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…

As faculty continue to become generations removed from production agriculture, it may be difficult for some instructors to determine the production experience of students in their classrooms. This presents a unique issue in the broader field of agriculture education across disciplines in areas such as curriculum development and teaching…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions that extension educators in the North Central region of the United States hold regarding selected educational strategies pertaining to livestock waste management education. Livestock waste management education has been recognized as one of extension's major initiatives in the…

Article describes outdoor science learning center constructed at minimum cost with help of parents and landscape architect. Five-thousand-square-foot area includes garden, forest, waterfall, hydroelectric plant, mill, weather station, aviary, animal cages, topographical sandpit, teaching station and specimen display cases. (PD)

To determine educational requirements and opportunities for employment, 60 representatives of animal laboratories and meat inspection agencies were interviewed in a 30-county area in northern Illinois. The chi-square test, analysis of variance test, and Pearson product moment correlation were utilized to conclude that: (1) Substantial…

This document contains 52 Occupational Skill Standards for the swine production occupational cluster, as required for the state of Illinois. Skill Standards, which were developed by committees that included educators, business, industry, and labor, are intended to promote education and training investment and ensure that students and workers are…

This curriculum guide contains 5 teaching units for 44 agricultural business and management cluster problem areas. These problem areas have been selected as suggested areas of study to be included in a core curriculum for secondary students enrolled in an agricultural education program. The five units are as follows: (1) agribusiness operation and…

This curriculum resource guide, one of seven developed by the State of Illinois to present information on new and emerging curricula existing in the nation, can be used as a basis for local educators to determine the resources needed to offer swine confinement management curricula and to initiate curriculum development at the local level. Chapters…

This document contains the following papers: "Cognitive Abilities of Oak Harbor High School Agricultural Education Students" (Mark F. Starkey, Jamie Cano); "Development and Evaluation of Hands-on Learning Activities in Indiana High School Animal Science Classes" (Kendra Koster, Mark A. Balschweid); "Teaching Biology Using…

This curriculum guide includes teaching packets for 12 areas of study to be included in a core curriculum for 11th-grade or third-year students enrolled in rural agricultural programs in Illinois. Each problem area includes some or all of the following components: suggestions to the teacher, teacher guide, competency inventory, information sheet,…

This curriculum guide, the first part of a core curriculum for a rural agriculture program, consists of materials for use in presenting the first seven units of a nine-unit course for high school vocational agriculture students living in rural areas. Addressed in the individual units of the guide are the following topics: educational and…

These Illinois skill standards for the agricultural laboratory and field technician cluster are intended to serve as a guide to workforce preparation program providers as they define content for their programs and to employers as they establish the skills and standards necessary for job acquisition. They could also serve as a mechanism for…

This document, which is intended as a guide for workforce preparation program providers, details the Illinois occupational skill standards for programs preparing students for employment in occupations in the beef production cluster. The document begins with a brief overview of the Illinois perspective on occupational skill standards and…

This core curriculum guide consists of materials for use in presenting a 13-unit vocational agriculture course geared toward high school students living in metropolitan areas. Addressed in the individual units of the course are the following topics: employment in agricultural occupations, supervised occupational experience, leadership in…