Agriculture

 

 

Agricultural Education prepares students for

successful careers, builds awareness and

develops leadership for the food, fiber and

natural resource systems.

Classroom instruction, laboratory experiences

and work based learning experience programs

provide personal growth based on real life

application of problem solving and critical

thinking skills.

 

Purpose:

Agricultural Education is composed of three

distinct, inter-related components: Classroom

& Laboratory Instruction; Supervised

Agricultural Experience; FFA Student

Organization.  In order for a program to be

most effective, all three components must be

in place and active. 

Classroom & Laboratory Instruction:

In the classroom, students are introduced to

concepts and theories dealing with a wide

range of agricultural topics, based on state

academic and occupational standards.  Classroom instruction is followed by laboratory instruction, where the concepts and theories can be carried through to their “real world” applications.  Students “learn by doing” through “hands-on” practice.  This results in applied, contextual learning for the student.

 

Supervised Agricultural Experience: Skills learned through classroom and laboratory instruction are further developed and reinforced through the work based learning component of the program, known as Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE).  Students plan, carry out and keep records on their SAE’s.  This component allows the student to work and learn in a real-world setting, outside the regular school day.  The format of the SAE includes the following:

• Entrepreneurial Projects

• Placement in Agricultural Related Business

• Agriscience Research

• Ag Related Service Learning

• School Based Enterprises (beyond the normal school day)

• Home Improvement

 

FFA Student Organization: The co-curricular student organization, FFA, provides an avenue for students to “develop premier leadership, personal growth and career success, through agricultural education”*.  FFA offers students many ways to develop and grow as a person.  It provides incentive for improved student performance through its awards programs, such as Proficiency Awards (directly related to SAE), Career Development Events (competitive events related to SAE and classroom/laboratory instruction), Scholarship Programs (directly related to all three components), Leadership Training Activities (directly related to all three components) and many others.

 

Step 1: Principles of Agriculture Science & Technology