Global Learning in Agriculture at Cumberland Valley

On January 30th, 2019 the Global Teach Ag team as well as Roger Thurow went to Cumberland Valley High School to do activities with students centered around his book The First 1,000 Days: A Crucial Time for Mothers and Children.

The group also got to take a look at Cumberland Valley’s Agricultural Education Program, and talk with Darla Romberger, the agri-science teacher at Cumberland Valley which was an exciting opportunity considering that this was Roger Thurow’s first time seeing an agricultural education program.

The activity was attended by students in three classes: agri-science, AP history, and culinary. For the activity, students were divided into four groups that represented the four countries that Roger discusses in his book.These countries were The United States, Uganda, India, Guatemala. Each country was given a large problem that was featured in the book, and the groups brainstormed along with Thurow, Romberger, Global Teach Ag, and Penn State Professors. It was an amazing opportunity for students to combine what they learn in the classroom with critical thinking skills. It is exciting to see students that are passionate about solving real world issues and taking steps to be involved in the process of becoming positive agents of change.

Erin Langdale

Communications Team Member

Twitter: @ItsErinLangdale

Agricultural Education Student Teacher 2020

You Don't Want To Miss This! #GLAG18 Is Almost Here

Are you interested in "globalizing" your agriculturally-focused instruction?  The Global Learning Conference in Agriculture is designed to help you create global learning opportunities for students in any agricultural discipline.

What is GLAG?

The Global Learning Conference in Agriculture (GLAG) Conference is designed to help you create global learning opportunities for students in any agricultural discipline.

GLAG is aimed towards current secondary, post-secondary, and pre-service agriscience educators of all disciplines, extension educators, and vendors and stakeholders in global learning, but anyone is welcome to register! The GLAG program believes that purposeful, meaningful global learning can occur on and off campus, and that there should be coordination from all levels of agricultural education to ensure maximum student growth on the global competency continuum.

When:

Events for #GLAG18 will be taking place the entire week of January 22nd to 26th. The week-long conference concludes with the LIVE session held on Friday from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST. Check out the 2018 Conference Agenda for more information.

Where:

#GLAG17 featured a host of guest speakers such as
Keegan Kautzky (Left) from World Food Prize.

• Online! Daily activities via Zoom (see the 2018 Conference Agenda for Zoom links) covering an array of topics related to diversity, professional development, global connections, and global agriculture.
• LIVE Conference: Online via Adobe Connect (Link received with #GLAG18 registration).

Benefits of registration:

For your registration fee, you will receive:

• One of only a limited number of spots in this year’s Global Learning in Agriculture conference on January 26, 2018 [Note: To ensure the best experience, we are limiting capacity.]
• Opportunity to attend presentations on best practices of globalizing curriculum on campus and best practices for conducting immersion experiences.
• Access to a virtual vendor fair in which you can collaborate with businesses and programs that are interested in helping you achieve your program or individual growth goals.
• Win fabulous door prizes, before, after and during the event!
• Finally, registrants who have registered for the All Access Pass for $50 received an exclusive “Conference in a Box” with critical materials (and wickedly awesome cool stuff) to have an enjoyable experience. All conference boxes have been claimed, but there's still time to register for Digital-Only access!

Note: Penn State students should email teachag@psu.edu to learn about scholarship opportunities.

So, how do I register?

• Digital Only access provides registrants with access to all conference activities, but does not include a "Conference in a Box".  Digital Only registration is available until Thursday, January 25th. Select "Digital Pass Only" on the registration form to select this option. Digital Pass Only Registration is $25.

Need any more reason to attend? 

Our Keynote Speakers during Friday's LIVE session are Appiah Boateng, founder and Executive Director of 4-H Ghana, and Trent McKnight, founder of AgriCorps. The title of their talk is "Transforming Global Agriculture Through Youth Engagement". Want to learn more about them? Click here.

Don't miss out; see you at the conference January 22nd to 26th!

_____________________________________________________

 

Hunter Kauffman, Student Blogger

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

College of Agricultural Sciences

Email: hlk5120@psu.edu

Instagram: kauffman_hunter

#GLAG17: The World at Your Doorstep

Agriculture Education is not just in the United States, but also across the entire globe concerning every country on the Earth. Throughout this week Penn State Global Teach Ag is hosting #GLAG17.

What is #GLAG17? It is a dynamic online learning experience consisting of asynchronous presentations being shared, starting Monday January 23rd, and synchronous presentation featuring two sessions, special presentations, and a keynote speaker. This learning experience is bringing together over 100 education institutional representatives from 30 different states and 5 different countries.

The asynchronous presentations starting Monday include the following:

• SmartFarm Learning Hub (Australia) w/ Amy Cosby University of New England, Armidale, Australia  
• Agricorps: An Innovative Global Immersion Option for American Agriculture Graduates w/ Haley Clement and Jon Velez, Oregon State University
• Implementing Student Centered Teaching Approaches in Ghana w/ Haley Clement and Jon Velez, Oregon State University
• Global Food Security Resources w/ Jane Hunt and Melinda Lloyd GrowNextGen.org and Columbus Council on World Affairs
• Creating a Cultural Responsive Classroom w/ Jeremy Elliott-Engel and Donna Westfall-Rudd, Virginia Tech
• Independent Undergraduate Research Abroad: Lessons Learned at the University of New Hampshire w/ Andrew Conroy
• University of New Hampshire
• Outback Wildcat: Capstone Semester International Immersion w/ Kendall Wright and Stacy Vincent, University of Kentucky
• Let Peace Corps Take the Mic in Your Classroom w/ Olivia Murphy-Sweet, Peace Corp

The synchronous presentations that are Friday January 27th from 1pm - 5pm include:

• Session- Globalizing Ag Ed at Home and Abroad
• Bringing the World Home: Lessons from Turkey, Nepal, and Kenya w/ Jeremy Elliott-Engel and Donna Westfall-Rudd, Virginia Tech
• Global Ag: New Tools for the K-12 Classroom w/ Heather Singmaster, Asia Society and Jennifer Manise, Longview Foundation
• Internationalizing Course Content w/ Jill Woerner and Celya Glowacki, Indiana Department of Education
• Session- Creating a Network of Global Connections in Agricultural Education
• Global Agriculture Immersion for All w/ Brad Kinsinger, Hawkeye Community College
• Contextualizing Agriculture Education in Uganda w/ Ben Meyer, National FFA
• Special Presentations

• World Food Prize w/ Makena Schultz, Michigan State University Extension and Keegan Kautzky, World Food Prize
• Where can GLAG Take You w/ Sasha Diederich, Penn State Extension
• Keynote
• Dr. Richard Slimbach, Author of Becoming World Wise, "Global Learning Upon a Generous Earth"

The partners that made this phenomenal learning experience possible include:

• Asia Society: Center for Global Education
• C.E.L.A. Belize
• Explorations by Thor
• Hawkeye Community College Global Agriculture Learning Center
• The National FFA Organization
• Purdue Youth Development and Agricultural Education
• Penn State Teaching and Learning with Technology
• Penn State, College of Agricultural Sciences, Office of International Programs 
• Penn State, Center for Professional Personnel Development in Agricultural Education
• Texas A&M Agricultural Leadership Education and Communication
• We! and Me: Collaboration
• The World Food Prize

Thank you for your support of this program.

Social Media Tags

PSU Global Teach Ag! Initiative: @GlobalTeachAg

Event Hashtag: #GLAG17

Platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Additional Hyperlinks

Conference Website

Keynote Speaker 90 Second Video

Why GLAG Video

Global Teach Ag Website

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of students across the globe by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter at TeachAgPSU, on Facebook, or on our blog.    

Luke Kerstetter

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @lmkerstetter96

2020 Agriculture Education Student Teacher

Are you ready to impact the world? Global Learning in Agriculture Conference 2016 (#GLAG16)

" #GLAG16 is over. Let's stay motivated to continue to make Ag Education our focus point," was one of the many tweets in the Global Learning and Agriculture Conference twitter challenge. Gaspari was a participant and presenter at the Global Learning and Agriculture Conference hosted online by the Penn State Teach Ag! Team.  The Global Learning in Agriculture Conference, GLAG for short, is a place for innovation and collaboration, and a time for educators to come together to develop global learning. This year’s conference was hosted in an online format which allowed stakeholders from all over the country and world to share their experiences in global learning.  

Megan Miller and Pat Henne, Agriculture Teachers
from Michigan were 2 of the presenters at #GLAG16

A virtual conference?  How does that work, and how is it engaging?  From presentations pertaining to taking high school students on an immersion experience abroad, to learning how to bring the World to our classrooms, the day was packed with intriguing topics, including a keynote address. Dr. Caitlin Haugen, an Education Program Specialist with the Peace Corps shared her expertise on “Curating Partnerships in Developing Global Competence: The task of  21st Century K-20 Educators”  delivered by Dr.  Caitlin Haugen, an Education Program Specialist with the Peace Corps.

"Conference in a Box"
"Thank you" to all our
vendors!

The day didn’t stop there, throughout the presentations all of the participants could participate in questions posted by presenters as well as enjoy their "Conference in a Box" sent ahead of time.  Participants didn’t have to worry about not having someone to share their ideas or ‘light-bulb’ moments with, over 370 tweets were shared before, during and after the conference to keep the conversation rolling.  Check out the archived conversation is archived conversation here: #GLAG16.  

Top 5 Resources:

1. Mapping the Nation: A perfect resource to show your students how global your state is!

2. Test your Hunger Knowledge: Find out your hunger knowledge, more about your personality and how YOU can fight hunger. 

3. VIF International Education: Develop yourself as a Global Educator and learn how to continue globalizing yourself and your classroom in an online format. 

4. Experiential Tools:  This website and resources are perfect for reflection practices while traveling abroad with students. 

5. Peace Corps World Wise Schools: World Wise Schools promotes global learning and allows teachers to connect with return or current Peace Corps Volunteers.  Dr. Caitlin Haugen,  Education Program Specialist for the Peace Corps and keynote speaker at the Global Learning and Agriculture Conference, spoke very highly of this program!

Top 5 Tweets:

#GLAG16 kicks off in just 24 hours!! Have you seen all of the sneak peeks from our presenters yet? Check them out! https://t.co/TtwfTC0afW

— Global Teach Ag (@globalteachag) January 7, 2016

@HeinertSeth Would be awesome if chapters/teams could earn xtra points for connecting their Ag Issue to a Global Issue? @skvincent1? #GLAG16

— Daniel D. Foster (@FosterDanielD) January 8, 2016

"It's not the same in every country, and it shouldn't be" @4H @kirkastroth I love this acknowledgement. #contextmatters #GLAG16

— Paige Castellanos (@paigec_psu) January 8, 2016

"Global competence is thinking beyond your own 'filter'" #GLAG16 Fantastic statement

— Blaze Currie (@BlazeCurrie) January 8, 2016

LOVE the idea of 4-H and FFA working TOGETHER #GLAG16 let's expand our reach for international experiences @4H @NationalFFA

— Sarabeth Royer (@sb_royer) January 8, 2016

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of students across the globe by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter at TeachAgPSU, on Facebook, or on our blog. 

Kayla Hack

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @hackkayla

2017 Agriculture Education Student Teacher

#GlobalTeachAg: Nur Husna, Visiting Global Teach Ag! Fellow, discusses agriculture education in Malaysia



Earlier this month, Nur Husna, a Ph.D. Candidate in Workforce Education from Malaysia, delivered a presentation about Malaysia and their school based agriculture education system. If you missed out on the opportunity to hear her speak, she provided in depth knowledge on what education majors and teachers have to go through to get certified in their field. 

One interesting thing is that teachers have to sign a contract and abide by the following rules when they are in their field. Below are just some of the responsibilities and rules that these teachers have to follow.

Ministry of education Malaysia: Teacher education Financing terms/ contract

Student teacher Responsibilities
1)    Must successfully complete their studies within the prescribed period
2)    Not allow to change area  study and / or place of study to University or institution other than the one designated
3)    Must strive  very hard to study by attending lectures, seminars, tutorials, lectures and any program carried out in connection with the study
Discipline
1) Must always adhere to the rules and discipline as in force at the university or institution
2) Not Allow to take part in any demonstrations 3) Not allow participate directly or indirectly in any political party
4) Not allow to engage in any conduct or activities that may affect the study


Serve the Government
1)    Will serve the government as determine by the government  after graduation

Teacher Pledge when entering the teaching profession

I promise to:
1)    Always be obedient to His Majesty the King, the country and the government
2)    Always carry out my duties with conscientiously, earnest, efficient, trustworthy, and responsible.
3)    Will not neglect my duty for my personal interests
4)    Will not use my position as public servants for my personal benefit
5)    Will not behave in a way that can aggravate and discredit the public services

Serve the Government
1)    Will serve the government as determine by the government  after graduation

As you can see by these lists, you begin to notice that teachers are under watch by several people and they take their jobs very seriously like we do in America.
After the presentation, I was able to interview Nur to ask her more questions about her presentation. In the interview below, questions were asked based on her presentation and other stories that she had to help us see what her country was like. Check out the video!

If you would like to watch the full seminar, please click on the video below (18 minutes) and watch an abbreviated presentation created by Nur in our PSU One-Button Studio!

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of students across the globe by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter at TeachAgPSU, on Facebook, or on our blog!

Olivia Murphy-Sweet

2016 Student Teacher Candidate

Blog Editor

@OSweetMurph

World Wisdom with Weaver - Global Learning in Agriculture #GLAG14

Well, it seems that the temperatures in the north are starting to really match up to the time of year. This weekend I spent my time in blustery, but fun, Penn State!

From November 7-8, the College of Agricultural Sciences hosted the first "Global Learning in Agriculture" (#GLAG14) conference. Over 50 teachers, undergrads, professors, and professionals met at the Atherton Hotel to learn together.

I was fortunate enough to be a part of this two day event and was able to learn so much from those who spoke and shared.

Krista Pontius shares her travel experiences.

The first evening kicked off with some keynote presentations on lessons learned from experience by Dr. Kenneth Cushner (Kent State) and Dr. Kirby Barrick (UFL).

Dr. Melanie Miller Foster (@GlobalMelanie) shared with us a very fun presentation on Risk Management. Although a serious topic to consider when taking students abroad, she definitely managed to make it an engaging presentation.

I also enjoyed the two group presentations of the night. The first was led by Eric Sawatzke (@ESawatzke), an Agricultural Science teacher from Minnesota. He's currently working with our very own Kayla Hack (@HackKayla) and Janae Bickhart (@JanaeBickhart) to develop curriculum for his classes that involves distance education from these two amazing young ladies. They reflected on their experiences with this class so far and all that they are learning and creating.

The group assembles and mingles!

After that, Megan Merrill (@megan_merrill), an Agriculture Science Teacher from Springport, Michigan, and Jeff Garrison of the AEC Spanish Institute discussed their experience working together to provide Megan's students with a study abroad opportunity to Turrialba, Costa Rica. It was really interesting to hear how Megan put the trip together so quickly and was able to provide such a unique and engaging experience for her students.

On the second day, we got down to the nitty-gritty!  

(L-R) Jeff Garrison, Eric Sawatzke, David Bittner

Dr. Cushner led an AMAZING learning experience for the group. We discussed the concept of Intercultural Development and the hangups that we have to consider when learning to become more intercultural in our thinking and teaching. To illustrate some of the concepts, we played a game called "Barnga" and considered perceptions and misconceptions can cause barriers to our growth. We learned about Robert Hanvey's Dimensions of a Global Perspective and worked on ways to integrate these concepts into our lessons. 

After lunch, we were treated to a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Andrew Thoron of the University of Florida. The panel consisted of a professor (Dr. Dennis Buffington, PSU CAS Professor Emeritus of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Distinguished Professor of Moscow State Agro-Engineering), a current Ag. Teacher (Krista Pontius, Greenwood PA Agriscience Teacher, NAAE Region VI Vice President, Past PAAE President, @KristaPontius) and a current AEE undergrad (Jasmine Graybill, PSU AEE Major, 2015 Student Teacher, @JasmineGraybill). This panel discussed their experiences with traveling, learning and teaching abroad and their plans and dreams to incorporate global learning into classrooms.

Dr. Cushner is just amazing!

We ended the day with some excited group brainstorming sessions and some challenges from the group, specifically, "Wouldn't it be cool if". Each participant walked away with a vast amount of resources, prizes, and a text on Global Learning. 

In the coming months, we plan to continue our growth by discussing the books on NAAE CoP as well as posting lessons and ideas to the site as well (Space: Global Agriculture).

It was an exciting and inspiring weekend. I like that it was a mix of people at different places in their careers and working in the field of global learning and competency in different ways. It was an atmosphere of sharing and collaboration and I feel confident that good things are to come from this group of highly motivated and global-passionate people!

If you didn't attend, you truly missed out! 

Agriculturally Yours,

Nicole Weaver

PSU Global Teach Ag! Fellow

Agriscience Educator

TeamWeaverFever@gmail.com

@TeamWeaverFever

Got to share the experience with my wonderful former student, Jill Gordon!