NACTA Journal

Exploring Factors Contributing To the Reputation of Colleges of Agriculture: A Delphi Study With College Student Ambassadors

William Doss — 2025-10-24

When deciding on which college or university to attend, the reputation of the institution has been identified as a characteristic that impacts this decision. However, little research has identified specific attributes that impact the reputation of agricultural colleges making it difficult for administrators, faculty, or staff to assess the reputation of their college. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine factors contributing to the reputation of a land grant college of agriculture. The objectives guiding this study were to 1). Compile a list of factors contributing to the reputation of a land grant college of agriculture, 2). Determine consensus for college of agriculture characteristics contributing to college of agriculture reputation, and 3). Categorize characteristics reaching consensus that
contribute to college of agriculture reputation. This was accomplished with a Delphi study consisting of three rounds from agriculture college undergraduate student ambassadors at six land grant universities. Results of the Delphi study yielded 51 unique characteristics influencing the reputation of an agriculture college. It was recommended that an instrument be developed for agriculture colleges to
use for assessing their reputation. Results from reputation assessments could help with student recruitment and enrollment.

Analyzing Learning Outcomes through the Packaging in Korea and Japan Study Abroad Program

Euihark Lee — 2025-11-24

The "Packaging in Korea and Japan" study abroad program offers students a unique opportunity to engage in experiential learning through immersive exposure to global packaging practices. This paper focuses on two key areas: (1) cultivating a global perspective and a professional attitude toward the packaging industry, and (2) enhancing knowledge in packaging. The purpose of our study is to begin to understand how a short-term, discipline-specific, faculty led study aboard program fosters the development of a global professional mindset while building a positive attitude to the global industry. To measure professional attitude, students completed a pre-survey before the course began and post-survey after the course was complete. To gauge a student's increase in knowledge, students were asked to complete a pre- and post survey with reflective essay for each packaging related site visit. To accomplish this, the faculty developed a series of un-graded surveys that students completed at the beginning and end of the site visit. Results indicate significant gains in packaging related knowledge and positive perspectives informed by real-world applications observed during the study abroad program. Additionally, the program fostered professional growth, with participants reporting greater confidence, global awareness, and cultural empathy through their reflective answers. These findings highlight the value of integrating experiential and international learning opportunities into disciplinespecific higher education, particularly within professional fields like packaging, to prepare students for complex global challenges. As the first paper to analyze official program learning outcomes from a study abroad program targeting students in the packaging field, our results suggest that a discipline-specific study abroad program provides a positive stepping stone for students in the packaging and related fields to develop into global professionals. For the purposes of this paper, the authors inductively apply Kolb’'s (1984) Experiential Leaning Cycle model for understanding how the students transformed from the beginning to the end of the course.

Exploring the Adoption of AI Tools in Teaching by Faculty in a College of Agriculture

T. Grady Roberts — 2025-10-17

AI technologies have widespread applicability across all sectors, including education. The purpose of this research was to explore the perspectives of instructors in a college of agriculture in the USA about adopting AI tools in their teaching. We employed a multiple case-study design, conducting focus groups with three groups of instructors (non-adopters, planning to adopt, and early adopters).
Overall, we discovered five themes related to instructors’ adoption of AI in their teaching: (a) Learning about AI, (b) Problems with AI, (c) Benefits of AI, (d) Adopting AI, and (e) Teaching with AI. Four of the five were present in all three cases, with Benefits of AI not present in Case One (the non-adopter group). All three groups discussed knowledge, but had varying levels. All three groups also saw relative advantage in helping them complete job-related tasks

Hispanic and Latine Undergraduate Motivations to Pursue an Agricultural Science Degree

Leslie Vite — 2025-10-17

Hispanic and Latine students are the fastest growing demographic across colleges and universities in the United States (Cottrell, 2021). Are agricultural higher education institutions adequately supporting this demographic? Disproportionately lower graduation rates, grade point averages, and post-graduation employment would suggest administrators, faculty, and staff have room for improvement
in their efforts in supporting Hispanic and Latine students (Alcocer & Martinez, 2017). This study employed hermeneutic phenomenological methods to provide direction in supporting their Hispanic and Latine students. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico. In-vivo and axial coding efforts were employed to generate nine themes. Both motivating and demotivating factors were described by participants. Motivation stemmed from a sense of community within the college. Family, importance of education, and an internal drive were noted as motivating factors. Discrimination, both witnessed and personally experienced, led to assimilation or isolation and demotivation. Recommendations include intentional community building, inclusion of the family in the higher education institution, agricultural experiences for those with non-traditional agricultural backgrounds, representation of Hispanic and Latine agriculturalists, and discrimination response training for all students, faculty, staff, and administration. Funding for this project was provided by a Board of Governors’ Award.

Comparison of Student Learning Attitudes, Knowledge, and Outcomes Towards Honey Bees in Online or In-Person Instructional Environments

Cody Prouty — 2025-09-12

Honey bee pollination of specialty crops is essential to agriculture and yet there are almost no university instructional programs to train the next generation of beekeepers. One reason for this lack of university investment in apiculture instruction is that there may not be enough students located at universities interested in the pursuit of beekeeping education. Teaching beekeeping as an online course can increase the number of students; however, two important questions emerge from the varying methods of teaching beekeeping: (a) Are online and in-person courses similar at teaching beekeeping principles, and (b) do the varying learning design methods change student perceptions in favor of honey bees and beekeeping? We investigated these questions with the use of an online survey for students in both the 100% online Beekeeping course and the blended Practical Beekeeping course at the University of Florida during the summer semesters of 2021 and 2022. The same survey, which was optional, anonymous, and not part of the students’ grade, was completed by students in both courses. The survey included a set of ten questions, evaluated on a Likert-type scale using a static group comparison design and a set of eight multiple choice questions to test potential differences in knowledge gained. Our findings suggest the relevance and value of both in-person and online beekeeping educational courses for improving knowledge and changing attitudes toward honey bees and the recruitment of future contributors to the beekeeping industry. Herein, we suggest areas of improvement, particularly for online courses.

Transdisciplinary Experience Engages Students in Wicked Problem of Food Justice

Timothy Nichols — 2025-10-28

With roots in social and environmental justice, the food justice movement seeks to ensure that all people, regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status, have access to safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food. Achieving food justice represents one of the world’s most complex challenges and persistent wicked problems, yet opportunities to learn about the topic and its many associated issues are relatively uncommon in agricultural curricula in higher education today. A collaborative of honors and agricultural educators at 14 institutions developed a year-long sequence of immersive, transformational academic and experiential learning opportunities aimed at educating and empowering students around the “What? Why? How?” of food justice. Program components included a transdisciplinary online colloquium featuring local and national content professionals examining a wide range of food justice perspectives and case studies. Grounded in systems thinking, the colloquium also included professional development activities, leadership capacity building, ethical considerations, and historical reflection and analysis. After the colloquium, program participants completed signature food justice experiences, including virtual hackathons, local design challenges, and a field course, and then capped the experience with a culminating virtual conference. This article describes the year-long program’s important components, learning outcomes, lessons learned, and implications for collegiate agricultural educators.

Cooking Up Confidence: Integrating Cultural Recipes in Experiential Food Science Labs

Sihui Ma — 2026-03-25

FSHN 232 Science of Food Preparation teaches the application of food science principles and techniques for preparing foods. Students unfamiliar with the food applications used in the course often lacked confidence when practicing their culinary skills and had difficulty applying the food science principles. Research continues to find that students with higher self-confidence are more likely to succeed in higher education. In our research, FSHN 232 was altered to support students more inclusively by implementing culturally diverse recipes. This research aims to determine the connection between teaching diverse recipes in a food science lab course that may match students’ cultural or ethnic backgrounds and student confidence in learning. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used, collecting quantitative data and then qualitative data to further explain the quantitative results. The quantitative data showed that students' familiarity with the recipes and previous experience preparing them did not correlate with their confidence, except for one recipe (Cinnamon Rolls). The qualitative data showed that previous experience with cooking and recipes generally led to confidence. Learning is fundamentally a cultural process, and incorporating class contexts from diverse cultures and perspectives can engage students and help them learn.

“Hold Your Horses!”

Matheus Cezarotto — 2025-11-13

Effective worker training is essential for ensuring safety around horses in various contexts, including animal science courses and horse handling safety trainings. Research indicates a growing demand for digital training specifically in horse handling courses. Digital and online resources are improving access to information, opportunities to practice, and learners’ engagement. However, further research is needed to measure the impact of this technology in the context of horse safety education. This research evaluates learning outcomes of 76 college students, therapeutic riding volunteers, and community members after engaging with the Stay Safe Working With Horses interactive digital module. Using a mixed-method approach, the research combines qualitative (formative data from development) and quantitative data (retrospective pre and post) to assess the educational module's learning outcomes and the participants' experiences and interactions with the module. The results show that participants enjoyed the interactive experience module, finding it easy to navigate. Participants' perception of knowledge significantly increased after using the module for key concepts putting on the halter properly, positioning myself safely relative to the horse, making sure other horses don’t escape, keeping my horse calm, and interpreting horse behavior. Furthermore, open-ended responses indicated that visual graphics, such as illustrations and multimedia elements, crucially helped participants to better grasp concepts and procedures through examples, engaging visual cues, and content summaries.

Using Experiential Learning to Help Undergraduates Understand the Science of Science Communication

Quisto Settle — 2025-10-07

Experiential learning is a high-impact practice in education, but there are few examples of how to implement experiential learning in the undergraduate communication classroom to advance skills in science communication and expose students to scientific research. This project consisted of two implementations of an experiential learning module at two universities. These modules were embedded in existing courses and included activities such as conducting interviews with scientists and developing science communication messaging. Students completed written reflections, science writing samples, and science attitudes and beliefs questionnaires as a part of the project. Although results showed no changes in students’ writing ability, there were increases in their science literacy self-efficacy and deference to scientific authority. Additionally, reflections showed that students were learning about the scientific process. These findings suggest that this module is a viable learning activity that can be incorporated into existing courses to expose students to scientific research and build communication skills. For future implementations of similar projects, it is recommended that the project contained in this module be the major project of the course as opposed to one of several projects in the course.

From Concept to Classroom: Developing Digital Workforce Readiness Badges

Celeste Carmichael — 2025-10-02

The evolving demands of the agricultural workforce require skills beyond traditional technical expertise, including communication, teamwork, adaptability, and self-management. These employability skills are critical for fostering innovation and addressing the complexities of modern agriculture. In support of helping community college faculty to address these needs, the Agriculture
Workforce Training for Collaborative Leadership (AWT4CL) project developed digital badges for workforce readiness. The project emphasizes the importance of prior knowledge activation and engaging tools to support skill development, drawing from frameworks like collaborative leadership, experiential learning, and gamification. As part of the formative evaluation process, community college faculty members described their experiences and observations of their students. Early discussions with stakeholders noted a
need to help students understand the link between classroom content, co-curricular experiences, and employability skills. The AWT4CL team created digital badges focused on specific employability skills to help students recognize, develop, and demonstrate critical workforce competencies. This paper documents the development process, including stakeholder engagement and formative program evaluation methods that informed the iterative design of the badges.

Student-reported experience of using virtual reality to tour a livestock farm

Lauren Underwood — 2025-09-30

Gaining adequate on-farm experience can be difficult for students due to limited resources, time, and strict biosecurity protocols. This study assessed university student perceptions of the usability of a virtual reality (VR) farm tour focused on swine or dairy farming. Seventy-one participants experienced a VR farm tour. After completing the tour, students were asked about their enjoyment and the usability of the VR farm experience. Students with prior VR experience found the tours to be more enjoyable (P = 0.01), felt the tour was a good supplement to a real farm visit (P = 0.01), and were more likely to gain new knowledge after undergoing the tour (P = 0.01) compared to students with only previous augmented realilty (AR) experience. Thematic analysis identified themes in student responses including recommendations for farm welfare improvements and the potential benefits of VR for various audiences. Fifty-one students could suggest an opportunity to improve farm welfare after completing a VR tour. Most users (43 responses) recommended VR tours for student use. Overall, previous experience with VR matters when considering implementation in the classroom. Additionally, students found the VR tours to be moderately useful in teaching animal welfare. Further research is needed to address technological issues and explore the implementation of VR in classrooms.

Evaluating student stress in an animal science course with unsupervised livestock experience

Drew Lugar — 2025-04-18

In recent years, Animal Science demographics have been shifting from many students having an abundance of animal experience towards a majority of students having little to no prior animal experience. It’s important to note this demographic shift and to consider how this shift could be impacting student mental health. Throughout a semester long parturition management course with unsupervised animal experiences, physiological and psychological stress data were collected along with student demographic data and prior animal experience levels. Caucasian participants were more psychologically stressed than non-Caucasian participants (P = 0.04). Participants with beginner level animal experience tended to have higher stress levels than participants with mid-level animal experience (P = 0.08). However, physiological stress results showed no differences among demographic variables nor prior animal experience. Future studies should investigate student stress in introductory animal courses to better understand their initial stress when working with animals at the collegiate level.

Evaluating student stress in relation to a short-term study abroad program in animal science

Jayden Lawrence — 2025-08-19

While study abroad programs provide many benefits for participants, they can be very intimidating and stress-inducing for individuals that choose to participate. This study aimed to quantify student physiological and psychological stress surrounding a short-term study abroad program. By utilizing a modified Perceived Stress Survey (PSS) and a Stress Index that is derived from heart rate variability measurements, results have shown how student demographics and program adjustments can impact student stress levels. The results show that Caucasian participants had higher PSS scores than non-Caucasian participants (P < 0.01). Participants also had higher PSS scores prior to leaving than while abroad (P < 0.01). However, participants were more physiologically stressed while they were abroad than prior to leaving (P = 0.01). Following a change in the program’s curriculum, there was also a decrease in psychological stress between participants in this study and a preliminary study conducted the year prior.

Fostering Professional Capital in a Faculty Learning Community by Exploring Cooperatiove Learning Strategies to Teach Group/Teamwork Skills in a college of Agriculture at Clemson University

Catherine A. DiBenedetto — 2025-11-24

Research-based practices and strategies to help both faculty and students become more successful through delivery and participation in teamwork, an important 21st century employability skill, was the topic for developing a Faculty Learning Community (FLC). The FLC set out to foster professional capital and attracted six participants to engage in monthly FLC meetings and included a variety of teaching faculty in the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Life Sciences (CAFLS) at Clemson University. FLC leaders consulted with a STEM education research expert specializing in faculty professional development and together developed a strategy for qualitative data collection including creating a participant reflection protocol and plan to use group discussion at each meeting. Findings revealed participants felt more confident identifying assignments to meet the criteria for group/teamwork. Some participants indicated they needed more help learning best practices for assessing group/teamwork assignments, while others indicated they gained more tangible examples to utilize from hearing other FLC participants’ strategies. Participants more clearly stated connections between group/teamwork and career readiness after participation in the FLC. We recommend providing instructors with research-based tools such as peer assessment instruments, team charter documents, and other resources to foster professional capital and build selfefficacy to develop assignments that are appropriate when using cooperative learning as the method of instruction.

Exploring Peer Mentors’ Roles in a College Student Transition Mentoring Program

Joseph Cho — 2025-06-04

Peer mentoring programs are common throughout the US in supporting college students who are transitioning to a new campus, yet most studies on peer mentoring have described who peer mentors are rather than capturing what the peer mentors’ role is or tasks that they engage in during peer mentoring. The purpose of this case study was to explore peer mentors’ roles in a mentoring program supporting students in an agricultural sciences college at The Pennsylvania State University. This research used six-phase thematic analysis. A total of six female peer mentors participated in the research, and four primary roles being filled by peer mentors were identified: active communication, information support, safe space, and context awareness. The findings align with Schlossberg’s (1981) transition theory and provide scholars and practitioners with a deeper understanding of peer mentoring to provide a possible road map for purposeful professional development of peer mentors targeting the roles they might be asked to fill as peer mentors.

Science Communication Training, Skills, and Importance Among Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Scientists

Rebecca Swenson — 2025-10-28

Science communication practice aligns well with land-grant missions, can increase public understanding of science disciplines and institutional work, and has the potential to be a key part of agricultural, food, and environmental science programs. The purpose of this study is to explore perceptions of science communication’s importance, skill needs, and training interests among faculty and graduate students in agricultural, food, and environmental science disciplines at land-grant institutions. Survey participants describe time currently spent, time desired, perceived costs, and potential motivations for initiating or devoting ongoing time to science communication training and practice. Potential skills that are valuable to include in science communicating curriculum and training workshops are shared. The study identifies key similarities and differences between students and faculty participants and offers potential suggestions for how to approach science communication skill development within the agricultural, food, and environmental sciences.

Effect of Animal Science Lecture Modality on Course Content Mastery

Whitney Crossland — 2025-10-17

Many education disciplines have indicated that academic performance of student-centered online learning can be just as effective as face-to-face (F2F) learning. We hypothesized that some animal science (ANSC) courses could increase their enrollment by offering online lecture sections. However, the equitability of student outcomes between modalities and majors was questioned. Therefore,
the objective was to evaluate the student academic performance of a core ANSC course offered both online and F2F across several terms. The Principles of Nutrition course in the Animal and Food Sciences Department was selected for analysis. Course content, exams, and instructor were not changed for 9 semesters. Academic performance was measured as the mean percentage of four formal exams for each term, with 609 data points across 5 online sections (n= 207) and 5 F2F sections (n = 402). Academic performance
was analyzed using nonparametric evaluation of means through Kruskal-Wallis test for the effect of modality (F2F or online) and major (ANSC or non-ANSC). Online students had greater academic performance than F2F students (P = 0.025). Major did not affect academic performance in this course (P = 0.205). In conclusion, there may be some flexibility in the modality of animal science course offerings.

Does Sense of Belonging Predict Student Retention in a College of Agriculture?

Christopher M. Estepp — 2025-05-08

To meet the increasing demand for a highly qualified workforce, colleges of agriculture have been tasked with increasing the supply of graduates. This can be accomplished by increasing the retention of agricultural college students from freshman year to graduation. Many factors contributing to retention have been identified including precollegiate and collegiate experiences, students’ sense of belonging while in college, and various personal characteristics. Using Model of College Students’ Sense of Belonging and the Collegiate Outcomes Model, this study investigated the relationship between freshmen to sophomore retention, students’ perceived sense of belonging, students’ precollegiate and collegiate experiences, and sociodemographic variables in a college of agriculture. Data from 233 freshman students were collected and matched a year later with sophomore retention data. For predicting retention at the [University], high school GPA was the only significant predictor of retention. On the college level, athletic event attendance, major within the college, and intent to switch to a major outside of the [College] were significant predictors of retention. Recommendations included identifying why students with Human Environmental Sciences majors are more likely to leave the college, improving college events to emphasize retention, and conducting a follow up study with students who changed to a major outside [College] but remained at [University] to identify reasons for the move.

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IMPROVES EDUCATION

Alexis Clark — 2026-02-20

We aimed to assess the effectiveness of the cooperative learning technique Think-Pair-Share (TPS) in enhancing student learning and impacting critical thinking skills. A total of 110 animal science students in the domestic animal behavior course participated in a TPS exercise utilizing an I-Clicker audience response system. The exercise involved a 5-minute video demonstrating faulty associative learning techniques in animal training. Initially, students answered a single multiple-choice question (MCQ) to identify the training technique and submitted a written evaluation at the exercise's conclusion. MCQ was repeated after each 5-minute stage of the TPS exercise, and responses were recorded via I-Clicker. The impact of peer interaction on student competency was assessed through think-and-pair responses, while class discussion effects were evaluated from pair-to-share responses. Written responses were collected and compared with the previous year's students, who received the same material from the instructor without TPS implementation. Only 64% answered correctly post-"Think," increasing to 87% post-"Pair" (P<0.001) and reaching 99% post-"Share." Notably, 13% answered incorrectly twice after peer discussion, while 31% switched from incorrect to correct (P<0.001). About 96.4% successfully critiqued the training session, a significant improvement from 62% the previous year (P<0.001). In-class TPS interaction significantly enhanced student learning and critical thinking skills.

Spartans Mentoring Spartans: Experiences from a Postsecondary Mentor Education Program

Phillip Warsaw — 2025-09-30

Previous scholarship has established peer mentoring as a valuable support mechanism for students, particularly underclassmen and underrepresented and underserved students. These benefits were amplified during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited traditional avenues of support at a time of heightened precarity among enrolled students. However, while peer mentoring has an established research base stating its benefits, scholars have also noted the potential limitations of this model, most notably interpersonal challenges and power dynamics which might arise among peers. Further, there remains a need for empirical studies on efficacious approaches for training potential mentors to navigate these dynamics. To that end, the current study examined the efficacy of a postsecondary mentor education program developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using post-experience interviews, students’ perceptions of the program, willingness to engage in future mentoring relationships, and self-reported capabilities to serve as an effective mentor were assessed. The findings contribute to the existing literature suggesting the importance of effective preparation of potential mentors in a peer-mentoring context as a pre-condition for positive outcomes for both mentor and mentees. Recommendations include future scholarship exploring outcomes for mentees in peer-mentoring relationships with mentors who have received prior training, as well as additional resources to expand the implementation of mentor education programs at other institutions.

An Examination of the Effectiveness of an Institutional Intervention to Improve Retention at an Agricultural College

Jenny E. Bennett — 2025-05-16

Historically, agricultural colleges have primarily attracted students with prior experience in agriculture. However, there is a growing trend of students enrolling without such backgrounds. Recent research emphasizes the need for agricultural colleges to adopt innovative strategies that address the evolving needs of their student body, fostering both retention and academic success. This study assessed the impacts of a college initiative on first to second-year student retention within an agricultural college. Conducted at Colorado State University, a non-experimental crosssectional predictive design was employed to investigate key variables such as first year experience course enrollment, first-term GPA, Colorado residency, gender, race, and ethnicity. The results revealed a significant predictive retention rate model (X2 (4) =195.625, p<0.001) for students who were enrolled in the first-year experience course (p=.031). Successfully retained students also had GPAs higher than 2.5 (p<0.001) and had in-state residency status (p=0.004). The findings emphasize the importance of targeted interventions, like first-year agricultural experience courses, in fostering student success and retention within agricultural colleges. This research contributes valuable insights for students and institutions, emphasizing the need to invest in strategies that ensure modern agricultural students' success in their academic environment, therebyfostering a positive impact on the future agricultural workforce.

Influence of group inquiry-based learning experimentation on student interest, experience, and motivation in an introductory animal agriculture course

Elizabeth Karcher — 2025-07-01

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is an active learning strategy which poses questions to students and supplies them with materials and resources to solve it at their own learning pace. This creates a self-driven atmosphere which promotes collaboration, creativity, cognitive processing, and a curiosity to learn. Three levels of IBL were implemented in an introductory animal science laboratory course across four periods during the Fall of 2022. Students (n=176) were enrolled in one of five laboratory sessions and then randomly placed into one of six groups. In each session, students engaged in a 45-minute collaborative and authentic IBL case scenario which was created to mimic one of the three levels of IBL or a control. The control simulated a teacher-centered lecture. After each period, half of the students self-reported their situational interest and half reported their perception of active learning. Students in the control group reported less orientation to learn, readiness to learn, cognitive processing, and motivational orientation than in any level of IBL. Students reported different challenges, novelty, and attention demand in certain levels of IBL when compared to traditional lectures. In conclusion, IBL levels offer numerous benefits to students’ experiences such as increased creativity, motivation, interest, and autonomy.

Examining a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience in a Food Systems Course

Blake Colclasure — 2025-05-14

Recent reforms in undergraduate education have encouraged the use of high-impact and student-centered approaches to teaching and learning over teacher-directed approaches. The use of Undergraduate Research Experiences (UREs) has gained in popularity and research has indicated many positive learning outcomes associated with their use. However, prior research has also suggested unequal student access to these opportunities. One solution to provide broad access to UREs is through the use of Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) within traditional academic courses. This paper provides an example of a semester-long CURE within a food systems course. Students’ perspectives toward the structure of the CURE and impacts from participating in the CURE were explored through a qualitative study. A focus group was implemented with students at the end of the course and data were analyzed using a multi-cycle coding method. Three themes were identified: (1) structured choice with mentorship; (2) research challenges; and (3) learning outcomes. Findings from this case study support the use of CUREs in agricultural systems courses to foster students’ interest, motivation, and development of technical and soft skills.

Being Black, Teaching Black: Black Women Reflect on Teaching Agricultural Diversity Courses

Torrie A. Cropps — 2025-10-07

According to The National Research Council, there is an increased need for Agricultural and Life Sciences (AgLS) to focus on producing a “globally competent” workforce that is sufficiently able to interact with diverse populations and solve the 21st century grand challenges by increasing the numbers of marginalized people in AgLS. The purpose of this study is to illuminate the experiences of Black women graduate instructors as they developed curriculum and taught diversity courses in agricultural education departments at Historically White Institutions. This study is theoretically grounded in Black Feminist Thought and employs duoethnography as the methodology. We found three themes across our experiences: (1) Broadening Perspectives in Agriculture, (2) The Heavy Duality of Representing Blackness and Diversity, and (3) Empowerment and Affirmation. Our study supports and exemplifies the value of the experiences and feelings of Black women in agricultural education, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and could provide insight toward helping understand their lack of representation.

Developing Curricular Consensus for Land-Grant Academic Leadership Development Programs: A Delphi Study

Clay Hurdle — 2025-09-30

To face the challenges that beset land-grant universities in the 21^st Century, leadership development programs exist to prepare academics for university administration. However, a small percentage of administrators participates in these programs. Furthermore, many academic leaders begin their roles feeling unprepared for the challenges therein. This study sought to attain consensus regarding the educational inputs and outcomes for academic leadership development programs for emerging leaders within the land-grant university system. Expert opinion was solicited through a Delphi study of program directors and educators for two national, land-grant academic leadership development programs. Participants outlined the theories, paradigms, philosophies, and outcomes they felt are important for academic leadership development programs, resulting in 122 items. Of these, 84 items achieved consensus. Highlights included participants valuing adaptive, authentic, transformational, and values-based leadership concepts in academic leadership development curricula. Additionally, learning outcomes for these programs should include a sense of purpose, critical thinking skills, cultural intelligence, design thinking skills, and emotional intelligence. These findings are useful to leadership educators as they prepare emerging leaders across the three land-grant mission areas. Additionally, this study’s results could be of use in developing a greater awareness for the types of opportunities available to emerging leaders in the land-grant system.

Perceived Effectiveness of Feedback Strategies used By Junior Secondary School Agriculture Teachers

Alfred Tsikati — 2025-03-04

One of the major tasks of an effective teacher is the provision of specific and timely feedback to students. Unfortunately, there is aucity of studies on the effectiveness of feedback strategies used by agriculture teachers. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to determine the perceived effectiveness of feedback strategies used by Junior Secondary School Agriculture teachers. Specifically, the study sought to identify perceived feedback strategies, challenges encountered, and perceived effectiveness of the feedback strategies used by agriculture teachers. The study targeted Junior Secondary School Agriculture Teachers in Eswatini (n=180). A descriptive survey, employing a questionnaire in data collection was used. The questionnaire was validated by three experts from the Department of Agricultural Education and Extension at the University of Eswatini. Inter-item reliability was established using Cronbach’s Alpha and was .80. Means, standard deviations, frequencies and percentages were used in data analysis. The findings of the study revealed that written feedback was the prominent feedback strategy used (M=5.21, SD=0.76); yet verbal feedback was considered the most effective strategy (M=5.11, SD=0.81). Therefore, the study concluded that verbal feedback is the most effective strategy. The study recommended that teachers should consider using verbal feedback more than written feedback as it is the most effective strategy. however, it was noted that teachers should consider giving feedback using virtual approaches as the world is migrating to online learning.

Impact of Concurrent Enrollment in Animal Reproduction Laboratory and Lecture Courses

Karol Fike — 2025-07-25

Our study investigated the potential impacts of concurrent enrollment of undergraduate students in lecture and laboratory animal reproduction courses on final course percentages. Student learning outcomes and structure of the laboratory course were designed to provide hands-on learning opportunities, which coincided with concepts discussed in lecture. A total of 307 students were included in the analysis. Students concurrently enrolled in laboratory and lecture had a greater (P<0.001) final course percentage in the lecture compared with those enrolled in lecture alone. Students in the science degree option had a greater (P<0.03) final lecture course percentage compared with those in the production degree option, and juniors had a greater (P=0.05) final course percentage when compared with sophomores. At the end of the semester, students were surveyed about the perceived value of the laboratory course on their learning. Among students enrolled in laboratory sections, 98.4% indicated the hands-on activities improved their knowledge of course concepts in lecture. These student beliefs are supported by our results, which suggest that taking the laboratory and lecture together improves student final course percentages and that students value the hands-on learning opportunities provided in laboratory sections.

“I eat less because I do not have consistent access to food, and this decreases my quality of life”: How Does Food Access and Quality of Life Interact with One Another for College of Agriculture and Life Science Students

Lana Petrie — 2025-10-10

Food access is a multidimensional issue that involves various factors such as accessibility, availability, affordability, and awareness. Inadequate access to food can significantly impact one's Quality of Life (QoL), especially for college students who face unique challenges. This qualitative study aimed to explore the influence of food access factors on the QoL of college students, with a specific focus on individuals in the College of Agriculture at Virginia Tech. The study revealed that some students were unaware of the available resources and programs. Furthermore, physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environmental factors impacted food access and perceived QoL. The findings of this study provide valuable insights that can help inform initiatives to support college students experiencing food access problems and promote a more equitable food access system within higher education.