Advanced agricultural mechanics: fabrication and project construction curriculum

The purpose of this project is to create curriculum that provides secondary students enrolled in agricultural mechanics courses at Liberty Ranch High School with the practical and real‐world opportunities to apply their skills and knowledge. Current curriculum in the agricultural mechanics discipline provide ample opportunities to build and develop skills in welding technique, however it does not equip students with valuable application experience within the fabrication and construction skill areas. Through the use of a student‐completed needs assessment and literature review of research and trade industry‐related publications, it is evident that both welding technique and fabrication knowledge are essential competencies desired by employers in the metal fabrication industry. This project began with the review of the agriculture mechanics section of the California Content Standards. As with all curriculum creation, standards provide the foundation for curricular objectives and creation. The initial step within the methods was to create the instrument. Once the instrument was created and administered, the results, coupled with the California Content Standards and a review of other program’s curriculum, were used to craft the course learning objectives. The course learning objectives were then organized within units to create a complete course unit plan. Once the unit plan was created, a course syllabus was generated, which includes a course description, course procedures, and grading policy. Once these steps were completed, each unit was created, adding specific activity sequences, assessment, and material lists, which finalized the curriculum.