[Author: INEDA Staff, 05.2020 | Keywords: CASE, Training, Ag Education]
“CASE is the most powerful tool available for the advancement of agricultural education and enhancement of student learning of agricultural science subject matter.”
The Curriculum for Agriculture Science Education (CASE) was started by the National Council for Agricultural Education in 2007 with the goal of implementing a national curriculum for secondary agricultural education that provides high-level educational experiences that enhance the rigor and relevance of agriculture, food and natural resources.
CASE’s primary goal is to improve educational experiences for agriculture students by empowering agriculture teachers. The specific mission of CASE is to:
- Provide a system of curriculum and professional development for teachers, promoting rigorous and relevant student learning opportunities.
- Leverage partnerships with public and private entities to provide resources to teachers and students to facilitate change.
- Position Agricultural Education to be a solution to academic challenges in secondary education.
Since its inception, the CASE curriculum has helped more than 2,500 teachers achieve certification to teach its classes. However, only about 90 of those certifications are in equipment-specific courses.
“In a profession where recruiting and retaining teachers has become a major focus, CASE offers highly structured courses that require less time for planning and more time for implementing, thus allowing young teachers to attain professional success with less stress.”
As a result, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), Equipment Dealers Association (EDA) and Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association (FEMA) have partnered to provide CASE scholarships to teachers interested in bringing agriculture technology curriculum into their classrooms. To date, more than 60 teachers have been sponsored, impacting thousands of students.
These scholarships supported agriculture teachers participating in the Agricultural Power and Technology (APT) and Mechanical Systems in Agriculture (MSA) CASE institute courses.
Agricultural Power and Technology is a foundation level course designed to prepare students for the wide array of career opportunities in agricultural engineering. Students are immersed in inquiry-based exercises that tie-in the math and science of agricultural mechanics and engineering.
Agricultural Power and Technology areas of study include:
- Shop Safety
- Tool Operation
- Materials Selection & Use
- Fabrication
- Energy & Power
- Machines
- Machinery Management
- Engineering Design
- Technology Applications
Mechanical Systems in Agriculture is a specialization level course designed to provide rigorous applications in the agricultural engineering field. Throughout the course, students apply technical skills while becoming competent in the process used to operate, repair, engineer and design agricultural tools and equipment.
Mechanical Systems in Agriculture areas of study include:
- Engineering Design
- Computer-Aided Design
- 3D Printing
- Structural Systems
- Small Engines
- Robotics
- Mechanical Drivetrains
- Fluid Power
- Geographic Information & Global Position Systems
Both Iowa State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are CASE affiliate institutions, which means they provide services to CASE teachers from their state and neighboring states, host and manage CASE Institute sessions, provide graduate credit to CASE Institute participants, and work with local school districts to promote and enhance CASE courses.
Get involved! Share the CASE program (and scholarship opportunities) with your local high school ag teacher so they can gain access to the equipment-specific curriculum for the classroom. They could very well be teaching your next great service technician. For additional information, visit case4learning.org.
“CASE has allowed me to spend more time teaching and less time piecing together lessons and writing lesson plans. My students love all of the hands-on labs and activities. They are able to learn not only content, but skills that will make them more attractive to future employers.”
Source: CASE