Exploring Elementary Students' Scientific Knolwedge of Agriculture Using Evidence-Centered Design

Abstract

The public is more disconnected from agriculture than ever. Americans are now two to four generations removed from the farm with a majority of Americans having no direct experience in agriculture. As a result, the public lacks the knowledge and appreciation of the food, fuel, and fiber it demands. The National Agricultural Learning Objectives (NALOs) were recently developed to describe students’ agricultural knowledge but have, as yet, not been used to guide research into students’ agricultural literacy. The purpose of this project is to further understand students’ agricultural literacy through NALO-based assessment of students’ knowledge. This study focused on the NALOs in the areas of agriculture and the environment (AgE) and the STEM dimensions of agriculture (STEM) using a sequential exploratory mixed methods design. Thirty-five students participated in semi-structured interviews surrounding the NALOs. Interview data were coded and analyzed while using the evidence-centered design process to create empirically grounded assessments that were administered to a sample (n=400) of elementary students. Results suggest that students are more knowledgeable about the STEM dimensions of agriculture than the agricultural and environmental topics. Recommendations are provided to guide future research and development around the NALOs.

Measuring Agricultural Literacy: Grade 3-5 Instrument Development and Validation

“…Specifically, literacy benchmarks and assessment measures have been developed to assess K-12 agricultural literacy levels over the last 30 years (Frick, 1993;Leising et al, 2000;Powell et al, 2008). Moreover, previously developed measures for agricultural literacy were based on the Food and Fiber Systems Literacy project (Leising et al, 1998) adding to the need for updated assessments aligned with current educational standards (Brandt, 2016;Jones, 2013). These previously developed instruments also measured only one level of understanding, thereby limiting the interpretation of the results.…”

“…The limited current research in this arena demonstrates the need for an agricultural literacy instrument that aligns with the NALOs. In order to meet the deficiency of agricultural literacy, researchers have indicated the need for standardized assessments of foundational agricultural understandings (Brandt, 2016;Fischer, 2017).…”

“…First, the literature demonstrated a lack of consistency and alignment regarding the criterion and constructs of agricultural proficiency stages, resulting in limits to validity across instruments (Vallera & Bodzin, 2016). The second challenge centered on the outdated nature of the valid assessments that lacked capacity to align to current needs (Jones, 2013;Brandt, 2016). The recognition and adoption of the NALOs established a valid national framework consistent with agricultural literacy goals and outcomes (Spielmaker & Leising, 2013).…”

“…We recommend that agricultural stakeholders use the LMALI (3-5) as a tool to assess agricultural literacy. Efforts to use improve agricultural literacy through the use of this evaluation tool is one way to answer the call to update agricultural evaluation instruments made by multiple researchers (Brandt, 2016;Jones 2013;Terry et al, 1992;Trexler et al, 2013). Further, LMALI (3-5) can be a tool to guide formal and non-formal instruction providing an effective means of evaluating student agricultural literacy.…”

Development and Validation of a Children’s Agricultural Literacy Instrument for Local Food

“…How could these conditions affect crops grown in North Carolina compared with last year? 5, LF Adapted from Brandt (2016) Why are there more peaches available during the summer than during the winter in North Carolina? 5, LF New item…”