Missouri Farmers Care’s Agriculture Education on the Move (AEOTM) program builds curriculum and activities to allow local educators to bring 10 weeks of hands-on agricultural education to elementary schoolers in their areas. Through programing that meets state standards in science, math, reading and writing through agricultural content, high school educators can practice their teaching skills long before they enter a classroom full time. High school students are typically recruited via FFA to educators, but any student is welcome to participate. Many CAFNR Agricultural Education and Leadership students have served as AEOTM educators or program interns, and they came together to help train a new generation of high school educators at the fourth annual Mizzou FFA Partner Training Day.
One hundred students from 27 FFA chapters gathered at Bradford Research Farm with AEOTM staff and eight agricultural education and leadership student volunteers that have prior experience with the program: Alivia Beanland, Izzy Freymuth, Toni Haselhorst, Emily Hoyt, Harleigh Lewis, Kate Rogers, Emma Roth, Annamarie Stone, and Jaron VanHouden.
“I taught AEOTM in high school and it was super rewarding to teach third graders about where their food came from. It’s part of the reason I decided to major in Agriculture Education,” said Izzy Freymuth, junior. “It’s been even more rewarding the last two years getting to help prepare current high schoolers to teach the AEOTM curriculum. Their passion and excitement for wanting to get into the classroom was so refreshing!”
“Serving as an educator for Agriculture Education on the Move has been extremely rewarding,” said Kate Rogers. “We have the opportunity to teach the next generation of agriculturalists while experiencing their enthusiasm for the industry. Although managing a classroom of third-grade students presents its challenges, these students are eagerly embracing the opportunity.”
While the high schoolers learn how to walk third graders through making soybean germination necklaces and homemade butter, the college trainers also practice their classroom management skills.
“AEOTM training day is a service-learning project, part of the CAFNR RISE program, which directly benefits Mizzou Agricultural Education students, Missouri agriculture teachers, Missouri elementary school students and Missouri Farmers Care,” said John Tummons, associate professor of agricultural education and leadership. “The training day benefits Mizzou teacher certification students as they gain valuable experience teaching high school students, while equipping Missouri agriculture students/FFA members to teach AETOM curriculum at a high level in their local elementary schools. As a teacher educator, I’ve seen our student educators gain confidence and valuable classroom experience.”
Since the first training day in 2021, the AEOTM program has grown by 106%, now including 535 FFA member educators from 91 Missouri FFA chapters.
“The Mizzou FFA training day is a key component of the success of the Ag Moves program,” said Heather Fletcher, AEOTM program director. “We are so proud of the Mizzou students who take ownership of this event each year and facilitate the training of our fantastic FFA partner educators. This valued partnership is how Ag Moves continues to successfully impact the lives of thousands of elementary students each semester through our in-classroom agriculture curriculum.”
In addition to impacting the lives of elementary students, this program can also have a long-term effect on the agricultural education system as a whole.
“Moving forward, AEOTM experiences can play a pivotal role in addressing the ongoing agriculture teacher shortage,” said Tummons. “We believe preparing the high school students for a great teaching experience as high schoolers can inspire students to choose a career in Agricultural Education. To support this idea, almost all of our 2024 senior teacher education students have participated in Ag Education on the Move as students or summer educators.”
To learn more about Agricultural Education on the Move, visit their website.