Marty Jones and Cameron Dale, agriscience educators at Bartlesville High School, recently attended a two week virtual professional development institute through the University of Kentucky to teach the Introduction to Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) course in the agricultural education program. Jones and Dale were one of 22 educators from 9 different states to attend this institute.
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 (STEM). 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, Jones and Dale spent 74 hours working through nearly every lesson in the year-long curriculum and learning 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 (NAAE). For more information about CASE, visit www.case4learning.org.