Strategies to Internationalize Teaching and Learning Lessons Learned from InnovATE Armenia Angela Neilan, Keith M. Moore, Johanna Cricenti, Kurt Richter, Tom Hammett February 6, th Annual Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy Virginia Tech, CIDER

Consortium Virginia Tech partnering with: Tuskegee University Penn State University University of Florida

Strengthen agricultural teaching and education systems to improve performance of agricultural sector Strengthen the full range of institutions that train and educate agricultural professionals in Higher Education Institutions Build capacity and increase food security

Link innovATE partner universities with International Center for Agribusiness Research and Education (ICARE) and their Agribusiness Teaching Center (ATC) which is a department of the Agrarian National Armenian University (ANAU) Assist ICARE/ATC in building its human, financial and institutional capacities to become sustainable as a modern center of excellence for teaching, research and outreach for Armenia and the Caucasus Region Mobilize faculty to engage in curriculum development and institutional strengthening in Armenia

Armenia

Agribusiness Teaching Center Students

Working with Agribusiness Teaching Center Faculty

White Wall of Progress! Some Additional InnovATE Countries

InnovATE Armenia Challenges INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY: Public institutions with agricultural programming are often weak leading to “overproduction of underqualified students” ( curricula, course syllabi, infrastructure, administrative capacity, policies ) HUMAN CAPACITY: Agricultural sectors in developing and emerging economies, including public and private institutions, need skilled faculty and staff ( appropriate skillsets, degree programs, research and extension training )

Increase international content Update teaching methods Help students be more self directed learners Increase number of faculty and students involved Engage faculty effectively over extended time InnovATE Armenia Goals

Discuss Constraints and Opportunities to Effective Engagement of Faculty and Students from YOUR perspective What’s going well? What’s not going well? What might be done differently?

Focused Questions: How do we Engage Faculty, Staff and Students with Diverse Experience and Education? Do faculty need “people skills” in addition to credentials? How do we find the right person for the assignment? What issues arise when we include student interns? Language skills-are they needed? How do we include women faculty, students, farmers, processors and the broader community?

How can you connect to innovATE? AET Community of Practice Online network of agricultural development professionals Collaborative discussion spaces for AET and agriculture Gender increasingly addressed Global training events database French and Spanish discussion pages Discussion space for extension

Angela Neilan, InnovATE Armenia Virginia Tech InnovATE is supported by a grant from USAID and managed by Virginia Tech’s Office of International Research, Education, and Development (OIRED). This project was made possible by the United States Agency for International Development and the generous support of the American people through USAID Cooperative Agreement No. AID- OAA-L Thank you the VT Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research for allowing us to facilitate this discussion and to our sponsors and University partners. Visit our website at: For More Information

Discuss Constraints and Opportunities to Effective Engagement of Faculty and Students from YOUR perspective What’s going well? What’s not going well? What might be done differently ?