Agriculture Specialist Credential

Program Design:

With authorization by the University President, the Kremen School of Education and Human Development (KSOEHD) Dean serves as the Director of Teacher Education for the University. The dean is authorized to speak on matters of teacher credentialing and certification, to work with colleges, schools, and departments at California State University, Fresno and to serve as liaison with agencies and organizations at the local, state, and national levels with interests in the training of professionals for public education.

Dr. Imelda Basurto coordinates the Single Subject Credential Program. She reports directly to the KSOEHD Dean regarding academic and curricular issues and to Dr. Kathleen Godfrey, Interim Associate Dean, regarding the administrative operations of the program.

Candidates for the Agriculture Specialist Credential must complete all of the professional education courses required for the Single Subject Credential and the agricultural education courses required for the Specialist Credential. Because of these additional requirements, the Agricultural Specialist Credential is referred to as an “advanced credential”.

Overview of Structure

Dr. Rosco Vaughn coordinates the Agricultural Education Degree Program and the Agriculture Specialist Credential Program. He is a faculty member of the Animal Sciences and Agricultural Education Department, located within the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (JCAST). Dean Dennis Nef is the chief administrative officer of JCAST and department heads and individual program coordinators, including the Agriculture Specialist Credential Program Coordinator, are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Dean.

Dr. Vaughn works closely with the KSOEHD credential coordinators and administrators in coordinating the Agriculture Specialist Credential program with the KSOEHD. He meets with the Single Subject Coordinator of KSOEHD on a frequent basis. Coordination of the Agriculture Specialist Program is enhanced by the university policy of concentrating all credential admissions and processing functions in one office located in the KSOEHD.

The program coordinator advises undergraduate and graduate Agricultural Education majors, teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Agricultural Education, places and supervises student teachers, serves as liaison with the California Department of Education Agricultural Education Unit, and is responsible for all phases of the Agricultural Education curriculum and program.

The coordinator also meets with the Agricultural Education Advisory Committee on matters related to the credential program. This committee establishes the vision for the program and provides an assessment function. The advisory committee consists of high school and community college teachers of agriculture and representatives from agribusiness and farming. The committee provides one of many kinds of contacts between the program and the community served by the program.

The program coordinator meets regularly with other universities offering Single Subject – Agriculture Specialist Credentials. Representatives of these universities and the California Agricultural Education State Staff meet about four times each year to discuss and coordinate statewide issues and activities. The program coordinator attends these meetings. Other Agricultural Education faculty members have committee responsibilities and attend all or part of these meetings. This collaboration results in coordinated statewide programs for agriculture student teachers, cooperating teachers, and new professionals.

Due to increasing enrollment in the program, four part-time faculty have been employed to teach courses and to supervise student teachers. One faculty member retired and is now working part- time supervising initial student teachers and teaching the seminar for initial student teachers. A new tenure track faculty member was also added in August of 2019. The FAST program was recently updated and university coaches are being recalibrated for scoring the assessments.

Course of Study (Curriculum and Field Experience):

The Agriculture Specialist Credential Program at Fresno State is a five-year program. Students must first obtain the Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in Agricultural Education. To complete the degree, students must complete 39 semester units of agriculture core subject matter. In addition, they must also complete a specialization area comprised of 15 semester units from one of the following areas:

Agricultural Business Mechanized Agriculture Animal Sciences

Plant Science

The requirements for obtaining the undergraduate degree are listed on the Agricultural Education Bachelor’s Degree Advising Sheet.

Subject matter competence and knowledge are documented through completion of the undergraduate preparation program and verification of 3,000 clock hours of occupational experience. Candidates complete a form, (T-14), listing their education and leadership records along with their occupational experience. They also complete a personal interview with a member of the California Department of Education Agricultural Education Staff and provide this individual with a copy of their completed form. The form and interview must be completed prior to enrolling in the final field experience course.

Students desiring to enter the Agriculture Specialist Credential Program, with a degree in an agricultural major other than Agricultural Education, are usually lacking some of the courses required in the credential program. These students have two options to meet the requirements. They may choose to complete the required courses, or they may choose to take the California Subject Examination for Teachers (CSET). A passing score on the Agriculture CSET will satisfy the subject matter course requirements. Undergraduate students from other majors are advised to complete a major in Agricultural Education. Concurrent with establishment of subject matter competency, these students are also advised to enroll in AGED 050, Orientation to Agricultural Education.

Undergraduate students complete an early field experience course (AGED 050) and 12 additional semester units of Agricultural Education course work to provide them with a professional education knowledge base for teaching agricultural education. The sequence of agricultural education courses is:

Total Units                                                                                               15

After exhibiting subject matter competence, candidates are eligible for admission to the Single Subject in Agriculture and the Agriculture Specialist Credential Programs. To teach high school agricultural education in California, candidates must obtain both credentials.

The post-baccalaureate (fifth-year) program for Agricultural Education Teacher Preparation is structured so candidates, with a combination of undergraduate and graduate professional education course work, will concurrently fulfill the requirements for the Single Subject, Agriculture and Agriculture Specialist Credentials by taking a sequence of 39 semester units of post-baccalaureate courses.

At the post-baccalaureate level, candidates are enrolled in foundations, content instruction, psychology, English learners, and methods and materials courses. In addition, candidates are enrolled in a field experience course (EHD 155A) during the first semester of their post- baccalaureate program. Second semester candidates are enrolled in an additional field experience course (EHD 155B) and spend one high school semester student teaching at an approved site.

During this semester candidates are also enrolled in two graduate courses that require them to research and/or apply specific knowledge and skills to problems and issues arising during their final field experience. The sequence of post-baccalaureate courses is:

Course and Units:

• CI 151 Social Foundations of Education (3 units)
• CI 152 Educational Psychology (3 units)
• CI 161 Methods & Materials in Agricultural Education (3 units)
• LEE 156 Content Area Literacy & Communications in Secondary Classrooms (3 units)
• LEE 157 Teaching English Learners in Secondary Classrooms (3 units)
• EHD 154A Initial Student Teaching Seminar (1 unit)
• EHD 155A Initial Student Teaching (4 units)
• SPED 158 Differentiated Instruction in Inclusive Secondary Settings (3 units)
• AGRI 280 Seminar in Agricultural Education (3 units)

Candidates are informed of assessments beginning with the introductory Agricultural Education courses and at the beginning of all courses as they progress through the program. Faculty advisors work with individual candidates to ensure they have ample opportunity to meet the program competencies.

Program Pathway

• Organization Chart - Agricultural Specialist Credential Program
• Kremen School of Education and Human Development Organizational Chart

Faculty Distribution Table – Agricultural Specialist Credential Program

The Agricultural Education Program does not have adjunct faculty members. See this link is to the University policy for employing adjunct faculty (APM 310). Qualification requirements are included in the policy.

 No agricultural education vacancies.

Information is always available to prospective and current credential candidates online on the department and university websites. The following links provide candidates with catalog and advising information pertaining to our subject matter program and the Agricultural Specialist coursework and credential:

• Agricultural Education / Teacher Preparation Bachelor’ Degree Advising Roadmap
• Agricultural Education / Teacher Preparation Bachelor’ Degree Advising Sheet
• Agricultural Education Agricultural Specialist Credential Program Information in University Catalog
• Agricultural Education / Teacher Preparation Bachelor’s Degree Information in University Catalog

• Course Matrix

Not Applicable 

Fieldwork and Clinical Practice

California Agricultural Education has a unique process for selecting cooperating schools and placing student teachers in those schools. The California Department of Education staff develops and updates annually a list of approved cooperating schools for placing agriculture student teachers. There is an established list of criteria for schools to be placed on the approved cooperating schools list. The five universities that place agriculture student teachers collaborate on selecting sites for each institution then they contact the schools allocated to them. Due to the small number of agriculture teachers at the schools, student teachers are often placed at a considerable distance from the home campus. For example, Fresno State often places student teachers at schools as far away as Bakersfield and Lodi and sometimes at a greater distance. In addition to following the above procedures the Fresno State Agricultural Education Program also follows the Fresno State procedures for student teacher placement. A copy of the Fresno State MOU is included in the Appendix of this document.

California Agricultural Education conducts an annual conference to train master/mentor teachers. Fresno State faculty help conduct participate in this conference. A copy of the 2020 Supervising Teacher Institute Agenda is included in the Appendix of this document.

Fresno State part time faculty that supervise student teachers attend the student teacher seminar sessions and are calibrated for scoring the site visitation and teaching sample projects along with fulltime faculty.

• Cooperating mentor/master teacher role and expectations
• Resources for mentor teachers

Clinical Practice Handbook/Manual

• Resources for credential candidates and mentor teachers

Three manuals or handbooks are provided. They are:

1. Fresno Assessment of Student Teachers (FAST) Manual
2. Single Subject Credential Program Handbook
3. Agriculture Specialist Student Teaching Manual

Syllabi for clinical experience courses are:

• EHD 155A and EHD 154A
• EHD 155B and EHD 154B

• Clinical Practice Assessment Instruments
• Agriculture Specialist Student Teaching Manual

Candidates must complete the EHD 155B Clearance Form before they can enroll in final student teaching. This form must be signed by the Credential Admissions Analyst and the candidate’s subject matter advisor.

Candidates are required to receive passing scores on the Site Visitation Project and the Teaching Sample Project in addition to receiving positive evaluations on the other evaluation forms to receive a final grade for student teaching. Candidates must maintain a 3.0 GPA in the credential program coursework. Candidates submit an application to the Credential Analyst after their grades are posted. The Credential Analyst evaluates the completed application to ensure they meet all requirements for the Single Subject in Agriculture and the Agriculture Specialist Teaching Credentials.

Each successful candidate is provided with the Individual Development Plan (IDP Form). They complete the form and submit it to their university coach. The university coach may approve the form or make revision recommendations that must be added before signing the form. Candidates are advised to include TPE’s that will enable them to accomplish the professional learning goals they set as one of the last steps in the FAST Teaching Sample Project. 

Candidates are required to successfully pass all coursework before they are recommended for their credentials. An advising sheet lists the approved courses. 

• Individual Development Plan Form