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Department of Communications and Agricultural Education

Tag: Agricultural Education

Faculty Spotlight: Jon Ulmer- Associate Professor, Agricultural Education, Undergraduate Teaching Coordinator

by Jessica Schaeffer, agricultural communications master’s student

Ulmer posing for headshot in a tan suit jacket and white button up with a purple tie.
Jon Ulmer

Jon Ulmer always knew that he wanted to work in agriculture. Unable to ranch or farm, Ulmer found a career that allowed him to work in agriculture in a diversified way. He earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in agricultural education from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Oklahoma State University and the University of Missouri, respectively.

Drawn to the opportunity of joining a long-standing program that is known for developing great teachers and leaders, Ulmer joined the department in the fall of 2016. He leads the agricultural education teaching license program at K-State along with senior seminar, leadership and professional development, principles and philosophy of career, and technical education courses. Soon, Ulmer will be launching the agricultural education option for the master of arts in teaching. Ulmer researches teachers’ needs and enjoys helping students find topics that interest them.

“The best part of teaching at K-State is the quality of the students. I also really like working with Gaea Hock and Brandie Disberger as we make a great team,” Ulmer says.

Along with his teaching responsibilities he also works on the USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for the reduction of Post-Harvest Loss. His role is to help African farmers adopt technologies to allow for better grain storage. Along with his research, Ulmer served on the National FFA Board of Directors from 2015-2019.

On a personal note, Ulmer enjoys working with simple mechanical and small construction projects. His wife, Ann, is employed by the agricultural grants office at K-State. They are also parents to Naveah and Zaden.

Advisor Forum presents November Charlie Award

submitted by Beth Stuewe for the K-State Today, November 6, 2019

The K-State Advisor Forum has selected Brandie Disberger, instructor in agricultural education, for the November Charlie award.

Disberger was nominated by her colleague, Gaea Hock, for the work that she does for both her advisees and students who have been reinstated in the College of Agriculture.

As an instructor, academic advisor, advisor to the agricultural education student organization and current doctoral student, Disberger sets a high standard in her department. In her nomination, Hock writes, “Brandie’s work ethic and dedication to students makes all of the faculty advisors in the department push to be better. We constantly go to her to ask her advice.”

Not only does Disberger encourage her peers, but she also encourages her students. Disberger encourages her students to push to get to the next level in their academic studies and extracurricular activities. She inspires them to take advantage of new opportunities as a way to better themselves for their future careers. Along with her current students, Disberger also works with newly reinstated students in the College of Agriculture. She encourages them and helps them be successful so that they can accomplish their goals of completing a degree.

Hock adds, “Brandie constantly goes above and beyond to make sure her students’ needs are being met. She is able to get them to open up to her and tell her their struggles. I have seen her go to extreme measures to help students succeed.”

Agricultural Education video wins contest

by Linda Gilmore

K-State agricultural education students won the Collegiate Commercial Contest, sponsored by the National Association of Agricultural Educators. Zachary Callaghan, student in agricultural education, designed the video featuring many K-State Ag Ed students. The video competed against nine other university submissions and the winner was based on number of views. The K-State entry received more than 2,500 views. The video Zachary and other ag ed students created to highlight the program is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ9u4XWw7BQ

K-State Ag Ed attends AAAE Conference

by Brandie Disberger, agricultural education instructor

Faculty members Gaea Hock, Jon Ulmer and Brandie Disberger, along with Jason Hughes, graduate student, and undergraduate students Trenton Smedley and Zachary Callaghan attended the National Learner Centered Teaching and the North Central Region of the American Association for Agricultural Education joint conferences hosted October 10-12 in East Lansing, Michigan.

Hock managed the social media during the conference for the American Association for Agricultural Educators and for K-State Agricultural Education. The research portion of the conference was coordinated by Kansas State University, led by Ulmer. Hock served as chair of the Program Improvement Committee; Ulmer and Disberger served on the Member Services Committee. Smedley and Callaghan presented research and participated in the student experience portion of the conference, which included a tour of the Michigan State campus and research farms.

Attendees from Kansas State University presented the following research during the conference:

Paper Presentations:

Prescribed pedagogical outcomes versus real-world challenges: A content analysis of Kansas AFNR course competency profiles

Zachary Callaghan & Gaea Hock, recognized as distinguished abstract

 

Agricultural education teachers knowledge and perceptions of service-learning

Trenton Smedley & Jon Ulmer

 

Kansas ag teachers’ perceptions of diversity & inclusion in agricultural education

Laura E. Miller, Gaea Hock, Jon Ulmer & Jason Ellis

 

The contributions of George Washington Owens to the development of agricultural education opportunities for African Americans

Zachary Callaghan & Gaea Hock

 

Teacher perceptions of the impact and challenges of middle school agricultural education experiences in Kansas

Anna Williamson, Gaea Hock, Jon Ulmer & Lori Goodson

 

Poster Presentations:

Showcasing agricultural education programs with Book Creator.

Gaea Hock & Zachary Callaghan, recognized as distinguished innovative idea poster

 

Examining secondary talented and gifted and agricultural education experiences relative to college major and career choice.

Darcie Gallagher, Jonathan Ulmer, Gaea Hock & Jason Ellis, recognized as distinguished research poster

 

A districtwide look at agricultural educators perceptions of standards based grading.

Lauren Worley, Jonathan Ulmer, Katie Burke & Gaea Hock

l to r: back – Jason Hughes, Jon Ulmer, Trenton Smedley; front – Zachary Callaghan, Gaea Hock, Brandie Disberger
Jon Ulmer
Zachary Callaghan and Gaea Hock
Zachary Callaghan

Ulmer travels to Ethiopia

by Rachel Waggie, agricultural education and communication master’s student

Agricultural education professor Jon Ulmer traveled to Ethiopia to attend the All African Post Harvest Loss Congress and Expo in Addis Ababa. While in Ethiopia, Ulmer visited different regions and interviewed farmers for a grant project with USAID. Feed the Future Innovation Lab for the Reduction of Post-harvest Loss is a strategic, applied, research and education program aimed at improving global food security by reducing post-harvest losses in stored product crops, such as grains, oilseeds, legumes, root crops and seeds.

Hock presents in Alaska

by Rachel Waggie, agricultural education and communication master’s student

Agricultural education professor Gaea Hock attended the 2019 American Association for Agricultural Education Western Region Conference in Anchorage, Alaska, September 17-19.  While in Anchorage, Hock took part in the Ag Literacy Multi-State meeting, a group of professors from across the nation working to research variables related to agricultural literacy.

Hock also presented an innovative poster titled: Connecting Research Stations to Area Agricultural Education Programs, co-authored by Dr. Jeremy Falk, University of Idaho & Dr. Marshall Baker, North Carolina State University.

2019 National Teach Ag Day

by Rachel Waggie, agricultural education and communication master’s student

Join us in celebrating the 2019 National Teach Ag Day Thursday, September 19. National Teach Ag Day is designed to encourage others to teach school-based agriculture and recognize the important role that agriculture teachers play in our schools and communities. To celebrate, some of K-State’s agricultural education students will be going “live” on Facebook from local schools on Thursday. Make sure to tune in by visiting and “liking” K-State Agricultural Education on Facebook.

Agricultural Education at Kansas Ag Summit

by Rachel Waggie, agricultural education and communication master’s student

The Kansas Department of Agriculture invited the K-State Ag Ed teaching interns to the fourth annual Kansas Summit on Agricultural Growth on Thursday, August 29, in Manhattan, Kansas. The Summit was attended by 450+ Kansas farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses. The program’s Facebook page says, “the networking, conversations and learning that happened at the event will serve rural communities across the state!”

Internship highlight – Zach Callaghan

by Zach Callaghan, agricultural education student

This summer, I worked as an Educational Program Assistant at the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan. In this role, I primarily spent my time teaching elementary and middle school students during weekly summer camps. Each week was centered around a different theme and focused on teaching the science of animals, nature, and environmental conservation. As a future high school agriculture teacher, this experience helped to build and improve my pedagogical skills by providing opportunities to write curriculum and manage my own classroom. I would definitely recommend this experienceto other Agricultural Education students as it is a great outlet to practice teaching and the curriculum can easily relate to agriculture. With only one semester left until I begin my student teaching experience, I am grateful to have had this opportunity to work with students and teach them a little bit about agriculture along the way!

 

Agricultural Education program home to state FFA officers

by Rachel Waggie, agricultural education and communication master’s student

Of the six state FFA officers elected at the 91st Kansas FFA Convention in May, five are agricultural education majors at K-State this year. Logan Elliott, Asbury, Missouri, president; Abby Goins, Oswego, vice president; Mason Prester, Wilson, sentinel; Lukas Sebesta, Wilson, treasurer; and Elizabeth Wright, Olsburg, secretary, are students in the agricultural education program. Elliott, Prester and Wright are freshmen, while Elliott and Goins are returning students. Agricultural education is well represented and we look forward to seeing what these students accomplish throughout their year in office.