Don Edgar Earns National Teacher Fellow Award

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Don Edgar

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. –Don Edgar, associate professor of agricultural education, communications and technology in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, has been honored by the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture.

Edgar was presented the Teacher Fellow Award at the group’s annual conference at Virginia Tech University earlier this summer. The award recognizes advancement in classroom teaching, including teaching methods, philosophies and styles of instruction.

“With the global impact of information which is being transmitted, students come to us, as educators, with vastly diversified knowledge levels and cultural viewpoints,” said Edgar. “In order to be effective, we must present material in diverse ways to meet these differentiated learning styles. We must meet the needs of the traditional and non-traditional students in and out of our classrooms.”

Edgar earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural services and development in 1992 and his master’s degree in agricultural education in 2003 from Tarleton State University. He earned his doctoral degree in agricultural education, communications and leadership from Texas A&M University in 2007.

His research areas include agricultural education in university and post-secondary settings; social networks present in educational settings and effects on learning, teaching efficacy relationships of student teachers and cooperating teachers; and education about alternative energies based on performance and emission characteristics.

“Agricultural education offers a medium that students and professionals can view the world in a global sense, yet concentrate on areas that are pertinent in our individual societies,” said Edgar. “By passing on the knowledge we possess, academicians can ensure huge impacts on students and others who in turn can have impacts on those they come into contact with. Education can change the world and as academicians, we must pass on and build the knowledge base in agricultural education.”

Edgar is co-adviser of Collegiate Future Farmer of America and 4-H Club, and the Agricultural Mechanization Club. He assists with state FFA events, and works with secondary schools in agricultural science and technology applications.

Before joining the faculty at the University of Arkansas, Edgar was a tenure track faculty member at South Dakota State University.