Assessing the Animal Science Technical Skills Needed by Secondary Agricultural Education Graduates for Employment in the Animal Industries: A Modified Delphi Study

BackgroundGraduates of simulation fellowship programmes are expected to have the ability to perform a variety of simulation specific skills at the time of graduation. Currently, simulation fellowship directors have access to tools to assess the ability of a fellow to debrief learners. However, there is no tool to assess a simulation fellow’s competency in technical skills. The purpose of our manuscript was to develop and obtain content validation of a novel instrument designed to assess a simulation fellow’s ability to perform the five core simulation technical skills.MethodsThe study protocol was based on a methodology for content validation of curriculum consensus guidelines. This approach involves a three-step process, which includes the initial delineation of the curricular content. This was then followed by the validation of the curricular content using survey methodology and lastly obtaining consensus on modifications using Delphi methodology.ResultsTwo rounds of modified Delphi methodology were performed. Seventy-four respondents provided feedback on the round 1 survey and 45 respondents provided feedback on round 2. The final assessment tool has five elements and 16 subitems with four optional subitems.ConclusionThe Evaluation of Technical Competency in Healthcare Simulation tool provides an instrument developed from a national consensus of content experts. This tool provides simulation fellowship directors a method to evaluate fellows’ competency in technical skills.

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Identifying Tennessee school-based agricultural education student growth and program accountability metrics

Advancements in Agricultural Development ◽

10.37433/aad.v2i2.91 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 86-96

Author(s):

Ashton Street ◽

Christopher Stripling ◽

John Ricketts ◽

Nathan Conner ◽

Christopher Boyer

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Education ◽

Delphi Study ◽

Value Added ◽

Student Growth ◽

Education Student ◽

Modified Delphi ◽

School Based ◽

Primary Focus ◽

Program Accountability ◽

The Individual

Over the years, accountability in education has transformed from the primary focus being the school as a whole to the individual teacher. The purpose of this study was to determine the metrics Tennessee school-based agricultural education teachers perceive as indicators of excellent total programs (classroom instruction, FFA, SAE), and a modified Delphi study was used to seek a consensus. The following nine metrics were retained: (a) pesticide certification, (b) program of activities, (c) number of students participating in CDEs, (d) chapter community service hours, (e) total number of FFA activities, (f) number of CDEs coached, (g) at least one proficiency at regional level, (h) one American degree every 3 years, and (i) percentage of students with SAE. Overall, the metrics agreed upon are narrow in focus and all but one is a record of activity and not direct measures of students’ knowledge or skills. As a result, the measures do not include student growth or value-added scores or authentic assessments of 21st century skills. Additional research is needed to further investigate the metrics that should be used to measure a school-based agricultural education program’s success in Tennessee and across the nation.

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