Stem into AG literacy (SAL): professional development for teachers to foster future agricultural professionals hosted at north carolina a & t state university in partnership with alabama a & m…

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University received a $500,000 Project Grant award from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program (CFDA 10.310), effective September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2028. In partnership with Alabama A&M University, NC A&T will develop and deliver professional development programming designed to enhance agricultural literacy and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) competencies among secondary teachers in grades 6-12. The program will serve 60 teachers over the three-year performance period (20 teachers annually) through a hybrid two-week summer professional development program.

The primary deliverables include eight high-quality, scaffolded training modules developed using the Understanding by Design (UBD) framework and delivered synchronously via a Learning Management System (Google Classroom). Modules will address water quality, soil science, food science, and animal science while building teacher expertise in data management, research, communication, and digital technology. The program will provide hands-on learning experiences and mentoring, with explicit objectives to enhance teacher competencies in Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Human Sciences and STEM fields while introducing participants to degree programs and career pathways in these disciplines.

Stem into AG literacy (SAL): professional development for teachers to foster future agricultural professionals hosted at north carolina a & t state university in partnership with alabama a & m university will develop a curriculum (modules) supporting afri's professional development for agricultural literacy for k-14 educational professionals. The multi-disciplinary, institutional team will provide 20 secondary teachers (grades 6-12) per year for a total of 60 teachers over a three-year period with professional development to enhance their agriculture literacy and stem knowledge to be practiced in their classrooms and laboratories. Eight high-quality training modules will be created and scaffolded using the understanding by design (UBD) framework to allow teachers to learn, practice, and then integrate fanh sciences and stem into their classrooms and laboratories while also enhancing their agriculture literacy with the use of digital tools. Teachers will complete the modules synchronously via a learning management system (google classroom), following the association of college and university educators (acue) framework. These three objectives will guide the SAL program: (1) provide high-quality educational content to empower teachers grade 6-12 with knowledge of water quality, soil science, food science, and animal science while enhancing their skills in data management, research, communication, and digital technology; (2) inspire teachers grades 6-12 through engaging activities and hands-on experiences, helping them to acquire a greater interest in developing their teaching competencies in in the food, agriculture, natural resources and human (fanh) sciences and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (stem); and (3) offer participants a mentoring program, while introducing them to the vast degree programs and careers in the fanh sciences and stem fields. Twenty-secondary teachers per year will engage in a hybrid two-week summer program and receive mentorship from the program team, university and industry professionals during the academic year. This program will address five afri priority areas, 1-plant health and production and plant products; 2-animal health and production and animal products; 3-food safety, nutrition, and health; 4-bioenergy, natural resources, and environment; and 5-agriculture systems and technology. The main outcome is to increase secondary teachers' knowledge of fanh sciences and stem fields while developing a database of resources produced by teachers who participate in the program to share with non-participating teachers with secondary students as end beneficiaries. Integrating innovative systems (i.e., synchronous and asynchronous technologies) provides teachers with technological resources to build a skilled workforce.