This NASA video explores the relationship between climate and agriculture. The video discusses the variability of climate impacts in different regions, as well as the effects of population growth and higher demands for food in areas that already struggle to supply food for the people. The video highlights the need for accurate, continuous, and accessible data and computer models from NASA satellites to track and predict the challenges farmers face as they adjust to a changing climate.

Units 3 and 4 of this module explored how water resources are used for agriculture in the United States and how this can vary depending on location. In Unit 5, students explore how agricultural practices can affect the water quality in streams, rivers, lakes, and coastal areas. Important concepts in this unit include processes that transport suspended material (e.g., sediment) and dissolved material (e.g., nutrients) away from crop fields and into regional water bodies. The effects of dissolved nutrients on the health of the water ecosystems will be presented with examples of hypoxic zones in coastal areas and lake eutrophication. This last unit is well-suited to foster student advancement in systems thinking.

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Thinking about how we get Calories from the land limits human population densities. Created by Sal Khan.

Nebraska Agriculture in the Classroom is pleased to provide seventh – ninth grade students enrolled in an Introduction to Agriculture course in agricultural education with Discover Nebraska: Agriculture Edition. This resource aligns with Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resource Standards (AFNR).

Discover Nebraska: Agriculture Edition will spark conversation, build knowledge, and expose students to agriculture in Nebraska. This resource will stimulate students to explore and learn more about the news and to pay attention to the news they see and hear outside of school. Relevant and accurate information is presented in a weekly reader style magazine to build agricultural literacy – awareness, knowledge, and appreciation – by providing the first of its kind agricultural literacy resource to all agricultural education programs in Nebraska.

Each reader is accompanied by more than sixty pages of Teacher’s Guides broken into Bell Ringers, Discussion Prompts, and Lab Activities. These guides allow learning to take place for more than one class period as educators are encouraged to use each reader per quarter.

This introductory lesson presents an overview of the various Stationary power tools used in the agricultural mechanics industry.  Students will identify and demonstrate precautionary safety practices while using Stationary power tools after correctly identifying and classifying power tools.

For a given region, students will use what they have learned about the interdisciplinary problem of soil sustainability to make recommendations for agricultural practices in response to potential changes in climate. Students will present their findings in a fact sheet that describes best practices for mitigating potential changes while remaining sensitive to stakeholder concerns and feasibility. Finally, students will complete a final personal reflection on their own learning.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This course is designed to strengthen students' personal and group leadership skills. Topics such as public speaking, effective communication, human relations, parliamentary law, and group dynamics are covered. Also covered is the development of Programs of Activity, and Service-Learning projects, including student development, chapter development, and community development. ** References to Common Core Standards are included as the first slide in each lesson's PowerPoint**

The various infographics show one application of marketing and communications on the topic of agriculture. Here, the United States Department of Agriculture compiled data and designed it graphically to share about agriculture, its impacts on communities, and consumer education.

This kit explores how sustainability has been presented in the media with a particular focus on issues related to food, water and agriculture. Each of the 19 lessons integrates media literacy and critical thinking into lessons about different aspect of sustainability. Constant themes throughout the kit include social justice, climate change, energy, economics and unintended consequences.

Construction of Simple Sentences using agricultural vocabulary and images to create simple sentences.  

The Paleolithic and Neolithic eras of the Stone Age. Created by Sal Khan.

Thinking about how we get Calories from the land limits human population densities. Created by Sal Khan.

Poster showing a forester holding a pike and an axe, and a small night scene of logging on a river. Title from item.

GoPro Challenge submission: In an extension of the Illinois Pathways Initiative, Williamsfield Schools recently formed a partnership with the government of Liberia to collaboratively produce “international agricultural curriculum units”. A delegation from Illinois (accompanied by Williamsfield Schools faculty member Mr. Kent Rigg) is currently wrapping up a logistical site visit to Liberia in preparation for program launch. Equipment secured through The Global Agriculture & Cultural Appreciation Project, as well as the utilization of Open Author & OERCommons, will give students and staff in rural Illinois and Africa access to the best tools in the industry to collaboratively curate and openly share quality learning resources.

Soil quality is an important aspect of growing food. In this storyline, students will discover what soil is made of and how carbon is an important part of soil quality as well as how carbon moves between plants, soil, and air. Students will learn how Indigenous people used practices such as composting. Finally, students will explore what regenerative agriculture practices are and how they can be a solution to how the climate is changing over time.  

This lesson prevents an overview of the sources, groups, and types of pollutants affecting the environment. In addition, learners will take an active part in being the “pollution solution” rather than the problem.

This lesson presents an overview of the Food Science Industry.  Learners will learn about proper nutrition, create informational flyers on food-borne pathogenic organisms, and create their very own food product label.

The Art and Science of Teaching Agriculture: Four Keys to Dynamic Learning is a 240-page methods of teaching book. Specifically, it is a collection of thoughts, best practices, strategies, and techniques for planning, delivering, and assessing teaching and learning. This resource is assembled from among the best teaching professors in agricultural communication, education, and leadership in America. The authors offer the opportunity to build confidence in planning, delivering, and assessing the depths of the variables inherent in learning for secondary and postsecondary educators in both formal and nonformal educational environments.

You will quickly grasp the four fundamental keys of solid, basic, time-tested formal and nonformal teaching: Laying the Foundation, Connecting with Students, Designing Instruction, and Applying Learning. These keys are shared with you through the unique voices of the authors to provide a multiperspective approach to teaching.

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How to access this book
The main landing page for this book is https://doi.org/10.21061/teachagriculture.
The open textbook is freely available online in multiple formats, including: PDF, ePub, and Pressbooks (https://pressbooks.lib.vt.edu/teachagriculture)
A paperback print version (in color) is available for order here: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Teaching-Agriculture-Learning/dp/1957213663.

ISBNs
ISBN (PDF): 978-1-957213-71-2
ISBN (Pressbooks): 978-1-957213-72-9
ISBN (EPUB): 978-1-957213-70-5
ISBN (print): 978-1-957213-66-8

Table of contents
The Discipline of Agricultural Education
Psychology of Learning
Principles of Teaching and Learning
Learning as Problem Solving
Inclusive Teaching
Dynamics of Teaching
Planning for Effective Instruction
Delivering Content With Technology
Assessing Agricultural Education
Applied Leadership Development through FFA
Supervised Agricultural Experiences
Effective Use of the Agriculture Laboratory Environment to Support Student Learning

Suggested citation
Whittington, M. Susie, Rick Rudd, and Jack Elliot, ed. (2023). The Art and Science of Teaching Agriculture: Four Keys to Dynamic Learning. Blacksburg: Virginia Tech Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education. https://doi.org/10.21061/teachagriculture. Licensed with CC BY NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.en).

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Accessibility
Virginia Tech is committed to making its publications accessible in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The Open Education Initiative is committed to continuous improvement regarding accessibility. The text, images, headings, and links in the PDF and HTML versions of this text are tagged structurally and include alternative text, which allows for machine readability. Please contact openeducation@vt.edu if you are a person with a disability and have suggestions to make this book more accessible.

Illustration and cover design: Kindred Grey

This 7-minute video looks at the introduction of agriculture into human prehistory. [Biology playlist: Lesson 66 of 71]

Students begin to learn what being a steward is in Wyoming. Throughout the course of the unit, students will develop this idea of stewardship.