GOAL

(Grow Our Agriculture Leaders)


COURSE DESCRIPTION

GOAL is a semester long course designed for students in grades 11-12.  Students must have completed at least one agricultural course with a B or higher to register for this course.  This course will encourage the development of leadership skills that are necessary to be successful in the diversified agricultural industry.  It takes a hands-on approach to leadership and character development through engaging activities and thought provoking concepts.  GOAL does these things through an emphasis of the FFA and career development activities related to leadership, such as public speaking and the PALS program.  Students will be encouraged to develop record keeping skills through the requirement of establishing and maintaining a supervised agricultural experience program (SAE).  This course is an on-line course which students will check for assignments on a daily basis.


 Acknowledgement of Support- This material is based upon work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Award No. 2008-38414-18969.

Disclaimer- Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S Department of Agriculture.


 
COURSE COMPETENCIES

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be competent to:

1. Apply the major components of leadership involved in successful employment.
2. Apply principles of public speaking.
3. Create a research paper on agricultural topic and present to a live audience.
4. Implement video capture equipment
5. Create publications for use in the agricultural industry.
6. Apply leadership presentation software.
7. Analyze factors to consider in determining what to teach.
8. Evaluate teaching practices.


 
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Course Designer:

 

Luke Beam

National Board Certified Agriculture Education Instructor

Burns High School

307 East Stagecoach Tr.

Lawndale, NC 28090

704.538.7403


 
COURSE PREREQUISITES

You must have earned a grade of "B" of higher in a previous Agriculture Course before enrolling in this course.

 



TEXT & OTHER NEEDED RESOURCES

You will need an internet connection, webcam, digital video camera, and trusty computer to carry out the specifics of this course. It is suggested you print off most of the class readings and place them in a notebook for studying when an online connection is not possible.


 
COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Course requirement activities will be listed for each week of the course. You are to complete these activities and follow the directions for each individual activity as how best to deliver them to the instructor.

You will also be completing a proficiency award during this course. This completed application will be submitted to the state FFA office and a copy will be graded by your advisor.

Two exams will also be given. One exam will be given during Week 9 and will cover the first half of the course. The second exam will be given during the final week and will cover the entire course.


GRADING


This course is graded as your advisor will specify upon local requirements.

All work should be neat. There is no excuse for sloppy work. Hundreds of resumes are thrown into the trash every year because they aren't crisp and sharp.

All work should also possess proper grammar. Words should be spelled correctly, sentences should be complete, paragraphs should be paragraphs, and rules of correct English usage should be followed.


ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

 Both faculty and students at North Carolina State University have a responsibility to maintain academic integrity. An informational brochure about academic integrity is available from the university and students are encouraged to obtain a copy. Additional information is contained in the NCSU Code of Student Conduct. Academic Dishonesty Scholarly activity is marked by honesty, fairness and rigor. A scholar does not take credit for the work of others, does not take unfair advantage of others, and does not perform acts which frustrate the scholarly efforts of others. The violation of any of these principles is academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes the giving, taking, or presenting of information or material by a student with the intent of unethically or fraudulently aiding oneself or another person on any work which is to be considered in the determination of a grade or the completion of academic requirements.


ATTENDANCE

Web students are strongly encouraged to plan a regular time each week to go to the web site and complete the lesson. If you don't do this, you will quickly get behind. You may move through the lessons more rapidly than indicated on the syllabus; but you should not go slower.

 


LABORATORY SAFETY

This course does not have a laboratory. However, you will be working on your computer during the lessons. Thousands of computers are damaged each year because of power surges, and most of these come through the phone line and damage the modem. You are strongly encouraged to get a modem surge protector and/or to unplug your computer include the modem/phone connection during stormy weather.


FIELD TRIPS

Weekly you will be required to work in a local elementary or middle school. You are required to present a speech to a civic organization, and you are also to present an agricultural lesson to an elementary class.  All of these assignments are off-campus and will require you to complete the required field trip forms.  Please see your advisor for obtaining these forms.


 
HOW DOES A WEB COURSE WORK?

1. Each week you will click on the class link that corresponds to that week. You should complete the lesson some time during that week.

2. When you go the weekly lesson, you are to view the list of activities for the lesson. This is your guide as to what you should learn.

3. Next, complete the activities by following the directions as listed. Some activities may have you contacting certain individuals by regular mail or telephone. Other activities may have you e-mailing responses to questions back to your instructor. Still other activities may have you identifying a proctor and disseminating information to him/her.

4. One of the benefits of taking a course on-line is the opportunity to experience a multitude of varied materials found on the Internet. In this class, we will try to utilize the power of the World Wide Web (WWW). Sites under "Activities" will be listed when deemed appropriate for the class. For some of the materials, you might need to have the Acrobat Reader on your computer. If you don't have this program, it can be downloaded for free from Adobe .

5. On most weeks, you will complete the activities that relate to the weekly lesson. When instructed, they must be e-mailed (or faxed) to the instructor of record for the course. 

6. You should establish a standard time every week to work on this class and then do it. You don't want to get behind because it will be hard to catch up.



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