Oregon Diploma and AST programs
Agricultural Science and Technology (AST) programs integrate classroom and laboratory knowledge, Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE), and FFA to help meet the standards of the Oregon Diploma, and graduation requirements set forth by the Oregon School Board. AST programs are an avenue for students to link classroom knowledge to real world applications and reinforcecore curriculum through hands-on career related experiences.
“The Oregon Diploma will ensure that our students have the knowledge and skills to compete in a rapidly changing economy. A strong foundation is essential for all students, no matter what their post-high school plans may be. Students will be required to take higher levels of English, math, and science. Students will also demonstrate their proficiency in a set of essential skills, initially reading, writing, math, and speaking.Whatever our children dream of becoming, they need to be ready” (Susan Castillo, State Superintendant of Public Education).
Education Plan and Profile
The educational profile serves to keep a record of where the students have been and keep them on track with their goals. The education profile is the physical document of student progress and achievement toward graduation requirements, goals, and other personal accomplishments identified in the student’s education plan. Students are responsible for the management of their educational plan and profile with help and guidance from the school.
Oregon’s graduation requirements state that students will participate in career related learning experiences as outlined in the educational plan. Students will be required to demonstrate career-related knowledge and skills: personal management, teamwork, communication, problem solving, employment foundations, and career development. The foundation for meeting these requirements is with an educational plan and profile. Students develop an education plan and profile to assistthem in pursuing their personal, educational, career interests, and post-high school goals.
The education plan helps to guide students and prepare them for life after high school. The plan involves student planning, monitoring, and managing their own learning and career development. The plan should begin by the seventh grade in order to help students create goals and timelines for pursuing their post-high school personal and career interests. Regular reviews and updates from students allow plans to be flexible.
Career Related Learning Experiences
Career related learning experiences (CRLE) connect knowledge to the world outside of the classroom. CRLE’s are outlined in the Oregon Diploma as part of the educational plan and should relate to student career and educational goals. CRLE’s can take place through a variety of contexts including school, work, and community. Students will be able to apply academic, career and technical knowledge in real-world settings. Community involvement in CRLE’s is important to provide opportunities for students to gain experiences through career development and community service activities. The types of Career Related Learning Experiences are:
- Work-Based Learning
- Service Learning
- Field-Based Investigations
- School-Based Learning
- Technology-Based Learning
Extended Application
Extended application is the application of knowledge and skills in the context of studentinterests and post-high school goals. Students use knowledge and skills to solve problems, create products, and make presentations in new and complex situations. Extended application is based upon the principles of contextual teaching and learning, and engages students in significant activities to help them connect academic studies to their context in real life situations. Students who make the connection between instruction and real-life, find relevance in their schoolwork.
Essential Skills
The Oregon Diploma requires students to demonstrate proficiency in Essential Skills as a requirement for graduation. The Essential Skills, outlined by the State Board, are process skills which are imbedded in content standards. Essential Skills are foundational skills for learning. Through Essential Skills, students will be able to;
- Read and comprehend a variety of text
- Write clearly and accurately
- Listen actively and speak clearly and coherently
- Apply mathematics in a variety of settings
- Think critically and analytically
- Use technology to learn, live, and work
- Demonstrate civic and community engagement
- Demonstrate global literacy
- Demonstrate personal management and teamwork skills
Content Standards
Academic content standards describe what students are expected to know and do in the content areas of sciences, mathematics, social sciences, English, health, physical education, and the arts. Laboratory exercises, classroom activities, and instruction are designed for students to practice skills and expand knowledge, relevant to core subjects.
AST Implementation Plan
Classroom instruction and laboratory activities, Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) programs, and FFA work together to create a premier educational delivery system. The Venn diagram below illustrates the three components working together. AST programs provide students with academic, career, technical, and leadership skills through the context of agriculture
AST programs provide students with the opportunity to contextualize and reinforce information taught in core curriculum, which are the objectives of the Oregon Diploma and Essential Skills standards. Curriculum in an AST program provides a realistic approach to sciences, mathematics, social sciences, English, and history. Laboratory exercises are designed for students to practice skills and knowledge relevant to core curriculum. Classroom knowledge is put into action through FFA, SAE Programs, Career Development Events, and Proficiency Awards.
Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) programs are a method of providing experiential learning to students of Agricultural Science and Technology (AST) programs. The purpose of an SAE is to help students develop skills and abilities leading toward career success, through involvement in agriculture. A successful SAE is a planned application of concepts and principles learned within agricultural education; students are supervised by AST instructors while cooperating with parents/guardians, employers and other experts who will help students achieve educational and career goals.
AST Program and Extended Application
Career Development Events (CDE’s),through FFA, provide another avenue for students to relate classroom learning to real-world situations; helping students to meet the requirements of Extended Applications. CDE’s are competitive events designed to reinforce academic curriculum outside of the classroom. Many CDE’s are team events where students learn leadership and interpersonal skills, and work with each other to complete events, thus improving problem solving skills, communication, and higher level thinking. SAE programs range from placement, entrepreneurship, exploratory, or research, and all relate classroom and laboratory knowledge to real-world experiences outside of the classroom.
AST Program and Career Related Learning Experiences
CRLE standards require students to connect knowledge to the world outside of the classroom, and apply academic, career and technical knowledge in a real-world setting.SAE’s bridge the gap between classroom instruction and the real-world through four types of programs: placement, entrepreneurship, exploratory, and research.The five types of CRLE’s which students outline in their educational plan are: work-based learning, service learning, field-based investigations, school-based learning, and technology-based learning. Career Development Events through FFA provide students with a platform to apply classroom and laboratory knowledge outside of the classroom, which is the main goal of CRLE’s. Students who have SAE programs and participate in CDE’s are able to meet the goals of Career Related Learning Experiences.
AST Program and the Educational Plan and Profile
The educational plan and profile, outlined in the Oregon Diploma, helps to guide students’ learning and prepare them for life after high school. In the educational profile students are asked to keep a record of their accomplishments, and document their success on a frequent basis. Through classroom instruction record-keeping is taught, practiced, and applied to real-world scenarios. FFA provides an opportunity for students to take record-keeping to another level with FFA record books; students are required to set goals, record community service hours, and track their SAE program throughout the year. Students also develop an educational plan and profile for FFA degrees and proficiencies, through documentation of experiences in agriculture, goals achieved, participation in community service, and development of professional documents.
AST Program and Essential Skills
Essential Skills are foundational skills for learning which require students to demonstrate proficiency in core curriculum, critical thinking, technology, community engagement, global literacy, personal management, and teamwork skills. The AST program provides opportunities for students to build their essential skills in the classroom and through FFA and SAE. In the classroom, core curriculum can be expanded through the contextualization of agriculture, which makes math, science, English, and history applicable in real-world settings. The FFA provides a platform for students to demonstrate civic and community engagement, personal management, and teamwork skills through community service projects, Career Development Events, and record keeping. Students use critical and analytical thinking in their SAE programs through work experience, creating their own business, research, and exploratory studies.
AST Program and Content Standards
Oregon content standards outline standards for Career and Technical Education (CTE). The purpose of the CTE content standards are to use knowledge as a basis for curriculum and prepare students for high-wage and high demand occupations. Students in AST programs learn math, English, and science using the context of agriculture. Math equations, methods, and theories directly relate to classroom and laboratory classes such as: agricultural mechanics, welding, construction, and CDE’s. English is incorporated into agriculture through agricultural communications, writing assignments, and CDE’s. Core curriculum is integrated into the entire Agricultural Education Model, making learning a life-long commitment. Content standards are enhanced through real-world experiences in FFA and SAE; encouraging students to learn outside of the classroom.
The mission statement for the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) is, “to provide statewide leadership for all elementary and secondary students in Oregon's public school districts and education service districts to ensure all students receive the education they need to succeed in life, career and college.” AST programs provide students with the academic, technical, career, and life skills necessary to succeed after high school. Involvement in FFA, SAE, and classroom instruction prepares students to meet the standards of the Oregon Diploma.