The Impact of a Virtual Reality (VR) Professional Development on Agricultural Teachers’ Intent to use Virtual Reality for Teaching International Agriculture Topics

Due to society's increasing global interconnectedness, there is a growing need for more globally aware young leaders in agriculture. Because of this need, there is a demand for more internationalized school-based agriculture (SBAE) education, as SBAE students need to be prepared for the globalized agricultural workforce. Despite this demand, there is a lack of international agricultural resources and experiences. This research aims to propose and assess an innovative solution to fill this gap and promote international agricultural literacy among SBAE students in Tennessee and Nebraska. This thesis evaluates the impacts of a VR-integration professional development (PD) program on SBAE teachers’ perceptions and intentions to use virtual reality technology to teach international agricultural topics. A VR international agriculture lesson was demonstrated to SBAE teachers during the PD. The lesson was developed for the PD using 360-degree videos captured by a graduate student on a study-abroad trip in Cambodia. The videos were narrated by agricultural students on the trip, showcasing diverse agricultural production, agricultural education, and agritourism experiences in Cambodia.

A qualitative and quantitative study was conducted to evaluate the concept of using VR to teach international topics. The qualitative study aimed to explore participants’ perceptions and intentions to use VR to teach international topics using post-PD focus groups. The purpose of the quantitative study was to describe the confidence and intentions of PD participants from Nebraska and Tennessee to use VR to teach international agriculture topics before and after participating in a VR-integration professional development (PD) program. Findings show that participants had positive perceptions toward using VR to teach international topics and viewed the concept as a novel method for teaching an otherwise neglected topic. The findings from these studies provide valuable insight into VR's potential role in overcoming barriers to SBAE international experiences.