AGED 275: Agricultural Education Early Field Experience (1cr.)

Description:

This course provides the opportunity to observe the multiple roles of an effective agricultural educator. The course also promotes the development of a greater level of understanding of the education enterprise. Course objectives are addressed through 30 hours of documented participation in a middle/high school and participation in course seminars. Prerequisite: AGED 120 or consent of instructor.

Course objectives:

1. Examine personal values and beliefs in relationship to education.
2. Explore agricultural education as a career.
3. Develop an awareness of the multiple roles and responsibilities of agricultural education teachers.
4. Participate in classroom instruction by observing and assisting with specific teaching tasks.
5. Establish an experiential base upon which to examine the relationship between educational theory and practice.
6. Develop an awareness of the wide variety of students in classrooms.
7. Develop an awareness of the contexts and audiences for agricultural education programming.
8. Develop analytical skills in educational settings.

Instructor Information:

Instructor: Tim Buttles                   Office:  135 Ag Sci

Phone: 715-425-3555                    Email: timothy.j.buttles@uwrf.edu

Office Hours:   TBA – Will be posted in D2L and on my office door at the start of the semester

Required Materials:

There is no text book for this course. Assignments and resource material will be made available using D2L and the course Web page. An iClicker should be checked out from textbook services.

Course Schedule:

Class will meet from 4 to 6 p.m. on the four dates listed. Please check eSIS on the day of the first class to find out where to meet.

Assignments:

D2L Activities

You will be asked to complete several D2L activities during the weeks between seminars. Details are posted in D2L.

Activity Log

You need to complete a log entry for each visit to a school. The format and evaluation criteria can be found on the course web page.

Reflective Paper

Your last assignment is to write a paper reflecting on what you have learned during your field experience and class sessions.

Field Experience:

You need to spend at least 30 hours working with school age children (grades K-12)

• At least 27 hours must be spent with middle and/or high school agricultural education students.
  
• • at least 3 of these hours must be spent working with FFA activities
• At least 3 of the hours must be spent with elementary age students.
  

Attendance:

Attendance at all class sessions is expected. While no points will be lost for missing class, missing multiple class sessions will result in a Student Notification of Performance Concerns form being completed. These forms become part of your file and may impact your admission to professional standing and/or admission to student teaching. Students who miss class for university-sanctioned events or previously approved activities must inform the instructor. It is the student's responsibility to make arrangements with the instructor and other class members to get caught up.

Grading:

Your course grade will be based on four items. The first one will be graded on a pass fail basis. A passing score on the field experience component must be received in order to pass the course.

• Completing 30 hours of field experience, including at least 3 hours working with elementary students and at least 3 hours with FFA activities. You will not receive a passing grade for this assignment until the signed verification and evaluation forms have been received by the UWRF Agricultural Education Department.
  
• Field Experience Activity Log: Please refer to the course web site for the evaluation criteria.
  
• Reflective Paper: Please refer to the course web site for the evaluation criteria.
• D2L Activities: Please refer to the Content section of D2L for descriptions and evaluation criteria.

All items will be graded using a four-point scale. Your final grade will be determined using the average of each category shown above. 

Late work will not receive a grade penalty if it is submitted by the last day of the semester. 

Inclusivity Statement: 

The University of Wisconsin-River Falls strives to maintain our campus as a place of work and study for faculty, staff, and students that is free of all forms of prohibited discrimination and harassment. If you have concerns about such behavior, contact your instructor, the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities at 715-425-4555, or the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at 715-425-3833. For a list of prohibited behaviors and protected classes or to report online, please, see the following link: http://www.uwrf.edu/EquityDiversityInclusion/incident.cfm 

Special Accommodations: 

The University of Wisconsin-River Falls welcomes students with disabilities into its educational programs, activities, residential halls, and other programming and services on campus.  Those who will need academic adjustments or accommodations for a disability should contact the Office of Student Ability Services at 715-425-4555.  Decisions to allow adjustments and accommodations are made by the Office of Student Ability Services on the basis of clinical documentation the students provide to sufficiently indicate the nature of their situation. Additional information is at: http://www.uwrf.edu/AbilityServices/Index.cfm

Academic Misconduct:

I expect that all work completed for this course will be the honest effort of the student submitting it. Except as noted on certain, specific parts of assignments, each assignment is to be the effort of the individual student submitting it. Any suspected misconduct will be handled according to UWS 14.06(3)(c) of the University of Wisconsin Administrative Code as implemented by UW-River Falls. More information can be obtained by contacting the Dean of Students Office or visit http://www.uwrf.edu/policies/.

Academic misconduct is an act in which a student:

•  Seeks to claim credit for the work or efforts of another without authorization for citation;
• Uses unauthorized materials or fabricated data in any academic exercise;
• Forges or falsifies academic documents or records;
• Intentionally impedes or damages the academic work of others;
• Engages in conduct aimed at making false representation of a student's academic performance;
• Assists other students in any of these acts.