The Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology represented the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the American Association for Agricultural Educators Southern Region Conference held in New Orleans in February.

The conference was held in conjunction with the Southern Association of Ag Scientists meeting. Several AECT students made various poster and research presentations.

AECT was recognized by winning Distringuished Research Poster at the award ceremony with the research poster titled "Teaching Agriculutral Education Today: Understanding the Characteristics of Generation Z" by Daniela Medina, associate professor Jill Rucker and instructor Cassandra Cox.

Research and student presenters (in bold) with faculty advisers:

• "Effects of an Instructional Treatment on the Interest, Self-Efficacy and Knowledge of Novice Arduino Usesrs" — Grant T. Hood, Don Johnson, Michael L. Pate, Christopher Estepp and George W. Wardlow.
• "Relationships Among Achievement Goal Orientation and Self-Efficacy in College of Agriculture Courses" — Lys Johnson, Addison Beckham, Estepp, Henry Akwah and Johnson.
• "To Stay or Leave: Job Embeddedness Amoung Cooperative Extension Agents" — Anika Parks, Jefferson Miller, Donna Graham, Cox and Megan Wells.
• "Feeding Educational Hunger Through Mentor Partnerships" — Madelaine Giebler and Rucker.
• "Dissonance Between Christian Beliefs and Eating Habits in the South" — Karli Stringer, Miller, Rucker and Lora Walsh.
• "A Qualitative Content Analysis of Leader Critiques" — Hannah Chambers, Rucker, Graham and Cox.

National Agricultural Communications Symposium

Chambers and Caitlin Cooper presented research posters at the National Agricultural Communicators Symposium held in conjunction with the AAAE Conference. 

• "The Original Face Time: Characteristics of Face-to-Face Methods in Agricultural Marketing and Communications" — Chambers, Miller, Ashlyn Ussery, Rucker and Cox.
• "Turkey Takeover: A Collaborative Social Media Service-Learning Experience" — Cooper, Miller, Medina, Rucker, Cox and Addison Beckham.

AAAE advances the broad field of study which integrates social and behavioral sciences with agricultural, life, environmental and natural resource sciences. The National Agricultural Communicators Symposium is made up of university instructors and professionals (primarily land-grant) agricultural communicators. The group meets in conjunction with the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists to present and hear research focused on issues related to agricultural and applied communication research, strategies and practice.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.