Agricultural Education

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The Division of Agricultural Education is dedicated to serving the needs of all students and agricultural professionals through a dynamic and comprehensive program of rural leadership, technological advancement, and proven scientific and educational practices. The program is grounded in basic and applied research aimed at improving professional and technical skills in the realm of Montana agriculture.

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Differences in Critical Thinking Ability According to College Entry Pathway
(2018-06) Perry, Dustin K.; Paulsen, Thomas H.; Retallick, Michael S.
The purpose of this study was to determine if entry pathway-direct from high school versus transfer from community college-influenced the critical thinking abilities of agricultural education students. Seventy-five senior-level agriculture undergraduate students completed a critical thinking assessment test. Although students entering the four-year university directly from high school had statistically significant higher ACT scores and semester GPA\'s (which are known predictors of critical thinking ability), there were no statistically significant differences in critical thinking abilities between the two groups. When comparing students\' performance to national norms, regardless of entry pathway, students scored statistically lower than national norm data in the skill areas of identifying additional information needed to evaluate a hypothesis and providing relevant interpretations for a specific set of results. Further, agricultural education transfer students were shown to have a greater ability to think creatively than students who entered the four-year university directly from high school. Recognizing the importance of creative thinking to student success and overall critical thinking skill, curriculum and instructional development within agricultural education should focus on intentionally integrating creative and critical thinking.
Effectiveness of Utilizing an Evidence Based Safety Curriculum to Increase Student Knowledge
(American Association for Agricultural Education, 2020-01) Perry, Dustin K.; Smalley, Scott W.; Pate, Michael L.
The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of utilizing an evidence based, “Train the Trainer” approach to increase the safety knowledge and awareness of secondary students. Participating teachers attended a 10-hour,inquiry-basedsummer training workshop utilizing National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operations Program (NSTMOP) materials focusing on roll-overprotection structures, mini-tilt table construction, and on-farm tractor risk assessments. Teachers incorporated workshop lessons into existing curricula. Students completed pretests prior to instruction and posttests after instructional units were delivered. A total of 118 students provided completed pre-and posttests, with most students identifying as male and more than half enrolled in ninth grade.Wilcoxon Sign-Rank test showed students’ posttests were statistically significantly (Z =-5.22, p < .001)higher than pre-tests. Student performance in this study suggests the Fair Labor Standards Act exemption provided for youth between the ages of 14 and 15 years old who have completed specific safety training needs to be revisited. Additionally, increasing the age restriction for hazardous occupations in agriculture would be consistent with other industries. In order for students to learn agricultural safety in the classroom setting, teachers participating in this study may consider preparation and continuing education programs that incorporate more production-based experiences focused on safety.
In-Service Agricultural Mechanics Needs of Montana Mid-Career Agricultural Educators
(American Association for Agricultural Education, 2021-11) Toft, Joshua T.; Perry, Dustin K.; Falk, Jeremy M.
Agricultural mechanics—a pillar of many secondary agricultural education programs—is a dynamic, constantly changing field, requiring educators to continually evolve their programs to maintain relevance. This study explored the in-service agricultural mechanics needs of Montana mid-career agricultural educators. We used mean weighted discrepancy scores and descriptive measures to analyze demographics and perceived levels of importance and competency to teach agricultural mechanics content areas. The areas of highest perceived importance of teaching were welding safety, mechanical safety, and construction and shop safety. The areas that educators felt least competent to teach were differential leveling, profile leveling, and cleaning motors. Mean weight discrepancy scores revealed the greatest discrepancies between importance and competence to teach in the areas of electrical safety, computer aided design, and differential leveling. Agricultural educator associations and industry experts should collaborate with advisory groups, local businesses, and organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce to determine the relevance of low-ranking content areas and create professional development opportunities for educators in these areas.
Assessing Youth Safety Knowledge with the Agricultural Experience Tracker (AET)
(American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, 2022-01) Smalley, Scott W.; Perry, Dustin K.; Shultz, Alyx; Lawver, Rebecca G.; Pate, Michael Lynn; Hanagriff, Roger; Ewell, Clay
The purpose of this study was to assess the safety knowledge of youth in high school agricultural education. The target population consisted of youth ages 14 to 18 who were enrolled in school-based agricultural education (SBAE) programs that used the Agricultural Experience Tracker (AET) safety knowledge assessment between May 2019 and June 2020 (N = 1,451). The safety knowledge questions were randomly generated from the curriculum resources of the National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program (NSTMOP). The test consisted of 50 multiple-choice questions, with one point awarded for each correct answer, and covered topics such as safety basics, agricultural hazards, tractors, connecting and using implements with tractors, and materials handling. The majority of students were male (n = 847, 58.4%). The highest proportion of students were enrolled in the 11th grade at the time of the test. Most respondents indicated that they were from a rural area (52.0%). Test scores for the 1,451 students ranged from a minimum of 4% to a maximum of 98%. Within each independent variable, test scores averaged in the low 60s, with the exception of test scores for students in 9th grade, which averaged 56.43%. Research and continuing education are needed to influence the behavior of young workers in agricultural settings.
Kinematic-Based Multi-Objective Design Optimization of a Grapevine Pruning Robotic Manipulator
(MDPI AG, 2022-07) Molaei, Faezeh; Ghatrehsamani, Shirin
Annual cane pruning of grape vineyards is a time-consuming and labor-intensive job, but no mechanized or automatic way has been developed to do it yet. Robotic pruning can be a perfect alternative to human labor. This article proposes a systematic seven-stage procedure to design a kinematically optimized manipulator, named ‘Prubot’, to manage vineyards’ cane pruning. The manipulator structure was chosen, resulting in a 7R (Revolute) manipulator with a spherical shoulder and wrist. To obtain the design constraints, the manipulator task space was modeled. The robot’s second and third link lengths were determined by optimizing the global translational version of the measure of manipulability and the measure of isotropy of the manipulator arm section. Finally, simulations confirmed the appropriateness of the manipulator workspace. Furthermore, sampling-based path planning simulations were carried out to evaluate the manipulator’s kinematic performance. Results illustrated the impressive kinematic performance of the robot in terms of path planning success rate (≅100%). The simulations also suggest that among the eight single-query sampling-based path planning algorithms used in the simulations, Lazy RRT and KPIECE are the best (≤5 s & ~100%) and worst (≥5 s &≤25%) path planning algorithms for such a robot in terms of computation time and success rate, respectively. The procedure proposed in this paper offers a foundation for the kinematic and task-based design of a cane pruning manipulator. It could be promisingly used for designing similar agricultural manipulators.
Agricultural Machinery Safety Behavior Among Youth
(American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, 2023-01) Pate, Michael L.; Lawver, Rebecca G.; Perry, Dustin K.; Smalley, Scott W.; Wille, Celina; Edgar, Don; Hafer, Jim; Young, Marvin
The Supervised Agricultural Experience Safety Award program was launched with Montana, South Dakota, and Utah agriculture teachers. A combination of video conferencing and in-person training workshops were offered to school-based agriculture teachers in Montana, South Dakota, and Utah. Zoom webinar workshops were held with teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The five annual training topics were Year 1) Tractor/Equipment Roll over hazards, Year 2) ATV/UTV operation hazards, Year 3) Tractor/Equipment Operation Hazards, Year 4) PTO/Entanglement hazards, and Year 5) agricultural machinery transport hazards associated with use on public roadways. To assess the influence of agricultural machinery safety training on students’ student work-based, journal reflections were collected through the Agricultural Experience Tracker to qualitatively describe students’ production-based agricultural experiences as coded by NASS Commodity codes, describe students’ safety reporting using Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) journal entries, and quantify teachers’ workshop participation as related to student safety reporting. A total of 2215 journal entries were reviewed from Montana, Utah, and South Dakota. A total of 905 journal entries were associated with a teacher participating in the training program. Most student journal entries focused on machinery operations. A total of 80 journal entries specifically reported safety as the main topic. A total of 204 journal entries reported the use of tractors. A total of 82 entries (25.1%) noted Hay production as the agricultural production work experience. The results provide recommendations for developing an application model for translation using an FFA Award structure.
Safety in Flight Training - An Analysis of the NTSB Data 2014-2018
(ERAU Hunt Library - DIGITAL COMMONS JOURNALS, 2023-01) Walach, Michael F
There were 7,500 safety events in the NTSB data sets from 2013-2018. These events were analyzed using Chi-square, Cramer’s V, and the odds ratio. Major findings in the study determined that while pilots crash aircraft for the same reasons whether they are in a training environment or not, student pilots are typically less likely to be killed, or seriously injured. The aircraft that student pilots fly however, do not share the same relative safety in some event types. Students destroy and substantially damage more aircraft than their non-training counterparts in abnormal runway contact events. The top five causes of safety events for all pilots are loss of control in flight, system component failure of the power plant, abnormal runway contact, fuel related issues, and loss of control on the ground. While the data analyzed in this study cannot explain the causation of these findings, they set the stage for further study of training accidents to determine possible explanations of these differences. Building on findings in similar studies, this researcher suggests that annual flight reviews for general aviation pilots contain more scenario-based simulation under real flight conditions as is found in the training for part 121 operators. It is theorized that some of the safety found in the training environment may come not just from the supervision of the flight instructor, but also from the repeated practice and attention to safety procedures. General aviation has been plagued with a poor safety record for a long time with little to no progress in reducing safety events, and more importantly, fatalities. It is the hope of this researcher that findings from this study may help others to dig deeper into some of these issues and find areas of focus that may help reduce the risk of injury or death for general aviation pilots.
Interactions and Regulatory Functions of Phenolics in Soil-Plant-Climate Nexus
(MDPI, 2023-01) Misra, Deblina; Dutta, Writupana; Jha, Gaurav; Ray, Puja
Phenols are major compounds produced by plant species as a peripheral stimulus or as a regulatory defense mechanism under different environmental biotic stresses. These secondary metabolites are generated from shikimic and acetic acid metabolic pathways. The aromatic benzene ring compound plays an important role in plant development, especially in the defense forefront. They provide structural integrity and support to the plants. Phenolic phytoalexins released by pathogen/arthropod-attacked or wounded plants nullify or repel organisms for the advantage of the host. The allelopathic potential of phenolic compounds is observed in both natural and managed ecosystems. The global impacts of climatic variabilities such as drought, increased carbon dioxide, or greenhouse gas emissions alter the quantitative response of plant phenols. This review primarily discusses the different aspects of phenolic interactions concerning health, antioxidant properties, and insect-plant interaction as a nexus of soil and plant relations in response to variable climatic conditions.
Impact of sequential professional development of school-based agricultural education teachers: In-service implications for safety training
(American Association for Agricultural Education, 2024-03) Lawver, Rebecca; Smalley, Scott; Perry, Dustin; Pate, Michael L.
Vocational and technical education programs continue to play a pivotal role in developing workers’ occupational safety and health skills in all industries. The Agricultural Safety Education Initiative was first conducted in the summer of 2017 as a multi-year “Train the Trainer” program to improve teachers’ tractor and machinery knowledge. The National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operations Program (NSTMOP) Curriculum was used to develop and organize the training program. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a multi-year agricultural safety education professional development model. A total of 85 teachers participated in the third year of the training program. Over half (57.6%, f = 49) of the participants identified as female. Teachers’ average NSTMOP test score was 41.9 out of 50 (SD = 3.62). Teachers attending the training for the first time in 2019 scored lowered (40.8, SD = 4.41) than teachers who had attended the training during all three offerings (43.2, SD = 3.00). This difference was not statistical significance (Kruskal-Wallis H was 5.91 (2) p = .052). Post-experience qualitative data findings showed many teachers reported curriculum obtainment as a motivating factor for continued attendance. A benefit expressed by participating teachers in this professional development focused on higher-order instructional or alternative assessment methods for tractor and machinery safety. For these SBAE participants, continued involvement in a multi-year approach to professional development is influenced when curriculum is offered. Further data collection is required to determine curriculum implementation follow-through of teachers after the workshop.