CASE Update
2010 - A Summer of Intense Development
By Marlene Mensch
CASE Curriculum Director
marlene.mensch@case4learning.org
More than 80 agriculture teachers are returning to their classrooms this fall with a new approach to teaching thanks to an innovation in agriscience professional development.
In June and July, agriculture teachers from 15 states attended two-week Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) Institutes. There they were immersed in 80 hours of hands-on professional development covering inquiry based instruction, student-directed learning, and activity, project, and problem-based (APP) delivery. Teachers left the institutes armed with all the tools and resources they needed to immediately implement CASE into their program.
CASE is a four-pronged instructional system that includes agriscience curriculum, student assessments, teacher professional development, and student certification. The curriculum has sequential, meaningful activities, problems and projects and provides students a rigorous balance of STEM content, including science, mathematics, and English language arts, situated in agriculture subject matter.
Two weeks out of an already typically very busy summer may seem like too much to ask of an agriculture teacher, but CASE developers and early adopters insist that the instructional approach of the curriculum is what makes CASE unique, and the Institutes are key to understanding those techniques.
“The professional development is essential to implementing CASE,” said Ashley Holden, agriculture teacher at John Bowne High School in Queens, NY. “It's such a large project, you need that time in PD [professional development] to explore the program, to get acquainted with the lessons, and to produce some of the projects yourself, so that you know how your students will respond.”
“My favorite part of the PD is that it's taught by ag teachers. I got so much out of the training because experienced agricultural educators delivered the curriculum, and my fellow classmates offered suggestions or raised valid questions based on their experiences as ag teachers. Participating in the CASE PD is a unique and extremely valuable experience. How often do we get the opportunity to work collaboratively with other ag teachers from around the country?”
“The CASE curriculum will help me as a new teacher because the curriculum focuses on the students,” said Aaron McKim, a first year teacher at Switzerland County High School in Indiana. “As a young teacher, it would be easy to get caught up in all the challenges and responsibilities and forget what you were hired to do. The CASE curriculum is a great resource and a great thing for me as a new teacher because it focuses on how I as the teacher can better reach my students in the classroom.”
More questions about CASE
Choosing a new curriculum and committing to such intensive professional development is a big decision. Here are some frequently asked questions about CASE, with comments from teachers who have completed CASE Institutes.
How does CASE differ from other curriculum resources you have used?
“The curriculum for the course is broader, has more rigor, has higher standards, is definitely more challenging, more activity based, and contains more material from core courses than any other that I have ever used. Yet, at the same time, it is still easy to understand and is more versatile in the ways that it can be implemented. It contains all the information need to properly implement it in the room, for the students and teachers.”
Casey Jones eighth year teacher from Rockwall, Texas
Is there a difference in the classroom?
“I have found that students are very receptive to the CASE courses. When comparing my traditional methods of teaching an Ag. I class in the past to using the CASE Introduction to Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources course in the first two weeks of school, I can see a tremendous change in the attitudes of my students. I feel that all students are involved and actively engaged in the learning process. The students enjoy working in groups to complete their assignments and have an overall better attitude and behavior.”
Misty Thibodeaux, a tenth year teacher from Lake Arthur, LA
“As we all know, old curriculum is not what will benefit our ever-changing student population. I have seen huge impacts from this curriculum on all parts of our Ag department. For the students, we have seen an impact on increased enrollment, improved grades and performance from all students, and an excitement for agriculture! For the teachers, we are already trying to convert our other courses that are not CASE over to the APP format, simply because it works. Classroom management has been the biggest gift CASE has provided me when I least expected it. Through consistency, hands-on learning, and relevancy in curriculum; my discipline issues have been minor compared to years past.”
Brandon Duff from Carthage, MO
How do I get CASE in my classroom?
Two important steps to implementing CASE in your school are to attend a CASE Institute and to assemble the materials needed for the course. All equipment and supplies lists can be found at http://www.case4learning.org/purchase-manuals.html.
Locations for 2011 CASE Institutes are still being selected. Check www.case4learning.org later this fall to see where Institutes will be held.
What classes can I teach with CASE?
There are currently three CASE courses developed for which there will be CASE Institutes next summer.
Introduction to Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR)
The first course in the CASE sequence of courses, which introduces students to leadership, science, plants, animals, natural resources, and agricultural mechanics using the hands-on approach of activities, projects, and problems. Students also develop a career portfolio as they investigate their personal interests and careers in agriscience.
Principles of Agricultural Science – Animal (ASA)
A foundational level (sophomore) course where students explore the world of animal agriculture and develop a management guide for an animal of their choice. Areas of study include history and domestication, handling and behavior, anatomy and physiology, nutrition, reproduction, genetics, health, selection, and marketing.
Principles of Agricultural Science – Plant (ASP)
A foundational level (sophomore) course where students study the production of plants while developing a grower’s handbook. Areas of study include soils, hydroponics, plant anatomy and physiology, taxonomy, growing environments, sexual reproduction, asexual reproduction, insects and diseases, and production and marketing.
Coming Soon - Animal and Plant Biotechnology
As the 2010-2001 year kicks off, CASE staff and teachers will be developing a fourth course in the CASE sequence, Animal and Plant Biotechnology. The Animal and Plant Biotechnology course is a junior level specialization course and will include topics such as biochemistry, DNA sequencing, biotechnical research, biofuels, and micro-propagation.
For more information about CASE, visit www.case4.learning.org or contact Dr. Dan Jansen, CASE Project Director, at dan.jansen@case4learning.org or 503-312-0814.
