1. ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND CAREER SUCCESS IN AGRICULTURE: A NEEDS-BASED CURRICULUM Educational Needs Area: Curricula Design and Materials Development CSREES Strategic Objective: To improve student recruitment and retention Project Blog: http://usdaenglishandagriculture.wordpress.com Project Email: usdaenglish@gmail.com OBJECTIVES To create and pilot a two-course English curriculum based on the academic and future employment needs of undergraduate agriculture majors. To describe the use of English in agriculture majors’ undergraduate courses by analyzing the listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills necessary to understand the content being delivered in English. To describe the use of English in potential employment situations for agriculture graduates, such as the NRCS (National Resource Conservation Service) and TARS (Tropical Agricultural Research Station). EVALUATION ACTIVITIES English Language Needs Analysis Observe focal students in all their classes to understand their English language needs Interview the focal students’ instructors to understand their language use (Spanish/English) during course Analyze materials (textbooks, quizzes, handouts, etc.) for language use Interview and conduct focus groups with focal participants to understand their English language needs and learning strategies Interview professionals at TARS (Tropical Agricultural Research Station) and NRCS (National Resource Conservation Service) to understand the English language needs of employees. Revise English Courses Create, Implement, and Evaluate revised English courses (INGL 3201 and 3202) based on the needs analysis data Dissemination Activities Publish revised curriculum on blog (http://usdaenglishandagriculture.wordpress.com) Present results at local and international conferences, as well at our own institution Publish academic article based on results Student Development Send selected focal participants to conferences Train graduate research assistants in qualitative research methods Support two NRCS summer interns with a $1000 stipend OUTCOMES/IMPACTS (1) The outcome will be a curricular revision of two English courses. This needs-based curricular change will potentially affect 60% of agriculture majors each year that the revised curriculum is in place. The new curriculum could result in shorter time-to-degree, higher retention rate, and better job placement for students, and thus an increased number of Hispanic professionals in the agricultural workforce. (2) The project will build alliances between the Department of English, the College of Agriculture, and other academic departments as researchers come to understand language use across various disciplines. The process of data collection, analysis, and write-up will advance discovery and understanding in the fields of agriculture, math and science content learning and English language learning while promoting researcher training and cross-disciplinary understanding. (3) The project will train four Puerto Rican student research assistants, increasing the participation of Hispanics in education research. (4) Hispanics are traditionally underrepresented in science and math. Our results will significantly advance understanding of the role of ESL in math and science content learning, potentially improving math and science education for this population. (5) The results of this research will reveal both effective and ineffective models of content learning with support for English language learning. Published articles will report findings so that teaching practices facilitating content learning for low-English-proficiency students can be replicated. In addition, the revised curriculum will be made public for adoption for use with ESL students at other institutions. Evaluation Outcome Evaluation criteria and weight in % Curricular revision Student pre- and post-tests show 80% of students can score an 80% (25%) Loop assessments of student performance on select curricular goals show that 80% of students have mastered the goals (25%) Faculty evaluation of new curriculum (survey) (25%) Student satisfaction survey (25%) Build alliances across departments and disciplines Faculty evaluation of project (survey) (100%) Train research assistants Assistants co-author a submitted publication (50%) Assistants present at academic conferences (50%) Advance the understanding of the role of English as a second language in academic content learning Article about this topic accepted to peer-reviewed journal (50%) Feedback from project website (survey of HSIs) (50%) Reveal both effective and ineffective models of content learning with support for English language learning Article about this topic accepted to peer-reviewed journal (50%) Presentation about this project made at academic conference (50%) PRODUCTS A two-course English curricular sequence for agriculture majors; accompanying documents to include syllabi, lesson plans, materials, readings, and course blog. A project-based website where all course materials (syllabi, lesson plans, etc.) will be available to other ESL instructors for easy download. A qualitative research “lab” equipped with laptops, voice recorders, printer, transcriber, and software. RESULTS Course materials available to other ESL professionals at Hispanic Serving Institutions in Puerto Rico and throughout the world. Researchers collect data on agriculture student performance in English. English Department and Agriculture Faculty will have necessary data to implement a permanent curricular change for agriculture majors. University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus Department of English – P.I. Catherine M. Mazak Co P.I.s Rosita L. Rivera and Judith K. Casey Award Number: 2009-38422-19869 Amount: $249,753 BENEFICIARIES 24 participants ($200 per semester for 6 semesters for participation, access to travel funds) 125 (approximately) Agriculture majors who place into the Basic English track each year 1500 (approximately) students per semester who take courses in the Basic English Track