Supervised Agricultural Experience Programs
SAE Requirements
Each student will be required to design and participate in a Supervised Agricultural Experience Program, as part of the three-circle model described above. All Basic Agricultural Science students will be developing an agriscience project as their SAE Program. The program will be unique to each student's interest and career aspirations. There will be three SAE checks throughout the semester, once a month, which will be used to evaluate your progress in your program. Checks are graded for completion, not based on the total number of hours progressed. Students will be completing their SAE record keeping through the online system, AET. Students will be provided login information during the first week of school which they should keep up with throughout the semester. Students will be provided a detailed rubric of what their program is expected to include, some of these expectations are:
Minimum of 20 hours completed and documents of a hands-on activity related to agriculture
Minimum of 6 pictures of the student actively working with their SAE program
Minimum of 12 journal entries logged into AET which includes details of what the student completed during each time they worked on their activity
SAE Presentations to provide information about your project at the end of the semester
The instructor will be available anytime for questions, concerns, or help with their program. Pictures should be uploaded to google classroom by the required due date.
The SAE will be due on the 2nd to last FRIDAY of each semester. The presentations will occur the last TUESDAY of each semester.
This course’s final exam will be composed of a portion of the SAE project and presentation grades. These items cannot be exempted, but will occur prior to exam day to allow for a similar “exemption” policy.
StudentProfileChecklist.pdfStudent Profile Set-Up Instructions
1-3-15 StudentAETExperienceJournal_LW.pdfHow to update Journal Entries
How to use AET
Login Information:
Chapter ID: GA0159
Note: G & A must be capital!
Username: Firstinitiallastname
Ex: CBegnaud
Note: First two letters must be capital!
Password: Same as username
AET_StudentWelcome_SD.mpegAET Tutorial
Supervised Agricultural Experience Program
Foundational SAE
All students in an agricultural education program are expected to have a FOUNDATIONAL SAE. Projects and experiential learning activities for this type of SAE will develop you in each of the five component areas:
Career Exploration and Planning
Employability Skills for College and Career Readiness
Personal Financial Management and Planning
Workplace Safety
Agricultural Literacy
Projects will involve both in and out of school experiences like:
Creation of a Career Plan
Development of a personal budget
Attainment of safety certifications
This SAE will be a graded part of your classroom experience which provides the basics that you need to be college- and career-ready. Even though the Foundational SAE is essential for every student’s SAE program, hours contributed in this phase of the project may not contribute to the attainment of FFA awards or degrees.
Your Foundational SAE will prepare you to select and implement one or more of the Immersion SAEs discussed later in this section. Immersion SAEs are an outgrowth of the Agricultural Literacy component of your Foundational SAE. For example, you may find in your exploration of the AFNR pathways that you have an interest in researching to find answers to problems. That interest may lead you to a pursue a Research SAE.
Ownership/Entrepreneurship SAE
In an OWNERSHIP SAE, you create, own and operate a business which provides goods and/or services to the marketplace. Your business can range from starting a mowing service to developing mobile apps. You make the operational and risk management decisions on how goods and/or services are provided. Some facilities, resources and equipment necessary for the SAE operation can be provided from your friends and family. The operation must be of sufficient scope to enable development of your skills and abilities aligned to the AFNR Technical Standards and Career Ready Practices.
In addition to providing the labor for your Ownership SAE, you keep records of both your time and money involved in the project. You will conduct a simple analysis of your productivity and profitability at the end of each production or business cycle to see where you are making and losing money and how you might improve your operation. Throughout the experience, you will document the knowledge and skills you have gained and add them to the Career Plan and portfolio you created through your Foundational SAE.
You can transition your Ownership SAE to an ENTREPRENEURSHIP SAE by meeting a few additional criteria. You start by incorporating all aspects of an Ownership SAE. Then you identify and account for, either financially or non-financially, all resources used in the business. You will maintain and analyze financial records just like any other business owner. In this process, you will become familiar with common financial tools like, balance sheet, income statement and cash flow. You will become skilled at using these tools to grow your business.
The Entrepreneurship SAE includes a Business Plan which provides for the continued growth and expansion of your operation. Your Business Plan will be reviewed and updated annually to reflect the changes in your operation. The Entrepreneurship SAE is where the you get serious about business.
School Based Enterprise SAE
A SCHOOL-BASED ENTERPRISE SAE is an Entrepreneurship SAE with a twist. The difference is that the operation is based at the school and involves a group of students working cooperatively. If you like working collaboratively with others, a School-Based Enterprise might be the best SAE for you.
School-Based Enterprise SAEs are student-led business enterprises that provide goods or services. They are operated from the school campus utilizing facilities, equipment and other resources provided by the agricultural education program or the school in general. For a SchoolBased Enterprise you will be working with one or more of your peers in the operation of the enterprise. The business itself may be “owned” by the school or FFA chapter, meaning that the organization holds the risk of the business that is managed by students. Alternatively, the business may be structured as a partnership or cooperative between students. You will use partnership or cooperative agreements to define how you distribute responsibilities and profits.
To start a School-Based Enterprise SAE you, and your team will need to:
Develop a Business Plan for the operation and have it reviewed annually by the leadership of your partnership or cooperative team.
Operate under the overview of a board of directors to which the student management team will provide reports throughout the business operation cycle. Reports will be based on the financial and operational records your team will keep and analyze to see if your business is meeting its goals.
Create a structure that provides for varying levels of student responsibility to allow for skill development and student advancement.
Operate in a realistic workplace environment providing real world workplace expectations for everyone involved.
Placement & Internship SAE
In a PLACEMENT SAE, you perform the tasks determined by your employer which are necessary for the operation of the business. You are evaluated by the employer under the guidance of your agricultural education instructor. During this experience, you will be developing your agriculture, food, natural resource and employability skills and abilities outside the classroom.
Your experience will be defined through an SAE agreement that your agricultural education instructor and employer will help you create. The SAE agreement lays out the details of your job and includes considerations to make sure you are safe and able to learn on the job. During the experience, you will keep track of the hours you work, income received, tasks you complete and the knowledge and skills you attained. Your teacher will conduct regular check-ins with you and your employer to make sure the experience is a success.
The INTERNSHIP SAE takes the Placement SAE up a notch. Internships provide a more targeted experience that focuses on meeting your specific training needs. Together, you will define the focus of your work. An Internship SAE is directed not as much by the business operation but by your Training Plan. This plan will ensure maximum benefit of developing your knowledge and skill. The plan also contains a list of AFNR Technical Content Standards and Career Ready Practices which you will master as a part of your experience. Your employer will evaluate you regularly and provide feedback for where you can improve.
Internship SAEs require all the same things that are required in a Placement SAE. In addition, they require a Training Plan that clarifies the skills you will be working on and includes a plan for your safety in the workplace. An Internship SAE also requires regular (weekly) reflection on your experience and a summary presentation made to a local committee organized by the agricultural education instructor.
Research SAE
Do you like to test theories, apply the scientific method or invent new tools and methods? If so you should consider a RESEARCH SAE.
In a Research SAE, you will investigate materials, processes and information to establish new knowledge or the validation of previous research. Rest assured, your agricultural education instructor will help you navigate the process.
Research conducted must have an application within the AFNR industry. Options range from biotechnology to food products and processing. There are three variations of Research SAEs to pursue: Experimental, Analytical and Invention.
An EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH SAE involves the application of the scientific method to control certain variables while manipulating others to observe the outcome. You will define a hypothesis, determine an appropriate experimental design, conduct the research, collect the data, draw conclusions from the data and recommend further research that can be done.
An ANALYTICAL RESEARCH SAE often begins with a question that asks why or how something occurs, followed by a period of data collection using qualitative and/or quantitative methodologies. You will conduct analysis of data, facts and other information to determine the answer to the question posed.
An INVENTION RESEARCH SAE applies the engineering design process to create a new product or service. This type of research often begins with the identification of a need and the development of a product followed by a design process of prototyping and testing that results in a product that meets the identified need.
No matter which variation you choose, you will:
Follow the scientific process and accepted best practices for conducting research to ensure reliability, validity and replicability of research.
Complete a Research Plan to prepare you to safely meet all requirements.
Conduct peer reviews with your supervising agricultural education instructor or other professionals at multiple stages throughout the research cycle (e.g., proposal, report of findings, publications, etc.)
Make a summary presentation on your research and findings to a local committee organized by the agricultural education instructor.
Service-Learning SAE
A SERVICE LEARNING SAE is where you, or you and a small team plan, conduct and evaluate a project designed to provide a service to the school, public entities, or the community. The project must provide benefit to an organization, group or individuals other than your FFA Chapter. The project must be pre-approved by a review committee that includes local stakeholders in addition to your agricultural education instructor. The project must be of sufficient scope to enable development of your skills and abilities aligned to skills and competencies within the agriculture, food and natural resource industry.
A Service Learning SAE requires a service learning plan that is developed and approved for the project by your agricultural education instructor. This plan defines the need and proposed service solution. You will operate your service plan under the overview of a local committee to which the project management team will provide reports throughout the service learning experience. The project must have a structure that provides for varying levels of student responsibility to allow for skill development and student advancement.
The project needs to serve your local school, community or beyond and provide real world service learning experiences for you and the rest of the students involved. You and potentially your team will be expected to provide a summary report of the impact of the project to the local school and community and write a reflection paper which describes your personal growth from the experience.
