Agriscience teachers gain professional development certification

OSAKIS — Hailey Nierling, agriscience educator at Osakis High School, recently attended a two-week long professional development institute through Ridgewater College to teach the technical applications in agriculture.

This is a newly-developed course funded through a National Science Foundation grant in partnership with AgCentric, Northern Center of Agricultural Excellence, Ridgewater College and Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education.

Nierling was one of 33 educators from 13 different states to attend this institute.

The course is designed for dual enrollment credit at post-secondary institutions. Secondary students successfully completing the course for a credential and college credit will move seamlessly into an agricultural technician training program at partnering post-secondary schools or into the agricultural technician workforce.

The development of the technical applications in agriculture course is funded through an Advanced Technological Education National Science Foundation grant. The technical applications course will be a skills-based capstone course for the agricultural engineering pathway.

CASE is an instructional system that is changing the culture of agriculture programs in the United States through intense teacher professional development; inquiry-based, student-focused lessons; assessment; and certification.

CASE equips teachers to elevate student experiences in the agriculture classroom, and prepares students for success in college and careers emphasizing science, technology, engineering, and math.

In 2009, schools began implementing CASE into their programs. More than 2,000 teachers from 45 states, plus the Virgin Islands, hold close to 3,000 certifications and use them each day in their agriculture classrooms.

During the CASE Institute, Nierling worked through nearly every lesson in the year-long curriculum and learned how to deliver lessons in an inquiry-based way that will shift focus in the classroom from teacher-led to student-directed learning.

CASE is an initiative of the National Council for Agricultural Education and managed by the National Association of the Agricultural Educators.

For more information about CASE, visit www.case4learning.org .