Barbara Kirby

The purpose of the CASE Institute for North Carolina agriculture teachers is to ����������������to enhance the rigor and relevance of agriculture, food, and natural resources subject matter��������������� CASE provides purposeful enhancement of science, mathematics, and English language understanding.��������������� CASE was developed in 2009 as a special project of the National Council for Agricultural Education. In 2019, 30 CASE Institutes will be delivered in 20 states and enroll approximately 600 agriculture teachers across the nation. In summer 2018, 38 NC agriculture teachers indicated interest in the CASE Institute. CASE is founded on scientific inquiry. Concepts are taught using activity-, project-, and problem-base instructional strategies. CASE ensures quality teaching by providing extensive professional development for teachers that leads to certification. Teachers actually participate in all aspects of the curriculum in the 10-day, residential, intensive institute (teacher professional development), which will be held in CALS at NC State. CASE curriculum is designed to promote common understanding of agricultural concepts by all CASE students. By providing instruction based on common concepts, national assessments of agricultural education programs are implemented in valid, reliable, and meaningful ways. The projects goals and objectives are to deliver a CASE Institute professional development for North Carolina agriculture teaches so that they can enhance their delivery of robust, inquiry-based, STEM-oriented agriculture, food, and natural resources curriculum. By delivering CASE across the state with 20 North Carolina agriculture teachers the curriculum may impact as many as 1600 high school students annually.