At Griggs County Central (GCC) School, students are playing video games during class. It’s not a special day or a reward; it’s instruction, but this is not the instruction of previous generations. GCC expanded its agriculture education offerings this fall by purchasing farm and flight simulators using an Innovation Fund grant from the South East Education Cooperative (SEEC). On their face, these simulators may be called “video games” where students “play” farmer or pilot. However, coupled with an educator guiding students to reflect on why they make decisions using information from their class work, these games become a powerful education tool.
The expansion of the GCC agriculture education program is timely as the agricultural industry itself is experiencing dramatic advancements in technology and shifts in workforce structure. William Ogdahl is the agricultural instructor leading the charge to innovate at GCC. Ogdahl is a second-year teacher with a background in animal science. As a new teacher working in a newer program, Ogdahl began brainstorming methods to best engage his students. Noting video games as a popular topic of conversation, he investigated how flight and farm simulators may enhance instruction in his classes. In addition to popularity with students outside of school, an added benefit is that virtual reality presents students with a wide variety of agricultural experiences like planting crops and aerial crop spraying without having to actually own real tractors, land, or other expensive infrastructure.
Agriculture education is unique in itself as it weaves science, technology, engineering, and math into practical applications from understanding the fundamentals of plant growth to how to jumpstart a car. Students are required to take four agricultural courses starting in seventh grade at GCC. The first formal introduction to the ag department begins with Exploring Agriculture providing an overview of plants and animals that largely parallels seventh and eighth grade science courses. Seventh graders also begin exploration of careers in agriculture while eighth graders delve into nutrition and even basic cooking skills. In the class Introduction to Agriculture, ninth graders begin to build depth to their knowledge connecting the history of North Dakota to topics like soil formation and how historical grazing patterns can inform current practices. The last required agriculture class is Foundations of Agriculture for sophomores. This focuses on career-based education and practical skills like changing a tire. These are not the only courses offered by GCC in their ag program. Freshmen and sophomores have an opportunity to take Individual Agriculture Studies as electives where they receive extra time to explore their interest in the industry and also where the simulators are being used. Upper electives include Agriculture 3 and Agriculture 4 where students delve into metallurgy, welding, industrialization, and auto shop. The hands-on learning atmosphere of the program is especially useful in a rural, agriculture-focused community.
GCC received funding for this project from the South East Education Cooperative through its Innovation Fund grant opportunity. The South East Education Cooperative (SEEC) is one of six Regional Education Associations (REAs) in North Dakota with the mission of enhancing education in ND through quality services and visionary leadership. As an REA, SEEC supports school districts through professional development, school improvement, student and business services. The SEEC Innovation Fund began in December 2021 to assist member schools in pioneering new programs with the goal of growth, expansion, and capacity building. Each year, the SEEC Governing Board can designate the excess revenue from the previous fiscal year to this fund by majority vote (SEEC Fund Balance Policy).
GCC submitted an Innovation Fund grant application during the 2023-24 school year to purchase the farm and flight simulators in their agriculture classes. Students have recently started working with the farming simulator. The simulators are available to students who opt to take the elective, Individual Agriculture Studies; keeping the technology in elective courses is a method of recruitment for the program. The limited access helps ensure that students who truly have an interest in agriculture are the individuals using them - not as simple video games, but as a learning opportunity. This method of preserving academic validity seems to be working. On a visit to the classroom to see the simulators in action, students demonstrated collaboration and intention as they formed and began running virtual cooperative farms. One student asked his partner, “Should we sell [our product] now or wait?” to which his partner responded with “If we wait, we can sell for more.” Economic decisions are made by farmers every day, and GCC students are able to practice making those same kinds of economic choices based on class learning, but in a safe, virtual space.
The flight simulators will make their debut later this winter. Ogdahl connected with the aviation program at the University of North Dakota (UND) to get their input on ways to expand career exploration. UND also uses flight simulators, so giving high school students opportunities to get comfortable with basic flight software may help give students a leg up in deciding if a career in aviation is right for them.
The introduction of virtual reality in the classroom has been welcomed by students and parents alike. At parent-teacher conferences this fall, parents were curious to see the updates in the classroom. Ogdahl says the buzz is “unbelievable.” One student remarked that this class would help him build his resume as he hopes to use this class learning as a portfolio of his abilities in the future. Ogdahl has seen a positive shift in students using the simulators. Students, who otherwise might not be excited to be in school, are engaging in their learning and, in the process, becoming leaders. This leadership extends to the community. Continuing to build community partnerships is a priority. Ogdahl hopes that community members will see the benefit of the virtual reality simulators and be a part of expanding that learning into real-life learning opportunities, not just virtual ones. The future of the program is driven by student interest, and with simulators empowering students in their application of classroom learning, student-run small businesses may be the next step.
This project was one of four projects sponsored by the Innovation Fund last year with Ogdahl serving as the self-proclaimed, “idea guy” behind GCC’s application. He credits the GCC administration for their strong support of the idea and for working through the grant application process to purchase the computers and simulators. The goal of the Innovation Fund is to support systems-level projects, which require approval from the school’s superintendent. When Ogdahl was prompted to give advice to other schools looking to innovate, he simply stated “go for it!” He said, “we set up video games in our classroom, and this is totally nuts!” It may be “nuts,” but it’s working, and we can’t wait to see what GCC does next! To read more about the SEEC Innovation Fund and other projects it has supported, check out www.ndseec.com.
Written by Kate Balstad, SEEC Events and Marketing Specialist