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Overview of Department Areas of
Expertise
Graduate students, in consultation with a graduate advisor and a graduate
advisory committee, may select different areas of expertise to emphasize in their
programs.
Change Theory and Processes
Planned change is grounded in theory and practice growing out of the fields of sociology,
education, anthropology, and psychology. It deals with the processes by which social,
cultural, and technological changes occur within and among social systems in different
societies and cultures. The process of successful planned change may be applied
to the introduction, acceptance, adoption, and diffusion of philosophies, ideas,
policies, processes, and technologies. Change theory and processes may be applied
to deliberately speed up, slow down, shift the direction of, or prevent the adoption
of a particular change.
Learning and Cognition
Learning is a change in behavior as a result of corrected practice or experience.
Cognition is a set of mental processes. Learning and cognition as a knowledge base
are rooted in psychology, the science of the mind. More specifically, learning and
cognition are found within educational psychology, the study of how people learn,
the mental processes associated with learning, and development of learners.
Our work is encapsulated in a broad group of theories, including cognitive learning,
social-cognitive theory, constructivism, experiential learning, cognitive styles
(learning styles), motivation, and self-efficacy. Paralleling advances in neuroscience,
researchers in this knowledge base seek to advance the knowledge of how people learn
and apply the findings to and in various contexts.
Planning and Needs Assessment
Planning and needs assessment are functional elements critical for successful education
and training programs. Needs assessment is a systematic effort we make to gather
opinions and ideas from a variety of sources on performance problems or new systems
and technologies. Planning is a deliberate, rational, and continuing sequence of
activities through which we acquire a thorough understanding of and commitment to
the organization’s functions, structure, and processes, and becomes knowledgeable
about and committed to a tested conceptual framework for programming, continuous
organizational renewal, and linkage of the organization to its publics. The goal
of planning and needs assessment is to develop strategies that achieve results,
not to develop complex methodologies.
Planning is a continuum essential to organizational success. Planning forces educators
and administrators to think through issues and alternatives. Planning is proactive
decision-making that includes defining and analyzing projects, forecasting events,
sequencing activities, identifying resources, tracking and managing events, and
determining the most effective strategies to achieve the objectives. Planning may
be organized at three levels: (1) strategic planning that addresses the basic mission
over an extended period of time, often five years or more; (2) long-range planning,
typically three to five years, that specifically looks at resources, finances, and
changing environments to determine ways to accomplish the overall strategic plans
of the organization; and (3) tactical planning that involves people who are responsible
for achieving the objectives within a specified period of time, often one budgeting
period.
Communication Theory and Practice
Communication underlies all knowledge bases. Communication as it applies to the
agricultural industry incorporates the study and interaction of theories, audiences,
media, and messages. Communication integrates technology, history, science, and
economics with writing and editing to disseminate accurate, science-based information
-an essential ingredient to agriculture.
Leadership Education Theory and Applications
Leadership education is driven by the desire to educate learners in the theoretical
foundations of leadership, organizational development, and organizational change.
These foundations are supported by psychology, sociology, and philosophy. The intent
of leadership education is to provide learners with tools to be successful in a
variety of contexts. The mission of all agricultural leadership education programs
is “to discover, teach, and disseminate leadership theory, principles, and practices
in Agricultural and Life Sciences contexts to develop leadership for organizations,
businesses, governmental agencies and communities” (National Summit for Agricultural
Leadership Education, 2004).
Effective leadership education is essential to prepare people to deal with the rapid
change and diverse reality present in a pluralistic world. Leaders must be able
to communicate effectively, interpersonally and organizationally. This challenge
may be accomplished through a purposive curriculum that engages learners at every
level. The faculty embrace models of youth leadership education that focus on five
conceptual areas: (1) intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, (2) oral and written
communication skills, (3) decision-making, reasoning, and critical thinking, (4)
leadership attitude, will, and desire, and (5) leadership knowledge and information.
Instructional Design and Delivery
Learners and learning communities are dependent on the effective transmission of
knowledge through teaching. Teaching is the process of designing instruction and
delivering information in meaningful ways. The knowledge area of instructional design
and delivery includes pedagogy (literally, the art and science of educating children;
often used as a synonym for teaching; more contemporary, teacher-focused education)
and andragogy (literally, the art and science of helping adults learn; more contemporary,
learner-focused education for people of all ages). It encompasses a broad group
of teaching strategies (problem-based learning, inquiry-based instruction, learner-centered
instruction, teacher-centered instruction, experiential learning, etc.), and multiple
contexts (formal, informal, and non-formal). Further, delivery may occur face-to-face
or mediated through appropriate technologies, both synchronously and asynchronously.
At the rudimentary level, designing and delivering instruction involves students,
teacher(s), content, and technologies that interact in complex learning environments.
As a faculty, we recognize and subscribe to four inter-related attributes of learning
environments that optimize learning:
• Learning environments must be learner-centered.
• Attention must be given to what is taught, why it is taught,
and what mastery looks like.
• Continuous formative assessment is essential.
• Context influences learning in fundamental ways.
Evaluation and Performance Measures
Organizations are accountable for monitoring and reporting program accomplishments,
particularly progress towards pre-established goals. The tools of program evaluation
are used to measure and describe program performance, including activities conducted
(process), the direct products and services delivered by a program (outputs), the
results of those products and services (outcomes), and/or public benefit of outcomes
(impact).
Program evaluation is a systematic study conducted periodically or on an ad hoc
basis to assess how well a program is working. The need for accurate and reliable
evidence of impact over time requires measurement techniques and evaluation models
that are trustworthy. The focus of program evaluation is on achievement of program
objectives in the context of other aspects of program performance or in the context
of factors that could affect program effectiveness. Some evaluations compare alternative
programs or what might happen in the absence of a program. Using measurement techniques
and evaluation models that are trustworthy and that have internal validity, external
validity, reliability, and objectivity may use advanced evaluation research models
to demonstrate effects over time.
Performance measurement (often referred to as accountability) focuses on whether
a program has achieved its objectives, expressed as measurable standards. It calls
for an ongoing monitoring and reporting of program accomplishments, particularly
progress toward pre-established goals. Information on three types of performance
measures normally are collected over a one-year period and reported as:
• Process: type or level of program activities conducted,
• Output: direct products and services delivered by the program,
and
• Outcome: results of those products and services.
Research, Measurement, and Analysis
Researchers engage in a systematic and objective search for knowledge through understanding
and evaluating the research of others and planning and conducting original research
through quantitative and qualitative methods. Measurement and analysis are forms
of research that involve determining or establishing conditions against a benchmark
and then determining or describing causes, implications, and effects.
The faculty ascribes to a working definition of research, an unusually persistent
and systematic attempt to answer significant questions. This definition is elegant
for its simplicity yet broadness. It encompasses all kinds of scholarly activity
in which one pursues persistently and systematically the answer to significant questions
or problems. So, research tools are attempts at answering questions, using systemacy
and persistence. Those attempts may be quantitative (numerical and statistical),
descriptive, qualitative, philosophical, or historical. The tools used to conduct
research have arisen from the general concept of science (e.g., the scientific method),
to the more specific concept of social sciences (e.g., via the fields of psychology,
sociology, and anthropology), and even the traditions of the humanities (e.g., philosophy).
Often, it is these traditions that might determine or dictate what researchers define
as systematic and persistent. Educational research is an even newer tradition, and
the faculty members in agricultural education aspire to contribute to that research
tradition.
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