Agricultural Education

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Purpose

The goal for the Agricultural Education Career Development Event is to enable FFA members to explore the career field of agricultural education.

 

Objectives

• To allow students the opportunity to practice their teaching skills in a relaxed, safe teaching environment.
• To provide students with an opportunity to better comprehend the teaching and learning process (i.e., methods and practice of good teaching behavior).
• To enable students to develop, use, and follow a lesson plan to accentuate their teaching.
• To provide students with career choices and allow them to be acquainted with professionals in the field.
• To foster leadership and communication skills.
• To promote the agricultural education teaching profession.

 

Event Rules

1. Each individual will create a lesson plan and teach the lesson on the assigned core subject area and grade level assigned at the release date of the topic. Teachers will receive an e-mail notification of the topic's release per the CareerTech listserv. 
   
   1. The lesson plan (attached) will be created prior to the contest and MUST be submitted to the superintendent two weeks in advance of the competition. Lesson plans will be evaluated, scored, and ranked from high to low. Individuals who submitted lesson plans that rank in the top eight, thus, receiving the top eight highest scores, will be asked to compete, in person, at the state contest at Oklahoma State University. The top eight individuals will be informed of their standing by email, per the CareerTech listserv.
   2. Competing students will be provided with human interaction (i.e., a “class” of students will be provided at the contest in which competing students will teach).
      
      
2. The lesson topic shall be assigned from one of the following core subject areas.
   1. Agricultural Communications
   2. Agricultural Power and Technology
   3. Agribusiness and Management
   4. Animal Systems
   5. Food Products and Processing Systems
   6. Natural Resources and Environmental Science
   7. Plant and Soil Sciences
      
      
3. The lesson shall be taught using one or a combination of the following teaching methods:
   1. Brainstorming
   2. Case Study
   3. Demonstration
   4. Discussion
   5. Lecture
   6. Problem Solving
   7. Role Play
   8. Simulation
      
      
4. Participants must be dressed in appropriate attire suitable for the lesson in which they are teaching. As such, Official FFA dress is not required.
   
   
5. Participants should focus on the content area and keep the presentations simple.
   
   
6. Time Limits: The lesson will be a maximum of 15 minutes in length. The presenter will receive a signal at 10 minutes and again at 14 minutes. At 15 minutes, the timekeeper will announce that time is up and the lesson will end. A maximum of 5 minutes for questions and answers will be allotted at the end of the lesson taught. Questions will be predetermined and related to the core subject area and teaching method used.
   
   
7. Participants will take a written exam related to teaching secondary agricultural education. The exam will be based on content found within the websites listed in the References section below.
8. The deadline for submitting lesson plans is TBD.

 

Event Details

Team Make-Up
This is an individual event.

 

Equipment

1. Equipment provided by the event superintendent will include: LCD projector, screen and computer.
2. Other equipment is allowed but the individual must provide it. It is recommended that individuals competing bring their own props and realia to compliment the lessons they are teaching.

2025 Lesson Topic will be announced soon. 

 

Lesson Plan (100 points)

1. Each individual will create a lesson plan and teach the lesson on the assigned core subject area and grade level assigned at the release date of the topic (Usually two months prior to the date of the contest. This should occur toward the end of February. Teachers will receive an e-mail notification of the topic’s release per the CareerTech listserv). 
2. Competing students will be provided with human interaction (i.e., a “class” of students will be provided at the contest in which competing students will teach).
3. The lesson topic shall be assigned from one of the following core subject areas:
   1. Food Products and Processing Systems
   2. Plant and Soil Sciences
   3. Animal Systems
   4. Agricultural Power and Technology
   5. Natural Resources and Environmental Science
   6. Agricultural Communications
   7. Agribusiness and Management
4. Scoring Criteria:
   1. The plan is complete ( i.e., no sections within the plan are left blank)
   2. Resources are listed (i.e., at least two resources must be listed in APA format, 7th ed.)
   3. Punctuation, spelling, and grammar are accurate. The plan is well organized (i.e., plan is easy to follow and read)

Delivery of Lesson (140 points)

1. The lesson shall be taught using one or a combination of the following teaching methods:
   1. Brainstorming
   2. Case Study
   3. Demonstration
   4. Discussion
   5. Lecture
   6. Problem Solving
   7. Role Play
   8. Simulation
2. Participants should focus on the content area and keep the presentations simple.
3. Time Limits: The lesson will be a maximum of 15 minutes in length. The presenter will receive a signal at 10 minutes and again at 14 minutes. At 15 minutes, the timekeeper will announce that time is up, and the lesson will end.
4. Scoring Criteria
   1. The lesson is well structured (i.e., noticeable introduction, body, and conclusion
   2. Teaching method(s) is/was used
   3. Teaching process (i.e., facial expressions, gestures, voice inflection, etc…) is apparent
   4. Objective(s) is/was accomplished
   5. Lesson was appropriate for time allowed

Questioning (30 points)

1. Questions will be predetermined and related to the core subject area, teaching process, and teaching method used.
2. A maximum of 5 minutes for questions and answers will be allotted at the end of the lesson taught.

Exam (100 points)

1. Participants will take a written exam related to teaching secondary agricultural education.
2. The exam will be based on content found within the websites listed in the References section below.
3. Exam questions will include: multiple choice, short answer, and essay format.

 

Scoring

Lesson Plan

• The plan is complete (i.e., no sections within the plan are left blank)
• Resources are listed (i.e., at least two resources must be listed in APA format, 6th ed.)
• Punctuation, spelling, and grammar are accurate
• The plan is well organized (i.e., plan is easy to follow and read)

Delivery of Lesson

• The lesson is well structured (i.e., a noticeable introduction, body, and conclusion)
• Teaching method(s) is/was used
• Teaching process (i.e., facial expressions, gestures, voice inflection, etc.) is apparent
• Objective(s) is/was accomplished
• Lesson is appropriate for time allowed

Questions

Questions will be selected from each of the following:

• Core subject area
• Method
• Teaching process

Exam

The written exam will be based on the following:

• A total of 100 points
• Multiple Choice, Short Answer, and Essay format
• Questions derived from references listed below

Individual Rankings

Individuals will be ranked according to the judges’ ratings of their prepared lesson plans, presented lessons and answers to questions, and exam scores.

 

References

This list of references is not intended to be exclusive. Other sources may be utilized and teachers are encouraged to make use of the very best instructional materials available. The following list contains references that may prove helpful during event preparation. Further, exam questions will be derived from content expressed in the following websites:

 

• Oklahoma Ag In the Classroom Lessons
• FFA Manual
• Ag in the Classroom
• Oklahoma Department of Career and Technical Education – Agricultural Education Division
• National FFA Organization

 

Supplemental Materials and Forms

Lesson Plan Template

Agricultural Education Scorecard

Lesson Plan Template Word Document