Modernizing Agriculture Technician Education in Appalachian Northeast Georgia

该项目旨在解决佐治亚州东北部对农业技术人员日益增长的需求。农业越来越多地受到精密技术的推动，这些技术最大限度地提高了生产率，最大限度地减少了浪费和环境危害。这些进程需要先进的机械化和全球导航卫星系统才能实施。为了让农业技术人员为从事精密技术工作做好准备，该项目将开发两个符合当地农业行业需求的农业技术项目。这些课程的设计将使学生能够同时发展技术能力和更高层次的能力以及行业支持的证书。有了这些技能和资质，学生们将能够进入中等技能水平的农业技术员大军。该项目旨在增加佐治亚州东北部的熟练技术劳动力，从而提高雇主在当地招聘熟练农业技术人员的能力。该项目计划开发两个新的学术项目，为学生在现代农业行业的技术工作做好准备：农业综合企业和现代多元化农业。将追求两个相辅相成的目标。第一是针对当地农业行业的需要，开发体验式、多样化的课程。第二是在这些农业技术员项目中招收和留住阿巴拉契亚学生。课程将通过与农业行业和当地农业咨询委员会成员的伙伴关系来设计。课程将侧重于在学习实验室的背景下为学生提供实践机会。该项目将吸引一批学生，他们由于缺乏对现有职位的认识以及无法获得填补职位所需的技术教育而基本上未被利用。项目年度评估报告中的信息将用于衡量项目成功、调整战略以及向利益攸关方通报项目进展情况。该项目还将调查社区如何通过其高等教育机构，让农业行业和阿巴拉契亚家庭和学生参与到为高薪当地工作培养农业技术人员的工作中。该项目由高级技术教育计划资助，该计划专注于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to address the growing need for agricultural technicians in Northeast Georgia. The agriculture industry is increasingly driven by precision technologies that maximize productivity and minimize waste and environmental hazards. These processes require advanced mechanization and global navigation satellite systems for implementation. To prepare agricultural technicians for work in precision technologies, the project will develop two agriculture technology programs that are aligned to local agricultural industry needs. These programs will be designed so that students can develop both technical and higher order competencies and industry-supported credentials. With these skills and credentials, the students will be able to enter the agricultural technician workforce at middle-skilled levels. This project aims to increase the skilled technical workforce in Northeast Georgia, thus increasing the ability of employers to recruit skilled agricultural technicians locally. The project plans to develop two new academic programs that can prepare students for technical work in modern agricultural industries: Agribusiness; and Modern Diversified Agriculture. Two complementary goals will be pursued. The first is to develop experiential, diversified curricula specific to the needs of the local agriculture industry. The second is to recruit and retain Appalachian students in these agricultural technician programs. The curricula will be designed through a partnership with the agriculture industry and local agriculture advisory committee members. The curricula will focus on providing students with hands-on opportunities in the context of learning laboratories. The project will engage a pool of student who are largely untapped due to a lack of awareness of the available positions and a lack of access to the technical education needed to fill the positions. Information in the project annual evaluation reports will be used to measure project success, to adjust strategies, and to inform stakeholders about project progress. The project will also investigate how the community, through its higher education institutions, can engage the agriculture industry and Appalachian families and students in preparing agriculture technicians for well-paying, local jobs. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.