Thirty-two agriculture teachers representing 10 states shared knowledge and earned graduate credit during the 2018 Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) Institute at Arkansas Tech University.
The teachers were engaged in one of two tracks: CASE Principles of Agricultural Science-Plant or CASE Agricultural Power and Technology. Those who successfully completed the two-week institute, which concluded on Friday, Aug. 3, earned three hours of graduate credit.
Teachers from Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota and Oklahoma were among the 28 participants and four lead teachers who traveled to Russellville for the professional development opportunity, which was sponsored by DuPont Pioneer and Farm Credit of Western Arkansas.
According to information published at www.atu.edu/case, CASE Institute sessions “provide teachers important background related to the pedagogy used in CASE curricula and practice teaching various lessons to prepare them for classroom instruction.”
Dr. Bryan D. Rank, assistant professor of agricultural education at ATU and director of the ATU CASE Institute, said that the annual program is designed to continuously elevate agricultural education at the high school level.
“We hope that our participants learned valuable skills that will increase the rigor and relevance of the school-based agricultural education courses they teach,” said Rank. “CASE was designed as a hands-on STEM curriculum for agricultural education. Over the two-week institute, the participants worked through an entire year of high school curriculum including the labs and activities.
Visit www.atu.edu/agriculture to learn more about the ATU Department of Agriculture.
