro area


• Working on questionnaire about adults’ conceptions of agriculture; studying values


• Using learning center at stock show to look at agricultural literacy in terms of design standpoint

 

Monica Pastor

• Working in Cooperative Extension: Rural leadership program


• Conducts annual summer agricultural institute


• Presents school gardens and safety resources: What do teachers see as issues?

 

Kimberly Bellah

• Teaches contemporary issues in agriculture; general education course (writing intensive)


• Students write issue briefs on topics they’ve researched


• Working with K-8 teachers using agriculture to teach across curriculum


• Presenting innovative poster: Agriculture dual-credit courses; use PALS to partner with teacher


• Working with Fall on the Farm through School of Agriculture; possible immersion study for students to follow teachers to discern what information teachers are sharing with students (what do teachers hear at FFD and how do they present it to their students)

 

Spielmaker invited and encouraged Bellah to join W2006 committee.

 

Rose Judd-Murray

• Working on PhD at Utah State University


• Building instrument to determine college freshmen’s literacy benchmarks; dissertation focused on agricultural literacy


• Working with Utah AITC to review elementary preservice students’ use of agricultural literacy resources. Will share with other state AITC programs for developing evaluation instruments.

 

Michael Newman

• Director of Human Science Literacy at Mississippi State


• Works with Farmtastic program


• Farm Bureau runs AITC program which needs curriculum update; graduate student working on this project

 

Gaea Hock

• Increasing water literacy in regards to agricultural use


• Has graduate student doing social engagement/public policy for youth water advocates conference—train youth to speak on water issues both residential and agricultural

 

Kelli Enns

• Interested in how researchers conduct pre- and post-tests for use in Ag Adventure experiences (farm field days)


• Collecting baseline agriculture knowledge and skills of College of Agriculture students (80% of students in CSU don’t come from traditional agriculture background)


• Coordinated and co-authored National Research Agenda, Priority One from W2006


• Administrators of Masters of Extension Education at CSU (master of agriculture—Plan C professional degree = 36 credits)

 

Amelia Miller

• Pursuing master’s degree from Utah State University (online)


• Works at Michigan Farm Bureau and AITC: Pilot phase with agricultural literacy mobile classroom; hired teacher to work in lab and teach lessons. Comparing educational methods (modality). Cost analysis = $150,000 original budget for trailer

 

Denise Stewardson

• Directs Utah AITC program


• Can provide populations for research


• Working with Spielmaker and Judd-Murray to evaluate rate of return on AITC program’s resources—time, effort, cost—in regards to preservice workshops

 

Martin: Funders are looking for impact data; can we identify different types of agricultural literacy models and the best methods for success?

 

What is the metric for measurement?

• Use NALOs as a benchmark


• Groups have own agendas and are looking for their specific commodity represented; this is a disconnect between commodities and agricultural literacy, in general

 

Hock: What are we evaluating, what data are we looking for?

 

Looking at W2006 objectives, committee hasn’t considered the groups, e.g., commodity groups that are being addressed.

 

Martin suggested taking information from W2006 agricultural literacy poster and writing journal article. It may become a review of literature piece:

• How do populations conceptualize agriculture?


• How do populations conceptualize agricultural education?

 

Committee and guests adjourned to small working groups to discuss future research projects and collaborate on working research manuscripts. Members also attended the SIG (special interest group) on agricultural literacy to continue their discussions.

 

Multistate Agricultural Literacy Research Committee (W2006) Meeting

September 25, 2017

Fort Collins Hilton

Fort Collins, Colorado

 

Members Present: 

Michael Martin, Colorado State University (chair)           Michael.j.martin@colostate.edu
Debra Spielmaker, Utah State University (co-chair)         debra.spielmaker@usu.edu
Denise Stewardson, Utah State University (secretary)      denise.stewardson@usu.edu
Gaea Hock, Kansas State University                                ghock@ksu.edu
Carl Igo, Montana State University                                   cigo@montana.edu
Matt Mars, University of Arizona                                     mmars@email.arizona.edu

Brian Warnick (AA), Utah State University                     brian.warnick@usu.edu 

Guests Present:

Rose Judd-Murray, Utah State University                        rose.juddmurray@usu.edu
Katie Hartmann, Colorado State University                      Katherine.hartmann@colustate.edu
James Christiansen, Texas A & M University                  j.christiansen@tamu.edu 

Members Absent:

Kellie Enns, Colorado State University                             kellie.enns@colostate.edu
Kathryn Stofer, University of Florida                               stofer@ufl.edu
Jennifer Melander, Nebraska Cooperative Extension        jmelander7@unl.edu
Ania Wieczorek, University of Hawaii                             ania@hawaii.edu
Cary Trexler, University of California, Davis                   cjtrexler@ucdavis.edu
Robert Martin, Iowa State University                               drmartin@iastate.edu
Kimberly Bellah, Murray State University                        kbellah@murraystate.edu
Cory Forbes, University of Nebraska—Lincoln               cory.forbes@unl.edu
Monica Pastor, University of Arizona                              mpastor@ag.arizona.edu
Jonathan Velez, Oregon State University                          jonathan.velez@oregonstate.edu 

Mike Martin, committee chair, called the meeting to order at 9:00 AM and reviewed the meeting agenda. 

Members and guests of the committee introduced themselves. 

Motion by Debra Spielmaker to approve minutes of the May 19, 2017, meeting in San Luis Obispo; seconded by Gaea Hock. Motion passed. 

Michael Martin set the context of this committee—its purpose, its background, the research of the members. Reviewed research objectives: 

Research Objective 1

Assess agricultural knowledge of diverse segments of the population:

• What are the points of acquisition of agricultural knowledge?


• What decisions are made based upon assessed knowledge? 

Research Objective 2

Assess attitudes and perceptions and motivations concerning agriculture of

diverse segments of the population:

• How are perceptions, attitudes, and motivations developed?


• What decisions are made based upon assessed attitudes, perceptions, and motivations? 

Research Objective 3:

Evaluate agricultural literacy to measure the program impact:

• What is effective programming?


• What is the impact of effective programming, both short-term and longitudinal?


• What knowledge, attitudes, motivations exist for individuals that participate in agricultural literacy initiatives? 

Many members recently submitted to The Agricultural Education Magazine, focused on agricultural literacy. 

Following are descriptions/explanations of members’ current research: 

Michael Martin

Perceptions of school garden volunteers

Perceptions of horticulture students in College of Agricultural Sciences

Students and their conceptualization of agriculture (values, ideology)

Critical pedagogy of agriculture (NACTA Journal)

 

Katie Hartmann

PhD student; working fulltime with agricultural education students

Critical pedagogy of agriculture

STEM integrations

 

Gaea Hock

Research focus on water issues—working with graduate student

Undergraduate is tracking knowledge of water and public speaking abilities

 

Carl Igo

Cultivating relationships with agricultural education teachers working on Native American reservations—knowledge and perceptions of secondary students (North Cheyenne and Crow reservations)

 

Objective 3: Reconnected with some of the teachers who participated in the earlier benchmark study (1997-1998). Hoping to contact former students—how has that study impacted them? Funding needed to further the study.

 

Spielmaker: Conducted a follow-up in 2001.

 

James Christensen

When working years ago in Arizona, Native Americans often ignored as populations. Hope that is no longer the case. Matt Mars offered: Atmosphere doesn’t seem to have changed, but focus has shifted towards food sovereignty—tying food into their culture. Other issues: water rights, sustainable agriculture

 

Martin: Working with Ute nation in food sovereignty, regulating hunting

 

Debra Spielmaker

Working with grade 12 population to develop benchmark for perceptions of students regarding agricultural literacy and the impacts of programs to determine the effectiveness of intervention.

Judd-Murray: Following model from Molly Brandt of University of Nebraska—Lincoln

 

Working with Dr. Max Longhurst—math methods professor at USU—to develop same instrument for K-5 population.

 

Warnick (Judd-Murray’s committee chair): Developing instrument and piloting with students at Utah State University

 

Mobile lab: Graduate student, Amelia Miller, assessing effectiveness of mobile labs using a pre-post design with grades 3-4.

 

Rose Judd-Murray

In addition to her aforementioned research, she is looking at innovative teaching strategies to engage students in discussions on agricultural issues.

 

Matt Mars

Working in research on local food systems (a sociologist by training). People come to local foods via many different “logics,” and he is looking at how those drivers are negotiated.

Articles published/submitted in following journals:

Agriculture and Human Values

Journal of Rural Sociology

Using Edible magazines to collect articles and look at discourse analysis (themes) 

Graduate student studied college student engagement in campus farmers markets. Looking at their assumptions and world views in making food choices. 

Brian Warnick

As administrator of the W2006 committee, an annual report must be filed within 30 days of this annual W2006 meeting. Individual members may need to report (additionally) to meet their university requirements. As a committee, we need to report accomplishments, impact statements, summary of minutes, etc. Martin requested copy of report template from Spielmaker. National Information Management and Support System (NIMMS) wants committee to translate research and outputs as impacts on objectives.

Martin requested an example of an impact statement to assist members in reporting; Spielmaker will add an example to the form and submit to Martin by October 1, 2017.

Denise Stewardson

Will use Spielmaker and Judd-Murray research to measure impact of state agricultural literacy program (in Utah—a university Extension program). Spielmaker: Goal is to encourage other state literacy programs to use similar instruments to evaluate programs.

Committee work updates:

Martin reported on committee project: Team of eight committee members worked on piece regarding the conceptualization of agricultural literacy. Included concepts of agricultural literacy, food justice, STEM, etc. and wrote abstract for AAAE regional meetings. Abstract was rejected; review committees suggested too much information was presented within one paper. Martin is revising the information presented in hopes of completing the project as a journal article.

Members suggested that committee publish to a broader audience outside agricultural education. Approach editors of appropriate journal for a special issue—perhaps a society-based publication. Examples: Journal of Human Science and Extension, Journal of North American College Teachers of Agriculture, International Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension

Igo reported on past study (1997-1998). Both teacher and student data were collected: teacher perceptions on incorporating agricultural concepts (K-8). Follow-up Pence study out of Oklahoma study looked at 6-8, 9-12; Utah did K-6 in 2001. Igo proposed to return to original schools and set up focus groups with students from study to ask about those programs’ impacts. Martin suggested Igo pilot a focus group in Montana and then ask other states that originally participated to replicate the evaluation. Spielmaker will look for research participants and work with Igo on establishing focus groups.

Martin: Need for evaluation of impact of agricultural literacy efforts—including Agriculture in the Classroom programs. For example, schools are conducting gardening projects with students; what are those impacts? Spielmaker—challenge is creating a valid survey instrument. Hock: Design a tip sheet/training for AITC coordinators and other resource providers to assist them in creating instruments relevant to their programs. Igo: Contact teachers who attended AITC inservice professional development workshops within the past five years; ask what resources they are using and how they are using them.

Martin: What would a tool chest for practitioners include for assistance in developing assessments? Spielmaker: Use of logic models, understanding of activities and outputs, writing survey questions, matching criterion to activities. Martin teaches Program Design and Evaluation: Students may be able to assist with instrument development. Martin will send course syllabus to Spielmaker.

Hock: Is there a funding agency to assist Igo with focus groups? Spielmaker: Look at K-12 SPECA grants.

 Annual elections were held for W2006 committee positions. Motion to approve slate of officers made by Spielmaker; seconded by Hock. 

• Michael Martin, chair


• Denise Stewardson, secretary


• Vice chair: vacant until needed


• Debra Spielmaker volunteered to manage listerv and update communication via Agricultural Literacy Wikipage.

Meeting adjourned at 11:20 AM.

Accomplishments

<p>During 2017 the W2006 met twice, the first meeting was in San Luis Obispo, CA, May 15^th-19^th, 2017 and the second meeting was in Fort Collins, CO, September 25^th &ndash; 27^th, 2017. &nbsp;During these meetings the committee reviewed the accomplishments during the past year and discussed future research.&nbsp; The group agreed to build upon a conference poster presentation that group had published in 2016 on differing conceptualizations of agriculture in agricultural literacy work (Objective 2).&nbsp; The goal of this project is highlight the research impact of studies which focus on agricultural illiteracy but are not identified agricultural literacy (i.e., food literacy, gardening education, etc.).&nbsp; The new project would build upon the work of the conference poster and expand the project into a full length journal article.&nbsp; The project includes seven members of the committee and one researcher outside of the committee.</p><br /> <p>The W2006 committee members also discussed the next project which could be undertaken as a group.&nbsp; The focus of the next project will be on evaluation of agricultural literacy (Objective 3).&nbsp; The proposed projects would focus on impact of agricultural literacy programs either from a longevity perspective and/or what evaluation techniques are most appropriate for differing agricultural literacy programing.&nbsp; These projects will be revisited by the committee in 2018.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>Finally, the members of the W2006 committee members contributed to the Agricultural Education Magazine&rsquo;s theme issue on agricultural literacy.&nbsp; The theme editor was Michael Martin from Colorado State University and the theme issues included six members of the W2006 committee.&nbsp; The members shared their agricultural literacy impacts and accomplishments in the issue.&nbsp; The theme issue will be published in late 2017.&nbsp; The magazine has a wide circulation with agricultural educators.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>Gaea Hock of Kansas State University discussed the work of their Water education and advocacy conference in Kansas had 11 students attend in July 2017. They continue to document their work during this school year and had a booth at the Kansas State Fair. Data is currently being collected as to the number of presentations, their knowledge retention/growth, and their self-efficacy in relation to public speaking.</p><br /> <p>Objective 1 Outside funding was obtained to develop "common measure" instrumentation to measure agricultural literacy among elementary (K-5) and high school students (9-12) related to the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes. The instruments will be pilot tested in February of 2018 and ready for distribution in June of 2018 for more wide-scale testing. These instruments will determine if benchmarks for agricultural literacy (outcomes) are being achieved by educators who incorporate agriculture into their curriculum. Objective 3 Foundational research was conducted to describe current efforts for evaluating mobile agricultural classrooms/labs. Commonly referred to as "mobile ag labs" where agricultural lessons are brought to schools and engage students in a novel mobile facilities as an alternative modality for increasing agricultural literacy. The findings from this survey research will be used in a larger research project to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile ag lab in Michigan to determine the efficacy of mobile labs to impact agricultural literacy.</p><br /> <p>Water education and advocacy conference in Kansas.&nbsp; The conference had 11 students attend in July 2017. &nbsp;They continue to document their work during this school year and had a booth at the Kansas State Fair. Data is currently being collected as to the number of presentations, their knowledge retention/growth, and their self-efficacy in relation to public speaking.</p><br /> <p>Debra Spielmaker reported on the work being done at Utah State University.&nbsp; Funding was obtained to develop "common measure" instrumentation to measure agricultural literacy among elementary (K-5) and high school students (9-12) related to the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes (related to Objective 1). &nbsp;The instruments will be pilot tested in February of 2018 and ready for distribution in June of 2018 for more wide-scale testing. &nbsp;These instruments will determine if benchmarks for agricultural literacy (outcomes) are being achieved by educators who incorporate agriculture into their curriculum. &nbsp;Foundational research was conducted to describe current efforts for evaluating mobile agricultural classrooms/labs (related to Objective 3). Commonly referred to as "mobile ag labs" where agricultural lessons are brought to schools and engage students in a novel mobile facilities as an alternative modality for increasing agricultural literacy. The findings from this survey research will be used in a larger research project to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile agricultural laboratory in Michigan to determine the efficacy of mobile labs to impact agricultural literacy.</p><br /> <p>Michael Martin of Colorado State University provided an update of the agricultural literacy work in Colorado.&nbsp; A research team had finished a state-wide study of consumer perceptions and attitudes towards agriculture.&nbsp; This project was funded by the Colorado Department of Agriculture.&nbsp; The research was shared with state stakeholders at the annual Governor&rsquo;s Forum on Agriculture and published in series of fact sheets through Colorado State University Extension.&nbsp; Michael also discussed how the agricultural literacy research from Colorado State University is being used to design and implement trainings and interventions in Colorado.&nbsp; These programs include curriculum for agricultural educators and workshops to a wide variety of agricultural stakeholders in Colorado.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

Publications

<p><strong>Research Objective 1</strong></p><br /> <p>Assess agricultural knowledge of diverse segments of the population:</p><br /> <ul><br /> <li>What are the points of acquisition of agricultural knowledge?</li><br /> <li>What decisions are made based upon assessed knowledge?</li><br /> </ul><br /> <p>Wray, P. (2017). Evaluating the effectiveness of Utah farm field days (Master's thesis). Retrieved from <a href="https://library.usu.edu/etd/">https://library.usu.edu/etd/</a>. (Major Professor, Debra Spielmaker, W2006)</p><br /> <p>Judd-Murray, R., &amp; Spielmaker, D. M. (2017). <em>Evaluating the effectiveness of an agricultural literacy preservice teacher workshop</em>. Poster session presented at the Western Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Fort Collins, CO.</p><br /> <p><strong>Research Objective 2:</strong></p><br /> <p>Maritn, M. J., Chriestenson, C., Thilmany, D., Jablonksi, B., and Sullins, M. (2017). <em>Examining Coloradoans perception of trust in sources of information on agriculture and food quality, nutrition, and safety issues.</em> Food systems report, FSR 17-02.</p><br /> <p>Sullins, M., Thilmany, D., Chriestenson, C., Martin, M., &amp; Jablonski, B. (2017). <em>Coloradans&rsquo; perceptions about land and water resources for agriculture</em>. Food systems report, FSR 17-03.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>Thilmany, D., Chriestenson, C., Martin M. J., Sullins, M., &amp; Jablonksi, B. (2017).&nbsp; <em>An overview of Coloradan&rsquo;s perceptions of agriculture</em>. Food systems report, FSR 17-01.</p><br /> <p>Chriestenson, C., Martin M. J., Thilmany, D., Sullins, M., &amp; Jablonksi, B. (2017). <em>Public attitudes about agriculture in Colorado. A study by the Colorado Department of Agriculture.</em> Retrieved from <a href="https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/2016%20Public%20Attitudes%20Report%20Final.pdf">https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/2016%20Public%20Attitudes%20Report%20Final.pdf</a></p><br /> <p>Martin, M. J., &amp; Enns, K. J. (2017). The conflicts of agriculture: Exploring the agriculture values of university agricultural education students. <em>Journal of Agricultural Education, 58</em>(1), 210-255. Retrieved from <a href="https://doi:10.5032">https://doi:10.5032/jae.2017.01210</a></p><br /> <p>Stofer, K. A., &amp; Newberry, III, M. G. (2017). When defining agriculture and science, explicit is not a bad word. <em>Journal of Agricultural Education, 58</em>(1), 131-150. <a href="http://jae-online.org/index.php/vol-58-no-1-2017/2032-when-defining-agriculture-and-science-explicit-is-not-a-bad-word">https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2017.01131</a></p><br /> <p>&nbsp;</p><br /> <p><strong>Research Objective 3:</strong></p><br /> <p>Evaluate agricultural literacy to measure the program impact:</p><br /> <ul><br /> <li>What is effective programming?</li><br /> <li>What is the impact of effective programming, both short-term and longitudinal?</li><br /> <li>What knowledge, attitudes, motivations exist for individuals that participate in agricultural literacy initiatives?</li><br /> </ul><br /> <p>Phillips, C.K., Mars, M.M., Rice, A.H., &amp; Torres, R.M. (2017, September). How do college students learn about food systems? Presentation at the <em>Western Region of the American Association of Agricultural Education</em>, Ft. Collins, CO.</p><br /> <p>&nbsp;</p>

Impact Statements

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Report Information

Participants

Kellie Enns, Colorado State University
Michael Martin, Colorado State University (chair) Michael.j.martin@colostate.edu
Debra Spielmaker, Utah State University
Denise Stewardson, Utah State University (secretary)
Kathryn Stofer, University of Florida
Gaea Hock, Kansas State University
Carl Igo, Montana State University
Jonathan Velez, Oregon State University
Brian Warnick, Utah State University (administrative advisor),

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

<p>During 2018 the W2006 met twice, the first meeting was in Charleston, SC, May 15^th 2018 and the second meeting was in Bosie, ID, September 17^th, 2018. &nbsp;During these meetings the committee reviewed the accomplishments during the past year and discussed future research.&nbsp; The following is a breakdown of the accomplishments which fall under the umbrella of W2006 as reported by institutions.</p><br /> <p><strong><em>University of Arizona</em></strong></p><br /> <p>The faculty members of the University of Arizona, including Matt Mars, conducted work in Priority #1 and #2 of the W2006 project.&nbsp; This work focused on the integration of local food contexts with in school-based agricultural education&nbsp;</p><br /> <p><strong><em>Kansas State University</em></strong></p><br /> <p>The faculty members at the Kansas State University, including Gaea Hock, developed a youth education program and conference entitled the Vision for the Future of Water Supply in Kansas (Vision).&nbsp; The two of the action items of Vision included: collaborate with youth related organization leadership on water-related educational opportunities and establish sessions and experiences focused on water; and, create opportunities to encourage collaboration between organizations currently involved in water education for youth.&nbsp; The Kansas Department of Agriculture assisted in the development of the Kansas Water Vision Education and Outreach Working Vision supplement.&nbsp; A Youth Water Advocates Conference (YWAC) will be held each summer to train a select group of students to educate others in the community/school district about water related topics and issues.&nbsp; After attending the (YWAC) the students will officially be members of the Youth Water Advocates (YWA) Team. This group of high school students will speak about water issues/topics to community groups, in school classrooms, and to other key stakeholder groups. As they present, they will also collect key information about the participants&rsquo; knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes toward water issues and topics.&nbsp; In addition to the Youth Water Advocates, water advocacy publications, curriculum and videos will be created to showcase the work of the students. To increase the capacity of the YWA students to conduct scientific research, they will be asked to conduct an Agriscience Fair research project (or Science Fair project) in tandem with their water presentations.&nbsp; There have been 19 students trained, and planning was done this year to host the conference in tandem with the Governor's Water Conference in November 2018.</p><br /> <p><strong><em>Colorado State University</em></strong></p><br /> <p>The faculty members at Colorado State University, including Kellie Enns and Michael Martin, reported the following accomplishments for 2018.&nbsp; The team finished a long-term curriculum development project at the university level which included research on agricultural literacy instruction through experiential education.&nbsp; In 2017 an experimental course was developed which exposed 20 freshman students to the diverse sectors of the agricultural industry through experiential education.&nbsp; This included a variety of field trips for hands-on training.&nbsp; Based on student feedback and research conducted on students&rsquo; experiences (which is part of a student&rsquo;s Master thesis), the course was elevated beyond experimental level and opened to 60 freshman in 2018.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>Michael Martin and Kellie Enns also worked to develop an educational plan for the forthcoming National Western Center (NWC) in Denver, Colorado.&nbsp; The NWC is $1.3 billion project to revitalize the National Western Stock Show in Denver.&nbsp; They were charged to help design the educational center and program of the new Colorado State University Building and Water Resources Building at NWC as well as advise the National Western Center about their educational programming at the NWC.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><br /> <p>Finally, the Colorado State University team has been active in variety of activities which involve the priority areas of W2006 project.&nbsp; These included training educators and students on effective techniques for agricultural literacy, hosting workshops for students and industry groups on effective working with groups with differencing agricultural values and perceptions, developing a new graduate course (entitled Agrarian Values and Ideology) on agriculture attitudes and perceptions, and provided consultant services for measuring agricultural literacy programmatic impact.</p><br /> <p><strong><em>Utah State University</em></strong></p><br /> <p>Using <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/National-Research-Agenda"><em>The American Association for Agricultural Education - National Research Agenda for 2016-2020</em> </a>along with the research agenda of the W2006 the following has been accomplished at Utah State University in 2018. A new website was launched in June, <a href="http://agliteracy.org">http://agliteracy.org</a>, provides an accessible porthole to previous work completed by the W2006. Dr. Spielmaker, a member of the W2006, and Team Leader for the National Center for Agricultural Literacy (NCAL), manages the site with the support of curriculum specialists and researchers. The website also provides other researchers with links to influential research and a curated database of categorized research. Dr. Spielmaker maintains this database, which was initiated in year 1 of the W2006. This resource is publicly accessible, <a href="https://www.zotero.org/groups/agricultural_literacy/items">https://www.zotero.org/groups/agricultural_literacy/items</a>. The website had 334 hits in 2018. The page with the largest number of hits (156) was the &ldquo;Evaluation Tools&rdquo; page that includes instrumentation for assessing agricultural literacy. The USU NCAL team and W2006 research team (Debra Spielmaker, Max Longhurst, Brian Warnick and Denise Stewardson) focus on two W2006 research priorities to: 1) Assess agricultural knowledge of diverse segments of the population; and 3) Evaluate agricultural literacy to measure the program impact. The following summarizes the 2018 accomplishments.</p><br /> <p>In 2018 two large projects were undertaken by Dr. Spielmaker with the support of two other USU researchers (Dr. Max Longhurst and Dr. Brian Warnick), and a graduate student, Rose Judd-Murray. The research was funded by USDA (26,881) to develop two assessments, one for grades 2-5 students in elementary schools and one for students in grades 9-12. The assessments were designed using the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes (NALOs) as the benchmarks for measurement. The NALOs grew out of previous work completed by a previous agricultural literacy research committee (W2001). The development of the NALOs was a significant step forward toward addressing agricultural literacy. However, in order for educators and administrators to effectively use them in the classroom, an assessment instrument was needed. Both assessments were developed using modified Delphi techniques. To support this effort, a Teacher Advisory Committee was formed to design the 2-5 grade-level appropriate assessment questions meeting NALO indicators for agricultural literacy. Additionally, a panel of agricultural experts reviewed the questions to ensure that the language, vocabulary and context of the questions was accurate and appropriate. The instruments were designed to measure three levels of agricultural knowledge (exposure, factual literacy, and applicably proficient), and expert). These three levels of agricultural literacy provide a continuum of agricultural understanding and knowledge. The assessment instrument is intended to provide a benchmark for agricultural literacy at the 2^nd and 5^th grade levels. The framework presented here supports the analysis that a continuum of learning exists and that all learners are somewhere on that scale.</p><br /> <p>In April and May seven states from across the country were invited to participate in data collection (Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wisconsin). The required an IRB protocol for each school district and each state. Approximately 350 second grade students and 350 fifth grade students responded to the instrument prepared for the particular grade level. Currently, data from the initial assessment instrument delivery is being analyzed for reliability and validity. The final questions/assessment will be publically available in February of 2019.</p><br /> <p>The grade 9-12 assessment was developed with similar methodology using the same levels to measure understanding. University professors served as the advisory committee for question development. In early September the instrument was given to college freshman and sophomores at Utah State University (275 students) as these students would have completed 12^th grade and should possess the necessary knowledge to aid researchers with determining the reliability and validity of the questions in each of the three criteria. The results are currently being analyzed and will be publically available in March of 2019.</p><br /> <p>These two ambitious research projects address Objective 1 and are congruent with the outcomes of the Agricultural Literacy Logic Model and grew out of previous research supported by a W2006 researcher (C. Forbes) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Upon final validation, the assessments will available online at <a href="http://agliteracy.org">http://agliteracy.org</a>.</p><br /> <p>While most of this years&rsquo; efforts focused on Objective 1, Dr. Spielmaker and a graduate student, Amelia Miller, had a research poster accepted by the Mobile Lab Coalition on a foundational study, &ldquo;Investigating Mobile Agricultural Classrooms for Agricultural Literacy Programming,&rdquo; to describe current programs and existing evaluation measures used by mobile agricultural classrooms/labs. The findings from this surveys&rsquo; research were used as background research to develop an award winning proposal, &ldquo;Evaluating Michigan&rsquo;s Food, Agriculture, and Resources in Motion (Farm) Science Lab as a Modality for Agricultural Literacy.&rdquo; This proposal was submitted to the Association for Communications Excellence and was awarded the 2018 Outstanding Student Research Proposal. The data has been collected and is currently being analyzed. The study will be completed in May of 2019. One more activity is underway on Objective 3. Denise Stewardson has submitted an undergraduate research grant proposal to involve Utah Agriculture in the Classroom with a program evaluation.</p>

Publications

<p style="text-align: left;"><strong><em>Objective One: Assess agricultural knowledge of diverse segments of the population:</em></strong></p><br /> <p>Bohnenblust, K., Hock, G., &amp; Callaghan, Z. (November, 2017). Measuring the Knowledge, Self-Efficacy and Satisfaction of Students Attending the Kansas Youth Water Advocates Conference. Referred poster presented at the Governor&rsquo;s Water Conference, Manhattan, KS.</p><br /> <p>Countryman, A. M., Martin, M. J., &amp; Enns, K. E. (In Press). Gains from trade: Student perceptions of an international agricultural trade course. <em>NACTA Journal</em>.</p><br /> <p>Hock, G., Bohnenblust, K., &amp; Callaghan, Z. (2018, June). Developing the Next Generation of Water Advocates. North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Journal, 2018 NACTA Abstracts Supplement, 62(1). Abstract.</p><br /> <p>Mars, M. M., &amp; Schau, H. J. (2018). The jazziness of local food work: Organization level ingenuity and the entrepreneurial formation and evolution of local food systems. <em>Rural Sociology</em>: 1-27 (Advanced online publication) doi: 10.1111/ruso.12244</p><br /> <p>Mars, M. M., &amp; Schau, H. J. (2018). What is local food entrepreneurship? Variations in the commercially and socially oriented features of entrepreneurship in the Southeastern Arizona local food system. <em>Rural Sociology, </em>83(3), 568-597. doi: 10.1111/ruso.12197</p><br /> <p>Martin, M. J., &amp; Hartmann, K. (In Press). Who is against agriculture. <em>The Agricultural Education Magazine.</em></p><br /> <p>Martin, M. J., &amp; Wesoloski, D. (2018). Experiences of non-conventional agriculture majors in a college of agriculture, <em>NACTA Journal, 62</em>, 1, 12-15.</p><br /> <p>Stofer. K. A., &amp; Schiebel, T. (2018). What do we know? Review of U.S. public genetic modification literacy reveals little empirical data. <em>Journal of Human Sciences and Extension. 6 </em>(4). 59-76.</p><br /> <p>Stofer, K. A., &amp; Schiebel, T. (2017). U.S. adults with agriculture experience are likely more familiar with genetic engineering than those without. <em>Journal of Agricultural Education. 58 </em>(4). 160-174.</p><br /> <p><strong><em>Objective Two: &nbsp;Assess attitudes and perceptions and motivations concerning agriculture of diverse segments of the population:</em></strong></p><br /> <p>Mars, M. M., &amp; Schau, H. J. (2018). The jazziness of local food work: Organization level ingenuity and the entrepreneurial formation and evolution of local food systems. <em>Rural Sociology</em>: 1-27 (Advanced online publication). doi: 10.1111/ruso.12244</p><br /> <p>Mars, M. M., &amp; Schau, H. J. (2018). What is local food entrepreneurship? Variations in the commercially and socially oriented features of entrepreneurship in the Southeastern Arizona local food system. <em>Rural Sociology, </em>83(3), 568-597. doi: 10.1111/ruso.12197</p><br /> <p>Martin, M. J., &amp; Wight, A., 2018, Critical pedagogy in agriculture for environmental educators, In proceedings of the 2018 American Education Research Association Conference.</p><br /> <p>Stofer. K. A., &amp; Schiebel, T. (2018). What do we know? Review of U.S. public genetic modification literacy reveals little empirical data. <em>Journal of Human Sciences and Extension. 6 </em>(4). 59-76.</p><br /> <p>Stofer, K. A., &amp; Schiebel, T. (2017). U.S. adults with agriculture experience are likely more familiar with genetic engineering than those without. <em>Journal of Agricultural Education. 58 </em>(4). 160-174.</p><br /> <p><strong><em>Objective Three: Evaluate agricultural literacy to measure the program impact:</em></strong></p><br /> <p>Frasier, M., Clark, N., &amp; Martin, M. J., 2018, Experiential learning for freshman in agriculture, In proceedings of the 2018 Western Region American Association of Agricultural Educators Conference.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>Miller, A., &amp; Spielmaker, D. M. (2018, July). <em>Investigating Mobile Agricultural Classrooms for Agricultural Literacy Programming.</em> Poster session presented at the 2018 Mobile Laboratory Coalition Conference, Detroit, MI.</p><br /> <p>Whaley, J., Enns, K.E., &amp; Martin, M. J., 2018, Connecting rural agriculture programs to community colleges, In proceedings of the 2018 American Association of Agricultural Educators Conference.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>&nbsp;</p>

Impact Statements

1. Colorado State University: Michael Martin utilized his expertise in agricultural literacy and work within the W2006 project to be part of multi-disciplinary research team from Colorado State University which focused on integrating community and modeling efforts to evaluate impacts and tradeoffs of food system interventions. The research team was awarded a Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) grant of $2,000,000.

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Report Information

Participants

Participants at the September 17, 2019 Meeting in Anchorage, AK:
Gaea Hock, Kansas State University
Kellie Enns, Colorado State University
Katie Stofer, University of Florida,
Carl Igo, University of Montana,
Debra Spielmaker, Utah State University, debra.spielmaker@usu.edu

Brian Warnick (Administrative Advisor), Utah State University, Brian.warnick@usu.edu

Guests Attending:
Jihyeong Son, Washington State University, jihyeong.son@wsu.edu
Anna Warner, Washington State University,
Lendel Narine, Utah State University,
Haley Traini, Oregon State University
Rose Judd-Murray, Utah State University,
Michelle Burrows, Utah State University
Amelia , Utah State University/Michigan Farm Bureau

Other Participants contributing to the final project report but not attending the 17 September, 2019 meeting:
Michael Martin, Colorado State University

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

<h2><strong>Major Accomplishments</strong></h2><br /> <p>Two influential publications were produced by members of this committee to better direct and frame the research conducted by the W2006 Multistate. These publications had a significant impact and are foundational references now found in agricultural literacy literature.</p><br /> <p><strong>Enns, K., Martin, M., &amp; Spielmaker, D. M.</strong> (2016). Research priority 1: Public and policy maker understanding of agriculture and natural resources<em>.</em> Roberts, T. G., Harder, A., &amp; Brashears, M. T. (Eds). <em>American Association for Agricultural Education National Research Agenda: 2016-2020. </em>Gainesville, FL: Department of Agricultural Education and Communication. Retrieved from <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/National-Research-Agenda">http://aaaeonline.org/National-Research-Agenda</a> (Cited by 157)</p><br /> <p>Keeton, E., <strong>Hock, G., Enns, Martin, M., Spielmaker, D. M., &amp; Stewardson, D. M.</strong> (2016, September). Simplifying the process: Agricultural literacy publications search framework. Poster session presented at the Western Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Tucson, AZ. Retrieved from <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf">http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf</a></p><br /> <h2><strong>Accomplishments and Impacts by Objective</strong></h2><br /> <p>The objectives for the multistate project served as a scope of work for committee members. This final report is organized by research objective. Member names are bolded on publications (many of these were done jointly). Members have noted other relevant accomplishments and impact such as presentations and ongoing or planned research. It is noted that not all members reported.</p><br /> <h3><strong><em>Objective 1:</em></strong><em> Assess agricultural knowledge of diverse segments of the population: a) What are the points of acquisition of agricultural knowledge? b) What decisions are made based upon assessed knowledge?</em></h3><br /> <h4><strong>Kellie Enns, Colorado State University</strong></h4><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Impacts:</span>&nbsp;To address challenges in non-agriculture populations regarding knowledge in agriculture, in 2016-2019, Dr. Mike Martin and Dr. Kellie Enns engaged in development and engagement of curriculum around education of K-12 populations in Colorado who attend CSU Agriculture Adventure Programs (at ARDEC - Ft. Collins and National Western Stockshow - Denver). Over 1300 third grade students in Ft. Collins, and over 2500 K-5th grade students attended and received education around agriculture literacy. Additional programming provided relevant agriculture knowledge to over 1000 K-5th grade students in enrichment experiences, field days, or science nights at local elementary schools from 2014-2019.</p><br /> <p>Over 60 percent of students in the College of Agricultural Sciences (CAS) at Colorado State University are attending from areas that are not considered rural or agricultural based. To address the challenges of experiences, CSU with assistance from Dr. Martin and Dr. Enns has developed and delivered an experiential learning class for three fall semesters (2017, 2018, 2019). To goal of broadening the understanding of agriculture through these experiences was achieved.</p><br /> <p>Focusing on adult literacy, a curriculum was produced entitled &ldquo;A Call to Action&rdquo; designed to train and help adults to facilitate agriculture knowledge in the local community. Over 450 adults were trained to implement the curriculum state-wide.</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Presentations:</span></p><br /> <p>2018 &ldquo;Teaching and Advocating for Agriculture.&rdquo; Workshop for College of Agricultural Sciences Students, Fort Collins, CO, <em>Organized and Presented by </em><strong>Enns, K.</strong></p><br /> <p>2017 Agriculture in the Classroom &ndash; Experiencing Food and Agriculture: 8 Agriculture Enrichment Lessons presented by AGED 220 to Rice Elementary Afterschool Program. Presented and coordinated by <strong>Enns, K.</strong></p><br /> <p>2017 &ldquo;Garden in a Glove&rdquo; and &ldquo;Butter Making&rdquo; Presented to Rice Elementary School Science Night. <em>Presented by</em> <strong>Enns, K</strong>., Clark, N., 12 undergraduate students, Wellington, CO</p><br /> <p>2015 &ldquo;Garden in a Glove&rdquo; and &ldquo;Butter Making&rdquo; Presented to Rice Elementary School Science Night. <em>Presented by</em> <strong>Enns, K</strong>., Clark, N., Martin, M., 12 undergraduate students, Wellington, CO</p><br /> <p>2015 &ldquo;A Call to Action&rdquo; Curriculum Rollout Presentation. Presented to Colorado Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association Mid-Winter Conference, <em>Presented by</em> <strong>Enns, K.,</strong> Martin, M. &amp; Millar, C. Colorado Springs, CO.</p><br /> <p>2015 &ldquo;A Call to Action&rdquo; Curriculum Rollout Presentation. Presented to Colorado Young Farmers Educational Association Institute, <em>Presented by</em> <strong>Enns, K.,</strong> Martin, M. &amp; Millar, C. Loveland, CO.</p><br /> <p>2014 &ldquo;Garden in a Glove.&rdquo; Presented to Rice Elementary School Science Night. <em>Presented by</em> <strong>Enns, K</strong>., N. Clark, M. Martin, Rudder, E., (undergraduate), Stevens, B., (undergraduate) &amp; Dreitz, R., (undergraduate), Wellington, CO</p><br /> <p>2014 &ldquo;A Call to Action&rdquo; Colorado Young Farmers Educational Association Curriculum Project Pilot. Presented to Colorado Young Farmers Educational Association, <em>Presented by</em> M. Martin &amp; <strong>Enns, K</strong>., Windsor, CO</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ongoing or Planned Research:&nbsp;</span>Dr. Kellie Enns is currently collecting data on agricultural literacy related to the first-year agriculture student experience at Colorado State University. Planned collections related to the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes is under consideration for participants in CSU Agriculture Adventure Programs.</p><br /> <h4><strong>Gaea Hock, Kansas State University</strong></h4><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Impacts:</span> In 2017, Dr. Hock worked to establish the Kansas Youth Water Advocates Conference. She collaborated with a high school student who had the initial idea to establish the program. An undergraduate researcher (Katelyn Bohnenblust) received the Morse Family and Community Public Policy Scholarship ($3,000) to work on the inaugural conference and conduct research.</p><br /> <p>In 2017 we had 11 high school students and one parent attend the Kansas Youth Water Advocates Conference in July. The conference took place on the Kansas State University campus, Manhattan, KS. Students learned about water issues in the state, how they can communicate about the issues, and set goals for the upcoming year. Over the course of the next year, students worked a water education booth at the Kansas State Fair, presented at a variety of functions about what they learned, and participated in follow-up surveys. It is hard to estimate the number of people who visited their booth at the State Fair, but it would range from elementary age children to adults. This exposure helped increase the interest in the program.</p><br /> <p>In March 2018, 10 high school students and one high school agriculture teacher attended the Western Kansas Youth Water Advocates Conference in Garden City, KS. The content of the conference shifted to focus on issues specific to that area of the state. Students were asked to share messages, both written and verbally, about what they learned at the conference during the next year. The state FFA prepared public speaking winner was a completer of the program and her speech focused on water issues. In November 2018 we had 13 high school students and one high school science teacher attend the Kansas Youth Water Advocates Conference in Manhattan, KS. The conference was held in conjunction with the Kansas Governor's Conference. Students were asked to share messages, both written and verbally, about what they learned at the conference in their home communities.</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Presentations:</span> Dr. Hock has shared with multiple audiences about the work of the Kansas Youth Water Advocates. Presentations have occurred at regional, state, national, and international conferences.</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ongoing or Planned Research: </span>The training program is planned to continue for the foreseeable future. Efforts have been made to take advantage of existing conferences and programs to capitalize on expertise and resources. The fourth KS-YWAC will take place in November 2019 in tandem with the Kansas Governor&rsquo;s Water Conference. IRB approval has been obtained to collect data from the participants.</p><br /> <h4><strong>Debra Spielmaker, Utah State University</strong></h4><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Impacts:</span> In 2018 two large projects were undertaken by Dr. Spielmaker with the support of two other USU researchers (Dr. Max Longhurst and Dr. Brian Warnick), and a graduate student, Rose Judd-Murray. The research was funded by USDA ($26,881) to develop two assessments&mdash; one for grades 2-5 students in elementary schools and one for students in grades 9-12. The assessments were designed using the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes (NALOs) (Spielmaker &amp; Liesing, 2013) as the benchmarks for measurement. The NALOs grew out of previous work completed by a previous agricultural literacy research committee (W2001). The development of the NALOs was a significant step forward toward addressing agricultural literacy. However, in order for educators and administrators to effectively use them in the classroom, an assessment instrument was needed. Both assessments were developed using modified Delphi techniques. To support this effort, a Teacher Advisory Committee was formed to design the 2-5 grade-level appropriate assessment questions meeting NALO indicators for agricultural literacy. Additionally, a panel of agricultural experts reviewed the questions to ensure that the language, vocabulary and context of the questions was accurate and appropriate. The instruments were designed to measure three levels of agricultural knowledge (exposure, factual literacy, and applicably proficient), and expert). These three levels of agricultural literacy provide a continuum of agricultural understanding and knowledge. The assessment instrument is intended to provide a benchmark for agricultural literacy at the 2nd and 5th grade levels. The framework presented here supports the analysis that a continuum of learning exists and that all learners are somewhere on that scale.</p><br /> <p>In April and May seven states from across the country were invited to participate in data collection (Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wisconsin). The required an IRB protocol for each school district and each state. Approximately 350 second grade students and 350 fifth grade students responded to the instrument prepared for the particular grade level. Currently, data from the initial assessment instrument delivery is being analyzed for reliability and validity. The final questions/assessment will be publicly available in February of 2019.</p><br /> <p>The grade 9-12 assessment was developed with similar methodology using the same levels to measure understanding. University professors served as the advisory committee for question development. In early September of 2018 the instrument was given to college freshmen and sophomores at Utah State University (517 students) as these students would have completed 12th grade and should possess the necessary knowledge to aid researchers with determining the reliability and validity of the questions in each of the three criteria. The results were analyzed and was the subject of Rose Judd-Murray&rsquo;s dissertation (as noted above under publications).</p><br /> <p>These two ambitious research projects address Objective 1 and are congruent with the outcomes of the Agricultural Literacy Logic Model (Spielmaker, Pastor, &amp; Stewardson, 2014), and grew out of previous research (Brandt, 2016) supported by a W2006 researcher (Forbes) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Upon final assessments are available online at <a href="http://agliteracy.org">http://agliteracy.org</a>. these assessments are crucial to measuring agricultural literacy across the nation to make valid comparisons and to develop comprehensive strategies to increase agricultural literacy. It is anticipated that these instruments will be used to measure agricultural literacy knowledge nationwide and provide data for program and curricular development. <em>Impacts: The assessments have been downloaded 12 times in just the last two months (when they were made available). One other publication has resulted from this research and another has been submitted for publication.</em></p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Presentations:</span>&nbsp; A USDA grant provided funding for the delivery of professional development related to this NALO assessment research. Spielmaker presented the K-5 and 9-12 NALO assessments at the 2019 National Agriculture in the Classroom State Contact meeting (47 participants).</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ongoing or Planned Research:</span> The W3006 has agreed to use the 9-12 assessment to measure student levels of agricultural literacy at their respective institutions in 2020 to gather a baseline on college freshmen, grade 12 completers. A &ldquo;common measure&rdquo; blanket IRB for using of these assessments to collect data in 2020 will be developed at USU for other institutions to reference. Data has been collected on the researchers that downloaded the assessments and follow-up research will be conducted with these researchers.</p><br /> <h3><strong><em>Objective 2:</em></strong><em> Assess attitudes and perceptions and motivations concerning agriculture of diverse segments of the population. a) How are perceptions, attitudes and motivations developed? b) What decisions are made based upon assessed attitudes, perceptions and motivations?</em></h3><br /> <h4><strong>Michael Martin, Colorado State University</strong></h4><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Impacts:</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;Michael&rsquo;s work in this area has impacted students, instructors, and faculty at Colorado State University as well as governmental agencies in Colorado. Specifically, his research on perceptions of diverse populations has been disseminated to various educational groups in the past year.&nbsp; These groups include the Region 8 Specialists of the Environmental Protection Agency, National Western Center Planning Committees headquartered in Denver, and a wide range of diversity related groups at Colorado State University. Of particular note, the National Western Center will be a state of the art educational center focusing on agricultural literacy in Denver that is estimated to draw hundreds of thousands of people annually. Michael has worked on various committees of the Center as an expert on agricultural literacy. Michael also chairs and serves on diversity related committees at Colorado State University. The overarching impact of this work, based on his research, was to make agricultural literacy efforts more inclusive of the diverse population of Colorado and beyond.</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Presentations:</span> Michael has conducted numerous presentations and training sessions on the topic of a more inclusive agricultural literacy approach to students, educators, specialists, and youth.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ongoing or Planned Research:</span>&nbsp;Michael&rsquo;s research focus continues to be the general impact and outcomes of agricultural literacy with a focus on context of diversity and inclusion in agricultural literacy and education broadly.&nbsp;</p><br /> <h4><strong>Gaea Hock, Kansas State University</strong></h4><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Impacts:</span> Dr. Hock is one of three faculty members working on a USDA grant focused on connecting research station scientists with high school agriculture students and teachers. Investigation included the current perceptions held by agriculture teachers to engage their students in agriculture research. A survey was sent to research station faculty in three states (analysis is still pending).</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Presentations:</span> Five on-site trainings took place with the research station scientists during the Fall 2018. In the Spring 2019, teachers and their students were invited to the sites to meet the scientists and participate in further training. The work of this project was shared at a regional meeting in Fall 2019.</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ongoing or Planned Research:</span> Continued research on the perceptions of agriculture research will occur as students complete their projects during this school year. Further research on how teachers&rsquo; perceptions have changed regarding assisting their students when conducting agriculture research. Additionally, working to assess how students&rsquo; perceptions and attitudes toward agriculture research and innovation change after participating in this grant project.</p><br /> <h4><strong>Katie Stofer, University of Florida</strong></h4><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Impacts:</span> Stofer joined the project in late 2017. Her publications and presentations have included one undergraduate student, Hallie Odell, who produced an honors thesis, two graduate student collaborators, Milton Newberry, III, and Tracee Schiebel, and one faculty member, Joy Rumble (Ohio State University). To date, her research examines adult literacy, particularly around the influence and sources of agricultural experience and contemporary topics. The results of her qualitative analysis of sources of agricultural experience will be incorporated in future quantitative assessments of agricultural literacy, including perceptions and values.</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Presentations:</span> No additional presentations</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ongoing or Planned Research:</span> Stofer has current USDA funding to investigate gene editing perceptions of American adults using focus groups and national surveys, including designing and testing educational materials based on the results of the perceptions research. Stofer will participate in W3006 efforts to use the 9-12 assessment with incoming college freshmen at UF and continue to incorporate investigations of U.S. adults with both the designed quantitative assessments and qualitative measures.</p><br /> <h4><strong>Jonathan Velez, Oregon State University</strong></h4><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Impacts</span>: Velez currently oversees the Oregon State University Summer Agricultural Institute (SAI), a one-week intensive agricultural literacy initiative.&nbsp; This program has been an ongoing initiative at OSU for the past 29 years and has reached over 1,000 teachers throughout Oregon. For the duration of this multistate, our SAI program has reached 223 teachers, with an estimated initial student impact of over 15,000 students. Depending on teacher career stage, it is likely that the additive impact over the years would be much greater.</p><br /> <p>Velez is a Board Member and active in service to the Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation, a non-profit organization housed within our department and dedicated to providing agricultural literacy materials and workshops throughout Oregon.&nbsp; The Oregon AITC Foundation has a significant impact on the agricultural literacy in our state.&nbsp; In 2018-2019 alone, the Oregon AITC Foundation reached 239,747 students, 3,371 educators, distributed 1,627 classroom resource kits and over 400 free lesson plans to teachers.</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Presentations:</span> Velez has been active every year in delivering presentations to the Oregon Farm Bureau&rsquo;s Foundation for Education, a group that supports agricultural literacy efforts throughout Oregon.&nbsp; Presentations include an overview of the SAI program, teacher impacts, and ways we can collectively work to support agricultural literacy.</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ongoing or Planned Research:</span> Velez is a new member of this multistate and plans to continue research which examines perceptions related to agricultural literacy and agricultural education.&nbsp; He plans to continue exploring the impact of literacy initiatives on both K-12 teachers as well as students currently enrolled in college.</p><br /> <h3><strong><em>Objective 3:</em></strong><em> Evaluate agricultural literacy programs to measure the program impact. a) What is effective programming? b) What is the impact of effective programming, both short-term and longitudinal? c) What knowledge, attitudes, and motivations exist for individuals that participate in agricultural literacy initiatives (formal programs, informal programs, voluntary programs)?</em></h3><br /> <h4><strong>Debra Spielmaker, Utah State University</strong></h4><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Impacts:</span> I worked on two areas related to objective 3.</p><br /> <p>1) The research I conducted related to program evaluation began with the development of sample professional development survey instruments that could be used by agricultural literacy programs to measure the effectiveness of their preservice and in-service teacher programs. These evaluation tools are publically available on the National Center for Agricultural Literacy website, <a href="https://www.agliteracy.org/research/evaluation.cfm">https://www.agliteracy.org/research/evaluation.cfm</a>, and have been downloaded and used by 11 state programs. A poster abstract on this topic was published (2017) that used these instruments for the evaluation of Utah Agriculture in the Classroom&rsquo;s elementary preservice programs.</p><br /> <p>2) While most of this year&rsquo;s efforts focused on Objective 1, I worked with a graduate student, Amelia Miller, on a research poster, accepted by the Mobile Lab Coalition on a foundational study, &ldquo;Investigating Mobile Agricultural Classrooms for Agricultural Literacy Programming,&rdquo; (Miller &amp; Spielmaker, 2018) to describe current programs and existing evaluation measures used by mobile agricultural classrooms/labs. The findings from this survey&rsquo;s research were used as background research to develop an award winning proposal, &ldquo;Evaluating Michigan&rsquo;s Food, Agriculture, and Resources in Motion (FARM) Science Lab as a Modality for Agricultural Literacy&rdquo; presented by the Association for Communications Excellence. This proposal was awarded the 2018 Outstanding Student Research Proposal. The data was collected, analyzed and published in the Miller thesis, <em>Evaluating Michigan's Food, Agriculture, and Resources in Motion (FARM) Science Lab as a Modality for Agricultural Literacy.&nbsp; </em>Impact: The findings of this research was presented in a peer-reviewed poster, won the &ldquo;People&rsquo;s Choice Award&rdquo; and demonstrated that a mobile lab had an effectiveness equal to that of a classroom setting for increasing agricultural literacy.</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Presentations</span><strong><em>:</em></strong> A presentation was made at the 2018 Agriculture in the Classroom Leadership Summit attended by 43 state contacts. The presentation shared why evaluation was important to program success and how to use the survey instruments. <strong><em>Impact:</em></strong> Eleven states now use the measure developed and results may be analyzed in the future. The Mobile Lab research was presented at the 2019 National Agriculture in the Classroom State Contacts Annual Meeting to 46 state contacts. <strong><em>Impact</em></strong><em>: </em>Several state programs are considering mobile labs as a modality for increasing agricultural literacy, however the data collected showed that in a cost-benefit analysis, teacher&rsquo;s presenting agricultural lessons in their classrooms may be just as effective.</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ongoing or Planned Research:</span> The data gathered from the evaluation data using the evaluation instruments will be used in a correlational study using previously collected state program descriptive data.</p>

Publications

<h3><strong>Publications Related to Objective 1</strong></h3><br /> <p>Bohnenblust, K., <strong>Hock, G.</strong>, &amp; Callaghan, Z. (November, 2017). Measuring the Knowledge, Self-Efficacy and Satisfaction of Students Attending the Kansas Youth Water Advocates Conference. Referred poster presented at the Governor&rsquo;s Water Conference, Manhattan, KS.</p><br /> <p>Bradford, T., <strong>Hock, G.</strong>, Greenhaw, L., &amp; Kingery, W. (2019). Comparing experiential learning techniques and direct instruction on student knowledge of agriculture in private school students. <em>Journal of Agricultural Education, 60</em>(3), 80-96. doi:10.5032/jae.2019.03080</p><br /> <p>Brandt, M. R. (2016). <em>Exploring elementary students' agricultural and scientific knowledge using evidence centered design</em> (Master's thesis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln). Retrieved from <a href="http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/natresdiss/131/">http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/natresdiss/131/</a>. (Major Professor, <strong>Cory Forbs</strong>, W2006)</p><br /> <p>Callaghan, Z. &amp; <strong>Hock, G.</strong> (October, 2018). <em>Assessing a Water-Focused Youth Education Training Program.</em> Referred poster presented at the International Conference on Educational Innovation in Agrarian Topics, Lima, Peru.</p><br /> <p>Edwards, E. B. (2016). <em>Dig into learning: A program evaluation of an agricultural literacy innovation</em> (Doctoral dissertation, GARDNER-WEBB UNIVERSITY). Retrieved from <a href="https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/education_etd/187/">https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/education_etd/187/</a>. (Committee Member, <strong>Debra Spielmaker</strong>, W2006)</p><br /> <p><strong>Enns, K., Martin, M., &amp; Spielmaker, D. M</strong>. (2016). Research priority 1: Public and policy maker understanding of agriculture and natural resources. Roberts, T. G., Harder, A., &amp; Brashears, M. T. (Eds). <em>American Association for Agricultural Education National Research Agenda: 2016-2020</em>. Gainesville, FL: Department of Agricultural Education and Communication. Retrieved from <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/National-Research-Agenda">http://aaaeonline.org/National-Research-Agenda</a></p><br /> <p><strong>Hock, G.</strong>, Bohnenblust, K., &amp; Callaghan, Z. (2018, June). Developing the Next Generation of Water Advocates. North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Journal, <em>2018 NACTA Abstracts Supplement, 62</em>(1). Abstract.</p><br /> <p><strong>Hock, G.</strong>, Bohnenblust, K. &amp; Roth, G. (2017, September/October). Water Literacy: Training the Next Generation of Water Advocates. <em>The Agricultural Education Magazine, 90</em>(2), 18-20.</p><br /> <p><strong>Hock, G. </strong>&amp; Callaghan, Z. (October, 2019). <em>Tapping the Next Generation of Water Advocates</em>. Referred poster accepted to the Engagement Scholarship Consortium Conference, Denver, CO.</p><br /> <p>Judd-Murray, R. (2019). <em>Development and validation of an agricultural literacy instrument using the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes.</em> (Doctoral dissertation). Utah State University. Retrieved from <a href="https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7562/">https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7562/</a>. (Committee Member, <strong>Debra Spielmaker</strong>, W2006)</p><br /> <p>Judd-Murray, R., Warnick, B. K., <strong>Spielmaker, D. M.</strong>, Longhurst, M. L., Coster, D. C., &amp; Stewart, C. (2019). <em>Development and validation of an agricultural literacy instrument using the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes</em>. Paper presented at the Western Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Anchorage, AK. Retrieved from <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/Meeting%202019/2019WesternRegionAAAEProceedings.pdf">http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/Meeting%202019/2019WesternRegionAAAEProceedings.pdf</a>.</p><br /> <p>Keeton, E., <strong>Hock, G., Enns, Martin, M., Spielmaker, D. M., &amp; Stewardson, D. M.</strong> (2016, September). <em>Simplifying the process: Agricultural literacy publications search framework</em>. Poster presented at the Western Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Tucson, AZ. Retrieved from <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf">http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf</a></p><br /> <p>Longhurst, M. L., Judd-Murray, R., Coster, D. C., &amp; <strong>Spielmaker, D. M.</strong> (submitted). Measuring agricultural literacy: Grade 3-5 instrument development and validation. <em>Journal of Agricultural Education.</em></p><br /> <p><strong>Martin, M. J., </strong>Parra, I. &amp; <strong>Enns, K. J. </strong>(2019). <em>Evaluation Schematic for Agricultural Literacy Programming. </em>Poster presented at the Western Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Anchorage, AK. Retrieved from <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/Meeting%202019/2019_WAAAE_Poster_Proceedings.pdf">http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/Meeting%202019/2019_WAAAE_Poster_Proceedings.pdf</a></p><br /> <p><strong>Spielmaker, D. M.</strong> (2016, September). <em>Developing agricultural literacy outcomes: A synthesis of research-based expectations.</em> Poster presented at the Western Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Tucson, AZ. Retrieved from <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf">http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf</a></p><br /> <p><strong>Spielmaker, D. M., Pastor, M., &amp; Stewardson, D. M. </strong>(2014). <em>A logic model for agricultural literacy programming.</em> Proceedings of the 41st annual meeting of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Snowbird, UT. Retrieved from <a href="http://www.aaaeonline.org/Resources/Documents/National/Poster%20and%20Research%20Schedule,%20National2014.pdf">http://www.aaaeonline.org/Resources/Documents/National/Poster%20and%20Research%20Schedule,%20National2014.pdf</a>. [Blind review, awarded first place in the innovative poster category, 230 participants]</p><br /> <p><strong>Spielmaker, D. M.</strong>, &amp; Leising, J. G. (2013). <em>National agricultural literacy outcomes.</em> Logan, UT: Utah State University, School of Applied Sciences &amp; Technology. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.agclassroom.org/get/doc/NALObooklet.pdf">http://www.agclassroom.org/get/doc/NALObooklet.pdf</a></p><br /> <p><strong>Stofer. K. A. , </strong>&amp; Schiebel, T. (2018). What do we know? Review of U.S. public genetic modification literacy reveals little empirical data. <em>Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, <br /> 6</em>(4), 59-76.</p><br /> <p>Wray, P., &amp; <strong>Spielmaker, D. M.</strong> (2016, September). <em>Farm field days as a learning model for agricultural literacy</em>. Poster presented at the Western Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Tucson, AZ. Retrieved from <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf">http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/2016%20WRAAE%20CONFERENCE%20PROCEEDINGS.pdf</a></p><br /> <p>Wray, P. (2017). <em>Evaluating the effectiveness of Utah farm field days</em> (Master's thesis). Retrieved from <a href="https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6853&amp;context=etd">https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6853&amp;context=etd</a>. (Major Professor, <strong>Debra Spielmaker,</strong> W2006)</p><br /> <h3><strong>Publications Related to Objective 2</strong></h3><br /> <p>Chriestenson, C., <strong>Martin M. J</strong>., Thilmany, D., Sullins, M., &amp; Jablonksi, B. (2017). <em>Public attitudes about agriculture in Colorado. A study by the Colorado Department of Agriculture. </em>Retrieved from <a href="https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/2016%20Public%20Attitudes%20Report%20Final.pdf">https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/2016%20Public%20Attitudes%20Report%20Final.pdf</a></p><br /> <p>Judd-Murray, R., &amp; <strong>Spielmaker, D. M., Stewardson, D. M.</strong> (2017, September). <em>Evaluating the effectiveness of an agricultural literacy preservice teacher workshop.</em> Poster presented at the Western Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Fort Collins, CO. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.agliteracy.org/research/doc/multistate/PreserviceAgLit.pdf">http://aaaeonline.org/Western-Conference</a></p><br /> <p>Koehlmoos, E. &amp; <strong>Hock, G.</strong> (May, 2018). <em>Perceptions of Barriers Limiting FFA Agriscience Fair Participation.</em> Referred paper session presented at the National AAAE Conference, Charleston, SC.</p><br /> <p><strong>Martin, M. J. </strong>(2016). The polarization of agriculture: The evolving context of Extension work. <em>Journal of Extension, 54</em>(2). Retrieved from <a href="http://www.joe.org/joe/2016april/comm1.php">http://www.joe.org/joe/2016april/comm1.php</a></p><br /> <p><strong>Martin, M. J., &amp; Enns, K. J</strong>. (2017). The conflicts of agriculture: Exploring the agriculture values of university agricultural education students. <em>Journal of Agricultural Education, 58</em>(1), 210-255. Retrieved from <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1138975">https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1138975</a></p><br /> <p><strong>Martin, M. J. </strong>&amp; Hartmann, K. (2018). Who is against agriculture?<em> Agricultural Education Magazine, 91</em>, 2, 22-23.</p><br /> <p><strong>Martin, M. J.</strong>, &amp; Wight, R. A. (2016). The need for a critical pedagogy of agriculture. <em>NACTA Journal, 60</em>(4), 448.</p><br /> <p><strong>Stofer, K. A</strong>., Odell, H., Rumble, J. (2019). <em>Sources of agricultural background among Florida residents includes variety of everyday experiences.</em> Paper presented at the Western Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Anchorage, AK. Retrieved from <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/Meeting%202019/2019WesternRegionAAAEProceedings.pdf">http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/Meeting%202019/2019WesternRegionAAAEProceedings.pdf</a>.</p><br /> <p><strong>Stofer, K. A</strong>., &amp; Newberry, III, M. G. (2017). When defining agriculture and science, explicit is not a bad word. <em>Journal of Agricultural Education, 58</em>(1), 131-150. <a href="http://jae-online.org/index.php/vol-58-no-1-2017/2032-when-defining-agriculture-and-science-explicit-is-not-a-bad-word">https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2017.01131</a></p><br /> <p><strong>Stofer, K. A., </strong>&amp; Schiebel, T. (2017). U.S. adults with agriculture experience are likely more familiar with genetic engineering than those without. <em>Journal of Agricultural Education. 58 </em>(4), 160-174.</p><br /> <p>Yamashita, L., Hayes, K., &amp; <strong>Trexler, C. J</strong>. (2015). How pre-service teachers navigate trade-offs of food systems across time scales: A lens for exploring understandings of sustainability.<em> Environmental Education Research,</em> 1-33. Retrieved from <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504622.2015.1074662#.Vg21PflVhBc">http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504622.2015.1074662#.Vg21PflVhBc</a></p><br /> <p>Anderson, S. M., <strong>Velez, J. J.</strong>, &amp; Thompson, G. W. (2014). An analysis of K-12 teachers' conceptions of agriculture prior to and after engaging in an agricultural literacy program. <em>Journal of Agricultural Education</em>, <em>55</em>(3), 132-146. doi: 10.5032/jae.2014.03132</p><br /> <p>McKim, A. J., Pauley, C. M., <strong>Velez, J. J</strong>., &amp; Sorensen, T. J. (2018). Interdisciplinary learning opportunities in agriculture, food, natural resources, and science: The role of the teacher. <em>Journal of Agricultural Education, 59</em>(2), 179-196. doi:10.5032/jae.2018.02179</p><br /> <p>McKim, A. J., Kohn, C., Lambert, M. D., <strong>Velez, J. J.</strong>, &amp; Balschweid, M. A. (2018, March/April). A teacher&rsquo;s guide to illuminating science within agriculture, food, and natural resources education. <em>Agricultural Education Magazine, 90</em>(5), 14-17.</p><br /> <h3><strong>Publications Related to Objective 3</strong></h3><br /> <p>Judd-Murray, R., &amp; <strong>Spielmaker, D. M., Stewardson, D. M.</strong> (2017, September). <em>Evaluating the effectiveness of an agricultural literacy preservice teacher workshop.</em> Poster presented at the Western Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Fort Collins, CO. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.agliteracy.org/research/doc/multistate/PreserviceAgLit.pdf">http://aaaeonline.org/Western-Conference</a></p><br /> <p>Miller, A. J. (2019). <em>Evaluating Michigan's food, agriculture, and resources in motion (FARM) science lab as a modality for agricultural literacy</em>. (Master&rsquo;s thesis). Utah State University. Retrieved from <a href="https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7470/">https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7470/</a>. (Major Professor, <strong>Debra Spielmaker</strong>, W2006)</p><br /> <p>Miller, A. J., <strong>Spielmaker, D. M.,</strong> Hall, K. L., Lawver, R. G., &amp; Stewardson, D. M. (2019). <em>Evaluating Michigan's food, agriculture, and resources in motion (FARM) science lab as a modality for agricultural literacy</em>. Poster presented at the Western Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Anchorage, AK. Retrieved from <a href="http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/Meeting%202019/2019_WAAAE_Poster_Proceedings.pdf">http://aaaeonline.org/resources/Documents/Western%20Region/Meeting%202019/2019_WAAAE_Poster_Proceedings.pdf</a>.</p><br /> <p>Miller, A., <strong>Spielmaker, D. M.</strong> (2018, July). <em>Investigating Mobile Agricultural Classrooms for Agricultural Literacy Programming</em>. Poster presented at the Mobile Lab Coalition Annual Conference, Detroit, MI.</p><br /> <p><strong>Martin, M. J.</strong>, Hill, R. L., van Sandt, A., &amp; Thilmany, D. D. (2016). Colorado residents trusted Sources of agricultural, biotechnology and food information. <em>AgBioForum, 19</em>(1), 1-10. Retrieved from <a href="http://agbioforum.org/v19n1/v19n1a04-martin.htm">http://agbioforum.org/v19n1/v19n1a04-martin.htm</a></p><br /> <p><strong>Spielmaker, D. M.</strong> (2019). The green book: Chapter 2 &ndash; Agricultural Literacy. The Agricultural Education Magazine, 91(6), 22-25.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><br /> <p><strong>Spielmaker, D. M.</strong> (2019). Integrating technology: A journey to 2050. Science Scope, 91(6), 40-46.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

Impact Statements

1. Eleven state programs for Agriculture in the Classroom have utilized a professional development survey instrument that was developed to measure the effectives of pre-service and in-service agricultural literacy programs.

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