CDEs Anyone

1
CDEs Anyone?

• On a sheet of paper, write down every CDE in
  which you have ever participated.

2
Explain

• Why did you participate in those CDEs?
• What did you learn from them?
• Do you feel like they helped you develop skills
  necessary for your career?

3
FFA Career Development Events

• Barry Croom, NC State University
• Gary Moore, NC State University
• Jim Armbruster, National FFA Organization

4
What are Career Development Events?

• CDEs are competitive events where students work
  individually or in teams to perform certain
  agricultural or leadership skills. CDEs are based
  upon
• Agricultural content taught in the classroom.
• Supervised agricultural experiences.
• The students interest and preferences.

5
Philosophy of Career Development Events

• CDEs allow career development experiences for
  students.
• CDEs reflect instruction in the Agricultural
  Education Program.
• CDEs motivate students to do their best through
  competition.
• CDEs provide an avenue for participation by
  students of diverse backgrounds.
• CDEs stimulate instructional improvement.
• CDEs create a venue for emerging ideas in
  agriculture.
• CDEs meet students needs for recognition,
  belonging and self-worth.

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Why CDEs work

• Provide for teacher interaction and rapport with
  students. (Maslow, Rosenshine and Furst)
• Connect prior experience to new experiences.
  (Marzano)
• Small class (team size) instruction.
• Positions teachers for caring, listening,
  understanding, and knowing students.

7
Purpose of the Study

• What motivates students to participate in
  national career development events?
• What are the perceptions of students regarding
  the conduct of the national career development
  events?
• How are students prepared to participate in the
  national career development events?
• Is there a difference between advisors and
  students perceptions of career development
  events?

8
Student Respondents

• 2145 participants in the 2003 National FFA
  Convention career development events.
• 48.5 female and 48.4 male
• Caucasian (92.2), Native Americans (1.6),
  African American (0.0)

9
Discussion

• Why no African Americans?

10
Findings Student Respondents

• Why participate in National CDEs?
• Choices were
• Relates to Career Choice
• Leadership Development
• Scholarship Awards
• Travel/Fun
• Competition
• Top Two Reasons
• The event relates to career choice.
• Leadership development
• Competition and opportunity to travel were
  the least favored reasons.

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Findings Student Respondents

• Why participate in National CDEs?
• Females rated career choice significantly higher
  than males.
• Males rated leadership development and
  scholarships significantly higher than females.

12
Findings Student Respondents

• Students views of educational value of CDEs
• Top Three Reasons
• Event evaluated current knowledge and ability.
• Formal instruction prepared students to
  participate in this event.
• Students agree that they feel better prepared to
  compete for future employment opportunities.

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Findings Student Respondents

• Awards and Recognition Preferred(highest to
  lowest)
• Scholarships
• Plaques/Medals/Trophies
• Publicity, Local or Regional Newspaper Articles
• Recognition at Award Functions
• Internships with Event Sponsors
• Convention Stage Recognition
• Certificates

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Findings Teacher Respondents

• 206 teachers and coaches
• Caucasian (96.1)
• Native American(2)
• Pacific Islander (1)
• Hispanic (1)
• African American (0)
• Most respondents reported teaching in a rural
  farm community (54.1).
• Most (77.7) reported that less than half of the
  students they teach come from an agricultural
  background.

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Findings Teacher Respondents

• CDEs and formal instruction
• The majority of teachers reported that the CDE
  related to some instruction.
• 7.1 reported no relationship to instruction.

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Findings Teacher Respondents

• Teachers, why do students participate?
• Top three choices
• Competition
• Teacher encouragement
• Opportunity to travel
• Bottom three choices
• Development of leadership skills
• Relationship to curriculum
• Relates to student career choice

17
Findings Teacher Respondents

• Amount of training per week.
• Mostly 1 to 5 hours per week.
• 10 of teachers reported training more than 10
  hours per week.

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Student Demographics

• What are you planning to do when you graduate
  from high school?
• Attend four-year college full-time 68.6
• Attend four-year college part-time 6.5
• Attend a technical school 4.7
• Thirty-five respondents have no future
  educational plans.
• After high school, 16 students expect to become
  employed full-time in the food, fiber and natural
  resources industry.
• Nineteen students (0.9) plan to seek full-time
  employment in an industry not related to
  agriculture.
• Fifty-two students (2.4) plan to enter military
  service.

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Student Demographics

• When asked what they would do if they attended
  college
• Pursue a degree in food, fiber and natural
  resources 17.4
• Seek a degree in another career area 70.3

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Student Demographics

• Anything else?
• Thirteen percent reported that they eventually
  intend to seek a career in the food, fiber and
  natural resource industry in which they will use
  the skills they learned in the CDE.
• Almost 8 plan to enter a food, fiber and natural
  resource career, but not in the CDE area in which
  they participated.

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Student Demographics

• But what about the skills you learned?
• One out of three (37.6) plan to use the skills
  they learned in this event in a career not
  related to the food, fiber and natural resource
  industry.

22
Conclusions of the Study

• The most important reason to participate selected
  by students in this study was to learn skills
  that will translate into a career option for them
  once they graduate from high school.
• Female participants were significantly more
  likely than males to participate because of
  career choice.
• Male participants were more likely than females
  to participate for leadership development and
  scholarships.
• Teachers in this study believe that the most
  important reason for participation is
  competition.

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Discussion

• Why did the students and the teachers in the
  study disagree with the reasons for participation
  in CDEs?

24
Planning your CDE Teams

• Chapter Guide to State FFA Activities
• Sponsor
• Superintendent
• Eligibility
• General Guidelines
• Event procedures
• Dress Code
• Awards
• National CDE participation?
• Use this to prepare your teams!

25
Planning your CDE Teams

• Federation and Regional Activities
• Federation Banner System
• Regional and state certifying events
• Open participation in certain events
• Federation or regional advisors certify teams.
  (Certification authenticates the winners.)

26
Revising a state event?

• Submit proposed changes to state FFA coordinator.
• Board reviews and makes changes.
• CDEs revised only once per year.
• Deleting an event may not be reconsidered for 3
  years

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What changes would you make?

• Look at the list of current State CDEs offered in
  North Carolina
• If you could delete any one CDE on the list,
  which one would it be? Why?
• Come up with one CDE that we could add to the
  list or a current CDE to revise and make more
  relevant. Why do we need it?

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North Carolina CDEs

• Ag Communications
• Ag Issues
• Ag Mechanics
• Ag Sales
• Ag Tool and Materials ID
• Ag Science Fair
• Agronomy
• Creed Speaking
• Dairy Handlers
• Dairy Foods
• Dairy Judging
• Envirothon
• Extemporaneous Speaking
• Farm Business Management
• Floriculture
• Food Science and Tech

• Forestry
• Horse Evaluation
• Hunter Safety
• Intro to Horticulture
• Job Interview
• Land Judging
• Livestock Judging
• Marketing Plan
• Meats Evaluation
• Nursery Landscape
• Quiz Bowl
• Poultry Evaluation
• Prepared Public Speaking
• Parliamentary Procedure
• Tractor Safety and Skills
• Truck Safety and Skills

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Scenario

• Imagine that the economy gets so bad that we lose
  almost all of our corporate sponsorship. This
  year, instead of having 42 CDEs (thats including
  Junior CDEs), North Carolina FFA can only keep
  sponsorship for 10. Rank from 1 to 10 the CDEs
  your group would choose to keep? Why?

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Where do you go for help?

• The Blue Book.
• www.ncffa.org
• www.ffa.org
• Retired agriculture teachers
• Extension agents/university faculty
• State staff
• Alumni/Friends
• Your curriculum