UCCI Agriculture & Natural Resources Syllabus : University of California Curriculum Integration
Organisation : University of California Curriculum Integration
Subject Name : Agriculture & Natural Resources Syllabus
State : California
Country : USA
Website : https://ucci.ucop.edu/
What is University of California Curriculum Integration?
California teachers designed UCCI’s innovative courses, which integrate A-G academic work with Career Technical Education (CTE), to help students prepare for college while they explore potential career paths. UCCI courses meet A-G course requirements for freshman admission to UC and CSU campuses, making them valuable components of schools’ CTE and/or Linked Learning pathways. The atmosphere at the Institutes was collegial, creative, and full of energy and excitement. Also refer the above link for full Syllabus.
Syllabus for UCCI Agriculture & Natural Resources
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Length of Course : Full Year (2 semesters; 3 trimesters; 4 quarters)
Subject Area – Discipline: English (B) – English
UC Honors Designation: Honors
CTE Sector : Agriculture and Natural Resources
CTE Pathway : Agricultural Business
Grade Level(s) :12
Prerequisites : At least one year of college-preparatory English
Overview:
This year long, six unit, 12th grade language arts/CTE hybrid course allows students to develop the skills and foundational knowledge needed to start a sustainable agribusiness. In addition to being able to evaluate and differentiate agricultural business types and structures, students will also develop ethical and socially responsible decision making skills through a series of analytical and research essays as well as through detailed presentations and mock trials. While the first semester of this year-long course focuses on building an understanding of agriculture and sustainability, as well as the many forces that affect the industry, the second semester focuses on using that base knowledge to inform building business and entrepreneurial acumen.
1. Subject Area B – English
2. Subject Area C – Mathematics
3. Subject Area D – Science
1. Subject Area B – English
Unit 1 : Ethics of Agribusiness
Class definition of sustainability
**Students will first research & discuss the definition of sustainability as it applies to agribusiness and ethics and devise a class definition that they can agree on and post in the classroom for reference.
**This will be used to to inform their thinking and decision making as the class progresses and will be revisited for reconsideration later in the course.
**Simulation: Agripreneur Code of Ethics
**Students will research the lobbyist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines for the treatment of livestock and view current PETA videos Re unethical practices in agribusinesses.
In groups, students will participate in a simulation where they assume the perspective of an agribusiness that was in clear violation of the law and complete two tasks
1) To broaden the students’ understanding of the complexity of real-world business decisions, students will write up an internal audit report that summarizes how the unethical policy violation became an established business practice;
2) To respond proactively to the clear violation of ethics, students will create an Agripreneur Code of Ethics. This Agripreneur Code of Ethics will highlight the values and expectations for ethical behavior of the business entity and all of its employees and associates.
**Concluding this simulation, students will write about whether or not their personal views align with or are opposed to the unethical business practice or with PETA.
**Students will be evaluated on their research skills, their ability to clearly identify and explain the values and expectations for ethical behavior in this context, and their written critique/reflection.
**All work produced from this assignment will be collected in an electronic business portfolio to be used as a resource for their business plan.
**The knowledge gained from this assignment will help students in the creation of their executive summary and business description portions of their business plan.
**Socratic Seminar Series and Timed Writings Various Ethical Considerations and Concerns.
Unit 2 : Introduction to Sustainable Agricultural Entrepreneurship
1. Descriptive Outline and Rhetorical Precis: Food Inc. directed by Robert Kenner
2. Presentation: Analysis of the California Almond Industry and Three Proposals: Commerce vs. Sustainability
3. Personal Narrative Essay and Reflection: Students Design The Perfect Meal and then The Practical New Agribusiness Idea
4. Research Paper: Business Concept Viability
Unit 3 : Exploring the Opportunities
1. Survey in Local Sustainability
2. Research: What Works for Me?
3. Job Recruitment: Brochure
4. Journey into Agribusiness: Sustainable Garden Design (Optional)
Unit 4 : Business Types
Business Type Overview
Research & Presentation: Business Operations
Business Ownership Essay: What’s Your Type?
Unit 5 : Legal Issues: What am I really getting myself into?
Legal Advice and Debate:
Students will read about entrepreneurial laws as it applies to agribusiness by engaging with a variety of complex and relevant readings such as online excerpts from Feeding Our Future: Six Philosophical Issues Shaping Agricultural Law by Hamilton, Neil D., the California Department of Food and Agriculture: Regulations online, the Sustainable Economies Law Center and the California Assembly Bill 2561- Personal Agriculture Restrictions online, and apply the information obtained to their draft business plan developed at the end of Unit 4. Students independently create 2-3 questions they would like to ask an attorney based on their first draft of their business plan. Students present their questions to the class leading to discussion and debate in regard to the possible legal responses to these questions. A guest attorney will be invited to address the same questions posed by the students to provide authentic clarification of student questions posed. Students will write a 3-4 page paper comparing and contrasting the legal conclusions drawn by the class vs. those of the attorney. Students will add their work to their business portfolio for use in revising their business plan as necessary.
Research: Contemporary Legal Issues in Agribusiness
Students will research agribusiness court cases and other contemporary legal issues facing today’s agribusiness industry that will help them gain an understanding of how the laws governing the agribusiness industry may affect their business. Using student conducted research, students will select 5 popular case studies and will write a 1-2 page analysis of each case, demonstrating an understanding of the law. Case studies such as the Naked Juices case using the Business Ethics Case Analyses blog and other industry-related cases may be used as models that will aid them in their understanding of legal issues facing the agribusiness industry; the court precedences will help prepare them for legal simulations they will encounter in their upcoming mock trials.
Agribusiness on Trial:
Students will apply what they learned from their research and analysis in addition to online resources available to conduct mock trials based on simulated scenarios. Models for mock trials can be found online on websites such as the Constitutional Rights Foundation website. To conduct the trials, students will form 6 groups that cover both sides of three simulated cases selected by the class. Students research and develop a 3-5 page legal position supported by at least 4 credible sources (.org, .gov or academic journals)
Unit 6 : Funding and Marketing
Grants and Pitches
Students will read from multiple sources regarding financial planning for new business ventures to determine methods for developing financial projections for a new business. Students use this information to calculate revenue and expense projections to determine the amount of “seed money” necessary to start their business.
Marketing Campaign
Using a standards-approved entrepreneurship text to help students evaluate industry acceptable marketing techniques (such as Marketing Dynamics by Clark, Basteri, Gassen and Walker, or Entrepreneurship by Brenda Clark and Judy Commers, relevant excerpts from Gaining Ground by Forrest Pritchard, the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center website
Garden Business (Optional)
Using the garden plan developed in Unit 3, along with the business knowledge gained in Units 4-6 and any additional resources found from the Sustainable Communities Network online, the Network for Business Sustainability or other schools implementing a similar program, students will put their garden plan into action for an in-ground or container garden on school grounds, or a community garden at an off-sight public location as previously determined.
usiness Plan: Final Revision
The culminating project for this year-long course will serve as a comprehensive research report based upon the agripreneurial knowledge gained by the student throughout the year, resulting in their proposal for a sustainable agribusiness. In developing this proposal over the course of the year, students created a draft of their plan that was revised and expanded throughout the remainder of the course so that students could apply their learning to their proposed business plan