Pub Date : 2024-04-22DOI: 10.56103/nactaj.v68i1.164
G. Wingenbach, Alison Wooten
International education opportunities are vital to students’ personal, professional, and educational development. Pre-COVID era research has found that students seek to participate in international education to learn about other cultures, enhance career development, gain world enlightenment, attain personal growth, or for leisure. However, minimal research exists about students’ decision-making factors to engage in international education opportunities post-COVID. The purpose of this study was to examine selected students’ preferred information sources, cues, and perceived challenges that influenced decisions to engage in international education opportunities post-COVID. Descriptive survey methods with a cross-sectional research design were used to gather data on students’ perceptions of international education opportunities. Respondents’ most preferred sources to learn more about international education opportunities were social media (university sites), friends, and academic advisors. Messaging cues that most attracted students’ attention were affordability, personal growth, and learning about another culture. Financial challenges, foreign language skills, and safety (in-country travel, diet, politics) were perceived as the most difficult challenges when deciding to engage in international education opportunities. Universities should make concentrated efforts to use targeted advertising through strategically identified sources and prioritized messaging cues that attract students’ attention and assuage their concerns about engaging in international educational opportunities.
{"title":"Factors Influencing Students’ Decisions to Engage in International Education Opportunities Post-COVID","authors":"G. Wingenbach, Alison Wooten","doi":"10.56103/nactaj.v68i1.164","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v68i1.164","url":null,"abstract":"International education opportunities are vital to students’ personal, professional, and educational development. Pre-COVID era research has found that students seek to participate in international education to learn about other cultures, enhance career development, gain world enlightenment, attain personal growth, or for leisure. However, minimal research exists about students’ decision-making factors to engage in international education opportunities post-COVID. The purpose of this study was to examine selected students’ preferred information sources, cues, and perceived challenges that influenced decisions to engage in international education opportunities post-COVID. Descriptive survey methods with a cross-sectional research design were used to gather data on students’ perceptions of international education opportunities. Respondents’ most preferred sources to learn more about international education opportunities were social media (university sites), friends, and academic advisors. Messaging cues that most attracted students’ attention were affordability, personal growth, and learning about another culture. Financial challenges, foreign language skills, and safety (in-country travel, diet, politics) were perceived as the most difficult challenges when deciding to engage in international education opportunities. Universities should make concentrated efforts to use targeted advertising through strategically identified sources and prioritized messaging cues that attract students’ attention and assuage their concerns about engaging in international educational opportunities.","PeriodicalId":421640,"journal":{"name":"NACTA Journal","volume":"100 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140676694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-19DOI: 10.56103/nactaj.v68i1.169
J. Lawrence, M. Barrowclough, D. Lugar
Study abroad programs increase a student’s exposure to different cultures, traditions, and ways of life. While the benefits of participating in a study abroad program have been well documented, barriers, such as language, culture, and environment, may present themselves to program participants. Participants are introduced to a variety of new experiences both prior to and while abroad, which have the potential to introduce additional stress on students, in conjunction with the stress more typically experienced during a ‘traditional’ college experience. This study aims to quantify student stress prior to and while studying abroad in relation to their demographics and life experiences. Over a 12-day period in December 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico, students participated in an Animal Science focused study abroad program. Psychological and physiological stress data were collected in conjunction with student demographic and background characteristics. Data analysis showed that participant’s perceived stress scores were higher prior to going abroad, than while abroad, and that a participant’s ethnicity was a predictor of perceived stress (P < 0.05). However, physiological stress was not impacted by study abroad or demographic information (P > 0.05).
{"title":"Study Abroad Programs and Student Stress: An Animal Science Curriculum Case Study","authors":"J. Lawrence, M. Barrowclough, D. Lugar","doi":"10.56103/nactaj.v68i1.169","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v68i1.169","url":null,"abstract":"Study abroad programs increase a student’s exposure to different cultures, traditions, and ways of life. While the benefits of participating in a study abroad program have been well documented, barriers, such as language, culture, and environment, may present themselves to program participants. Participants are introduced to a variety of new experiences both prior to and while abroad, which have the potential to introduce additional stress on students, in conjunction with the stress more typically experienced during a ‘traditional’ college experience. This study aims to quantify student stress prior to and while studying abroad in relation to their demographics and life experiences. Over a 12-day period in December 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico, students participated in an Animal Science focused study abroad program. Psychological and physiological stress data were collected in conjunction with student demographic and background characteristics. Data analysis showed that participant’s perceived stress scores were higher prior to going abroad, than while abroad, and that a participant’s ethnicity was a predictor of perceived stress (P < 0.05). However, physiological stress was not impacted by study abroad or demographic information (P > 0.05).","PeriodicalId":421640,"journal":{"name":"NACTA Journal","volume":" 42","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140684754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-17DOI: 10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.151
Samson Adeoye, Heather Lindberg, Bathurst Bagby, Anne M Brown, Feras A. Batarseh, Eric Kaufman
Cyberbiosecurity is an emerging field at the convergence of life sciences and the digital world. As technological advances improve operational processes and expose them to vulnerabilities in agriculture and life sciences, cyberbiosecurity has become increasingly important for addressing contemporary concerns. Unfortunately, at this time, educational opportunities for cyberbiosecurity workforce preparation are limited. Stakeholders’ perceptions may help guide cyberbiosecurity workforce preparation efforts and bridge the gap from the classroom to the field. Toward this end, we identified stakeholders in education, private industry, and state agencies in Virginia and sought their input through both an online survey and focus groups. Findings suggest limited awareness and understanding of cyberbiosecurity. Results indicate that both formal and non-formal learning components—including short modules and comprehensive standalone courses—are important for cyberbiosecurity education programming. Stakeholders tied potential success of education programming to systems thinking and collaborative designs. Moreover, results reveal insights into concerns at the convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), which is central to effective workforce preparation for today’s agriculture and life sciences professionals. Continuous interdisciplinary collaboration and academia-industry partnerships will be critical for developing robust cyberbiosecurity education and securing the future of agriculture.
{"title":"Cyberbiosecurity Workforce Preparation","authors":"Samson Adeoye, Heather Lindberg, Bathurst Bagby, Anne M Brown, Feras A. Batarseh, Eric Kaufman","doi":"10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.151","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.151","url":null,"abstract":"Cyberbiosecurity is an emerging field at the convergence of life sciences and the digital world. As technological advances improve operational processes and expose them to vulnerabilities in agriculture and life sciences, cyberbiosecurity has become increasingly important for addressing contemporary concerns. Unfortunately, at this time, educational opportunities for cyberbiosecurity workforce preparation are limited. Stakeholders’ perceptions may help guide cyberbiosecurity workforce preparation efforts and bridge the gap from the classroom to the field. Toward this end, we identified stakeholders in education, private industry, and state agencies in Virginia and sought their input through both an online survey and focus groups. Findings suggest limited awareness and understanding of cyberbiosecurity. Results indicate that both formal and non-formal learning components—including short modules and comprehensive standalone courses—are important for cyberbiosecurity education programming. Stakeholders tied potential success of education programming to systems thinking and collaborative designs. Moreover, results reveal insights into concerns at the convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), which is central to effective workforce preparation for today’s agriculture and life sciences professionals. Continuous interdisciplinary collaboration and academia-industry partnerships will be critical for developing robust cyberbiosecurity education and securing the future of agriculture.","PeriodicalId":421640,"journal":{"name":"NACTA Journal","volume":" 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139616800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-16DOI: 10.56103/nactaj.v67itt.171
Matthew Gold, Laura L. Greenhaw
{"title":"From Reel to Real: Practical Tips for Implementing Inductive Learning with Film","authors":"Matthew Gold, Laura L. Greenhaw","doi":"10.56103/nactaj.v67itt.171","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v67itt.171","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":421640,"journal":{"name":"NACTA Journal","volume":" 24","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139618329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-16DOI: 10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.161
Jay K. Solomonson, Trent Wells
Active, student-centered approaches to teaching and learning in university classrooms have been given greater focus in recent years. Consequently, the use of flipped classrooms in American universities has proliferated considerably. Evidence suggests that flipped classrooms have been successfully employed in agricultural coursework, such as university-level agricultural mechanics courses. Theoretically underpinned by Murillo-Zamorano et al.’s (2019) Flipped Classroom in Higher Education model, the purpose of our study was to determine students’ perceptions of their engagement and learning in a flipped introductory-level agricultural mechanics course taught at Illinois State University. We used a valid and reliable electronic instrument to collect data from 61 undergraduate students over the course of four semesters. Our findings indicate that using a flipped classroom design to deliver an introductory-level agricultural mechanics course is a worthy endeavor that can positively impact students’ course experience. We are seeing similar results each semester, which suggest that our students prefer this teaching style over a traditional lecture style. The lead author intends to continue teaching the AGR 130: Introduction to Agricultural Engineering Technology course with a flipped classroom design for the foreseeable future. Our recommendations include: (1) instructors of introductory-level agricultural mechanics courses consider using a flipped classroom approach and (2) replicating our study to further examine this topic.
{"title":"Examining Student Perceptions of Engagement and Learning in a Flipped Introductory Agricultural Mechanics Course","authors":"Jay K. Solomonson, Trent Wells","doi":"10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.161","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.161","url":null,"abstract":"Active, student-centered approaches to teaching and learning in university classrooms have been given greater focus in recent years. Consequently, the use of flipped classrooms in American universities has proliferated considerably. Evidence suggests that flipped classrooms have been successfully employed in agricultural coursework, such as university-level agricultural mechanics courses. Theoretically underpinned by Murillo-Zamorano et al.’s (2019) Flipped Classroom in Higher Education model, the purpose of our study was to determine students’ perceptions of their engagement and learning in a flipped introductory-level agricultural mechanics course taught at Illinois State University. We used a valid and reliable electronic instrument to collect data from 61 undergraduate students over the course of four semesters. Our findings indicate that using a flipped classroom design to deliver an introductory-level agricultural mechanics course is a worthy endeavor that can positively impact students’ course experience. We are seeing similar results each semester, which suggest that our students prefer this teaching style over a traditional lecture style. The lead author intends to continue teaching the AGR 130: Introduction to Agricultural Engineering Technology course with a flipped classroom design for the foreseeable future. Our recommendations include: (1) instructors of introductory-level agricultural mechanics courses consider using a flipped classroom approach and (2) replicating our study to further examine this topic.","PeriodicalId":421640,"journal":{"name":"NACTA Journal","volume":" 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139620362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-20DOI: 10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.148
Lena Luck, Blaire Speck, Lisa Karr, Doug Golick
Courses that are typically hands-on, like equine science, may be more challenging online, but there is a higher demand for online offerings. With an increase in students taking online equine courses, a review of teaching methods was conducted to determine students' preferred teaching tools in online equine courses. The survey was sent out to students at approximately 10 universities that offer equine science courses online that had previously or were currently enrolled in an online equine-focused course and was completely voluntary. Of the 77 respondents, 71 (92%) were female, 6 (8%) males, and the majority (96%) white. The primary reasons students chose an online equine science course was because it fit their schedule better (n = 8; 24.5%) and the course was only offered online (n = 36; 23.2%). Students found videos (n = 62; 92.5%) and readings (n = 57; 85.1%) were extremely or somewhat beneficial teaching methods. Half (n = 34; 50.8%) of the students felt they learned as much in their online courses as in a traditionally taught course. Additionally, students indicated they received a quality education in equine science courses whether taught online (n = 55; 82.1%) or in a traditional in-person (n = 49; 73.1%) format.
{"title":"Students’ Perception of Online Equine Courses and How It Affects Their Learning","authors":"Lena Luck, Blaire Speck, Lisa Karr, Doug Golick","doi":"10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.148","url":null,"abstract":"Courses that are typically hands-on, like equine science, may be more challenging online, but there is a higher demand for online offerings. With an increase in students taking online equine courses, a review of teaching methods was conducted to determine students' preferred teaching tools in online equine courses. The survey was sent out to students at approximately 10 universities that offer equine science courses online that had previously or were currently enrolled in an online equine-focused course and was completely voluntary. Of the 77 respondents, 71 (92%) were female, 6 (8%) males, and the majority (96%) white. The primary reasons students chose an online equine science course was because it fit their schedule better (n = 8; 24.5%) and the course was only offered online (n = 36; 23.2%). Students found videos (n = 62; 92.5%) and readings (n = 57; 85.1%) were extremely or somewhat beneficial teaching methods. Half (n = 34; 50.8%) of the students felt they learned as much in their online courses as in a traditionally taught course. Additionally, students indicated they received a quality education in equine science courses whether taught online (n = 55; 82.1%) or in a traditional in-person (n = 49; 73.1%) format.","PeriodicalId":421640,"journal":{"name":"NACTA Journal","volume":"21 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139168821","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-20DOI: 10.56103/nactaj.v67itt.167
E. Edobor
{"title":"Spin the Wheels: Using a Random Name Picker Game to Foster Student Participation and Class","authors":"E. Edobor","doi":"10.56103/nactaj.v67itt.167","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v67itt.167","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":421640,"journal":{"name":"NACTA Journal","volume":"356 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139170569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-21DOI: 10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.147
Jay K. Solomonson, Trent Wells, Bryan D. Rank, Blessing Ugwuanyi
Recently, enrollments at numerous American universities have been trending downward. Such occurrences have led to an increasingly competitive atmosphere for attracting new students, thus creating the need to better understand why students ultimately attend their chosen institution. Prior research has explored factors that influence students to pursue agricultural degree programs at Land-Grant Universities with limited research addressing why students opt to study agriculture at Non-Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture (NLGCAs). The purpose of our study was to describe the factors influencing students’ decisions to pursue agricultural degrees at our NLGCAs. We distributed a valid and reliable instrument to all first-semester students enrolled at our NLGCAs. Regarding enrollment factors, we found that: (1) students most frequently used degree program information on a university website to help make their enrollment decision; (2) cost of attendance was most frequently cited as an Influential or Very influential university-related factor; (3) career opportunities available for graduates was most frequently cited as an Influential or Very influential major selection-related factor; (4) a parent or guardian was most frequently cited as an Influential or Very influential individual-related factor; and the (5) availability of student organizations was most frequently cited as an Influential or Very influential social interaction-related factor.
{"title":"Factors Influencing Students’ Decisions to Pursue Agricultural Degrees at Non-Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture","authors":"Jay K. Solomonson, Trent Wells, Bryan D. Rank, Blessing Ugwuanyi","doi":"10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.147","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.147","url":null,"abstract":"Recently, enrollments at numerous American universities have been trending downward. Such occurrences have led to an increasingly competitive atmosphere for attracting new students, thus creating the need to better understand why students ultimately attend their chosen institution. Prior research has explored factors that influence students to pursue agricultural degree programs at Land-Grant Universities with limited research addressing why students opt to study agriculture at Non-Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture (NLGCAs). The purpose of our study was to describe the factors influencing students’ decisions to pursue agricultural degrees at our NLGCAs. We distributed a valid and reliable instrument to all first-semester students enrolled at our NLGCAs. Regarding enrollment factors, we found that: (1) students most frequently used degree program information on a university website to help make their enrollment decision; (2) cost of attendance was most frequently cited as an Influential or Very influential university-related factor; (3) career opportunities available for graduates was most frequently cited as an Influential or Very influential major selection-related factor; (4) a parent or guardian was most frequently cited as an Influential or Very influential individual-related factor; and the (5) availability of student organizations was most frequently cited as an Influential or Very influential social interaction-related factor.","PeriodicalId":421640,"journal":{"name":"NACTA Journal","volume":"33 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139254434","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-21DOI: 10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.121
Carla Millares, Pablo Lamiño Jaramillo, Bernardo Trejos, Shisbeth Tabora Sarmiento, Amy E. Boren-Alpízar
Understanding agricultural students' environmental perception is necessary to design meaningful interventions to enhance their environmental awareness. This study aims to understand and compare undergraduate students' environmental behavior and perceptions in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at a Southwestern United States (US) university and an agricultural university in Honduras (HN). The MANOVA and descriptive statistics show a large effect on the attitude-behavior relationship. Overall, HN students presented higher scores in attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of environmental education at their university than students from the U.S. university. The most influential behavioral factors for students are financial incentives, friends, and people who take action.
{"title":"Environmental Perception: A Comparison between Southwestern U.S. and Honduras Agricultural-related College Students","authors":"Carla Millares, Pablo Lamiño Jaramillo, Bernardo Trejos, Shisbeth Tabora Sarmiento, Amy E. Boren-Alpízar","doi":"10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.121","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding agricultural students' environmental perception is necessary to design meaningful interventions to enhance their environmental awareness. This study aims to understand and compare undergraduate students' environmental behavior and perceptions in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at a Southwestern United States (US) university and an agricultural university in Honduras (HN). The MANOVA and descriptive statistics show a large effect on the attitude-behavior relationship. Overall, HN students presented higher scores in attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of environmental education at their university than students from the U.S. university. The most influential behavioral factors for students are financial incentives, friends, and people who take action.","PeriodicalId":421640,"journal":{"name":"NACTA Journal","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139252975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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