Improving Agricultural Education in the Republic of Georgia

The UKy will be instrumental in assisting the Georgia Institute for Public Affairs (GIPA) to improve the educational quality of agricultural colleges in the ROG. UKy has a long history of involvement in agricultural education, extension, and research that can be used to assist GIP A in its agricultural education program. The project will have a marked influence on curriculum and teaching of agricultural courses to young Georgians. The project will naturally involve development of an agricultural curriculum that is relevant to the ROG. The content and level of the teaching materials will be a major focus of the project. Some teaching materials will be brought from Kentucky; others will be adapted from Kentucky materials that are gleaned from visits by Georgians. Teaching materials will also be brought from other East European and Caucasus countries that have similar agricultural settings. CutTent and past UKy projects in these areas will be helpful in the sharing of these materials. There is a well developed agricultural cutTiculum in Kentucky for high school students. All of our agricultural teachers who participate in this project will have access to that curriculum. In addition, the UKy offers a host oflower-Ievel courses that have more research and extension integration. These UKy courses can be adapted for the curricular needs of the ROG. Examples of these classes are Plants, Soils, and People; Life Processes of Plants; Plant Production Systems; Insect Pests ofField Crops; Introduction to Animal Sciences; Introduction to Food Science; Animal Nutrition; Feeds and Feeding; Animal Breeding; Beef Cattle Science; Sheep Science; and Agricultural Management Principles. The use of innovative and effective teaching methods will also be a part of the project. Georgians who visit Kentucky will see first-hand how the use of field trips, the internet, homework, case studies, presentations, and team work can improve learning. These techniques can energize students and help them learn concepts more fully. As students enjoy the interaction with their instructors and fellow classmates, they will understand the material covered by the courses. Modem assessment techniques will also be introduced to the educators in Georgia as monitoring and motivating devices. The College has great relationships with current and recently-retired agriculture teachers who can assist in the Georgia project. These individuals can travel to the RaG to assist with the project or host Georgian agricultural teachers in Kentucky to show them how agricultural education is structured and performed here. Another valuable resource within the College for the project is the cadre of faculty who teach in the production disciplines. Agricultural education majors must take courses in five different agricultural areas and the faculty members teaching in these disciplines teach very practical courses and are also involved in applied research. These faculty members are important resources that can be used in curriculum development efforts in the RaG. A combination of curriculum development visits by UKy faculty and agricultural educators, technical assistance visits by UKy faculty, and visits by Georgian agricultural educators to Kentucky are planned in this project. This will not only generate an excellent flow of information, but also create a working relationship between the UKy/Kentucky agricultural communities with the agricultural education system in the RaG. It is proposed that the project begin with a 7 -day assessment visit by two people from the UKy. One person will be the project director, Michael Reed, and the other will likely be a retired agricultural educator with extensive experience. During the assessment, the UKy team will visit GIPA, some of the agricultural schools/colleges, farms, and other agricultural organizations that can assist in planning the project activities. It is hoped that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be represented on the assessment to maximize cooperation in the project. This visit will dictate rest of the project a