Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

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.

The W2006 agreed to use the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes (NALO) (Spielmaker & Leising, 2014, http://agclassroom.org/get/doc/NALObooklet.pdf) 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 “gather baseline data on agricultural knowledge possessed by the general population.” 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.

Spielmaker developed a publically available Agricultural Literacy Database, https://www.zotero.org/groups/agricultural_literacy/items, and an agricultural literacy wiki, http://agliteracy.wikispaces.com/.  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’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.  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.

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?

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.  This research addresses the multistate outcome for baseline data on the general public’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.

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’ agricultural literacy to determine specific benchmarks and program effectiveness. This information will assist with data-driven decisions for more effective curriculum and delivery.

Spielmaker, D. M., Pastor, M., & 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 http://www.aaaeonline.org/uploads/allconferences/5-8-2014_148_2014_AAAE_Poster_Proceedings.pdf. [Blind review, awarded first place in the innovative poster category, 230 participants]

Spielmaker, D. M., & Leising, J. G. (2013). National agricultural literacy outcomes. Logan, UT: Utah State University, School of Applied Sciences & Technology. Retrieved from http://www.agclassroom.org/get/doc/NALObooklet.pdf

Yamashita, L., Hayes, K., & 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 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504622.2015.1074662#.Vg21PflVhBc