Nebraska State FFA Agriscience

Agriscience Philosophy

Provide first-year agriscience students with a practical and applied career experience in a competitive environment centered on the career pathways related to the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Career Cluster.

Contest Schedule

The Agriscience CDE is a qualifying event.

There will be three (3) TEAM rotations involved with the Agriscience CDE. Depending on your district, you will be designated a time for your individuals to compete in the practica activities. Each rotation will be one-hour in length and will involve two (2) practica. Each participant will have 20 minutes to complete each practica with a 5-minute period for rotation and a 5-minute period for practica overview. From 1 PM until 1:50, individuals will complete an on-campus written examination in the Great Plains Room in the East Campus Union.

Individual Portion

All Schools begin at 1 PM

Team Portion

Section I:  Districts 1-4 begin at  2 PM
Section II: Districts 5-8 begin at 3 PM
Section III: Districts 9-12 begin at 4 PM
Please report 10 minutes prior to your rotation.

Students should bring

• Calculator and two (2) number two pencils (for each participant)
• Regular safety goggles (for each participant)
• Make sure you arrive at your school’s scheduled rotation
• All four participants must compete in the same rotation at the same time 

UPDATES…

The topical areas within the Nebraska Agriscience CDE are on a six-year rotational system. The 2007 topical area will become the 2013 topical area…the 2008 topical area will become the 2014 topical area and so forth.

2012 Plant Systems
Units 1, 2, 4, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22

2011 Animal Systems
Units 1, 2, 4, 26, 27, 28

2010 Natural Resource Systems
Units 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 18, 19, 20

2009 Biotechnology, Food Science, and Technology
Units 1, 2, 3, 4, 32, 33

2008 Integrated Pest Management and Agribusiness Management
Units 1, 2, 4, 13, 14, 34, 35, 36

2007 Aquaculture, Small Animal Care, and Ornamental Horticulture
Units 1, 2, 4, 12, 23, 24, 25, 29

2006 Plant Systems
Units 1, 2, 4, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22

Event Superintendent

Dann Husmann
AgLEC Department
East Campus
300 Agricultural Hall
Lincoln, NE 68583-0709
(402) 472-0386
dhusmann2@unl.edu

Rules and Procedures

Purpose: 

To assess the first year (9th or 10th grade) agricultural education student’s knowledge and applied skills within systems in agriculture.

Objectives:

1. Students will demonstrate a basic knowledge and skill level of agricultural systems by completing a multiple-choice examination, one individual practicum (career report), and one team practica (on-campus).
2. Students may participate in the event’s feedback section and complete the event evaluation.

Eligibility:

1. Any  first year agricultural education student may participate as long as they are in the 9th or 10th grade at the time of the event.
2. Students may only participate in the Agriscience CDE for one year.
3. This is a district qualifying event. Fifty percent of schools in a district may compete in the state contest.
4. Qualifying schools may register one (1) team. A team is defined as having four (4) first year agricultural education students.

Contest Format: 

Part I – Written Examination

1. Fifty (50) questions in a multiple-choice format. Thirty-five (35) questions will cover core material and the remaining 15 questions will come from optional sections from with the Agriscience textbook.

2. Material covered on the test will be taken from the Delmar Agriscience: Fundamentals and Applications (Second Edition). Core material will originate from the units within the year’s topical area. Optional material will originate from the remaining units outside the core area, but will not include content from Units 5 and 6 (SAE and Leadership).

3. Each year a theme will be emphasized and rotated on an annual basis. The themes can be found in the UPDATE section above and includes next year’s theme area to assist district in CDE development and an explanation of the rotational system.

4. ON-CAMPUS EXAMINATION – All four students will complete the examination at 1 PM in the Great Plains Room while on campus.

a. No resources are allowed at any time for students who are completing the on-campus agriscience assessment. Must have pencils…none will be provided.
b. If at any time you encounter problems, contact a CDE coordinator ASAP.

5. Fifty-minutes will be allowed for individuals to complete the examination and team members will work individually.

Part II – Individual Practica

1. Team members will work individually on three practica related to the theme area for the year.

a. Two (2) practica will take place while on campus during the actual Agriscience CDE for 2012. (See the Overview)
b. One (1) practicum will take place before participants arrive on campus. The Career Report will be completed and submitted prior to your arrival on campus. You will send hard copies of the career reports (all at once) to the address listed above postmarked by March 19th (Monday) so we can process and evaluate the report prior to the on-campus activities. You can send all the reports to the address above prior to March 19th deadline.

2. Practica will arise out of the specific units within the theme area and students should have received instruction related to the laboratory activities found within the Agriscience Laboratory Manual.

3. The practica scores will be added to the team score for each school participating in the Agriscience CDE.

4. Individuals will be allowed up to 20 minutes to complete each practicum within the Agriscience CDE.

5. Students will be provided an answer sheet to complete the practicum and these will be collected at the conclusion of the practicum.

Part III – Feedback and Evaluation

1. Participants and instructors will be allowed to participate in a review of the Agriscience CDE once the competition has been completed.

2. The event director or other qualified individuals will discuss the exam questions and practica areas. If necessary, an individual will demonstrate any procedure participants were asked to complete.

3. Scoring of the Agriscience CDE will comprise of the following:

a. Written Exam (campus exam)     200 points
b. Practicum A (career report)          100 points
c. Practicum B (Individual activity)    100 points
d.Practicum C (Individual activity)     100 points
e. Team Score (4 participants)         2000 points

4. Individuals will receive awards based on the exam and the three-practica scores (200+100+100+100=500 points).

5. Teams will receive awards based on calculating all four individual scores, which will comprise of one team score. Team recognition and awards will only be based on the participation of all four individuals within the Agriscience CDE.

6. In situations involving ties with individuals, questions from the exam scores will be used as the first criteria (Question x, Question y, Question z). If teams tie, we will use the combined individual scores from the questions identified from above.

Awards: 

1. The top three individuals will receive medals and purple ribbons. Ribbons will be presented to 50% of the total number of students participating in the Agriscience CDE. The ribbon breakdown is as follows:

• 10% purple
• 15% blue
• 15% red
• 10% white

2. The top three teams will receive team medals, a team plaque, and a team purple ribbon. Ribbons will be presented to 50% of the total number of teams participating in the Agriscience CDE. The ribbon breakdown is as follows:

• 10% purple
• 15% blue
• 15% red
• 10% white

Study Guides:

References:

Cooper, E. (1997). Agriscience: Fundamentals and applications (2nd Edition). New York: Delmar Publishers.

York, W., & Cooper, E. (1997). Agriscience: Fundamentals and applications (2nd Edition) Lab Manual. New York: Delmar Publishers.

Iverson, B. (1997). Agriscience: Fundamentals and applications (2nd Edition) Instructor’s Guide. New York: Delmar Publishers.

Iverson, B., & Cooper, E. (1997). Agriscience: Fundamentals and applications (2nd Edition) Teacher’s Resource Guide. New York: Delmar Publishers.

Potential Practica Areas/Examination Information:

2012 (ON-CAMPUS)

1. Textbook
        a. Student Activities/Practica
              i. Units 26, 27, and 28
              ii. Should be prepared for any one of these activities
              iii. Examination questions may come from any of these units in the textbook
2. Lab Manual (USING THE 4th EDITION OF THE LAB MANUAL)
       a. Student Activites/Practica
            i. Exercise 34, 35, 36, 37
            ii. Should be prepared for any of  these activities
            iii. Examination questions may come from any of these units in the lab manual
3. Teacher’s Resource Guide
       a. Student Activities/Practica – EXPANDED (beyond textbook activities listed above)
            i. Units 26, 27, and 28
            ii. Should be prepared for this activity
            iii. Examination questions may come from this unit in the teacher’s resource guide

2012 – Career Report (PRIOR TO ARRIVING TO CAMPUS)

1. Textbook
    b. Student Activities/Practica
         i. Unit 4
         ii. Should be prepared for activities in Unit 4
2. Lab Manual
    c. Student Activities/Practica
         i. Exercises 4
         ii. Should be prepared for activities in Exercise 4
3. Teacher’s Resource Guide
    d. Student Activities/Practica – EXPANDED (beyond textbook activities listed above)
         i. Unit 4
         ii. Should be prepared for in Unit 4
4. NOTE: Please review the scoring rubric for the Career Report. This rubric can be found at the Agriscience CDE website and below.
     a. Use this rubric to score your reports before you send them to campus
     b. Do not send a rubric or your evaluation in with your reports

Agriscience CDE Scoring Rubric for Career Development Practicum Report Assessment

Contest Superintendent Contact Information

Dann Husmann
AgLEC Department
East Campus
300 Agricultural Hall
Lincoln, NE 68583-0709
(402) 472-0386
dhusmann2@unl.edu

updated 1/4/12