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As agricultural educators, we take pride in imploring innovative teaching methods that push our students beyond their self-perceived boundaries. We use our unique multi-faceted structure of classroom, supervised agriculture experience program, and student organization to help students develop those "soft skills" that are so sought after by employers. Our unique structure allows us to develop those skills, more aptly categorized as leadership skills, in our students on a personal level, but also allows them to learn how to function as an effective team member. It is the integration of experiential learning in team-based situations that makes our profession stand out among the core academic areas.
Inside and outside of the classroom, teamwork has become an increasingly popular method of work. Teachers as well as business leaders have found that although team-based structures take more time to complete a project, their synergy and mental diversity reaps significant and sustainable results. Not surprisingly, researchers and practitioners alike have found teamwork is not something that can be learned simply through reading and studying, but is rather a set of skills that must be developed through practice. Fortunately for agricultural educators, the FFA Career and Leadership Development event structure requires the application of teamwork among our FFA participants. But how can we incorporate that experience of working and leading in a team into our classroom instruction to make it a more robust and real-world simulation? Service-learning projects can provide the opportunity to integrate team leadership skills, experiential learning, and personal leadership skills while simultaneously reaching course and lesson objectives.
Team leadership skills include those skills that make us more effective as a team member. In a true team, there is not just one identified leader. All members of the team perform leader and follower roles. This is what truly changes a group into a team. One of the core skills students should understand is...