Jim Flowers

Bio

Dr. Flowers grew up on a farm in western Tennessee, near Kentucky Lake. The farming operation consisted of beef cattle, horses, and hay production. He was active in FFA in high school, where he served as a chapter FFA officer for four years and competed in numerous district and regional contests. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee at Martin with a degree in Agricultural Education, where he was a founding member of the Alpha Zeta chapter. He was married to the former Peggy Tyree, also a UTM student, in 1971. After graduating from UTM in 1973, he and Peggy, moved to Portland, Tennessee where he began his career as an agriculture teacher. He earned his master’s degree from Western Kentucky University while he was teaching agriculture at Portland High School.

After ten years as a high school agriculture teacher, he moved to Champaign, IL, to enroll in the University of Illinois, where he earned his Ph.D. In 1986 he accepted a position at North Carolina State University as an assistant professor of Agricultural Education. In July, 2001, he was promoted to the rank of full professor and was appointed as department head in October of that same year. In addition to his teaching responsibilities at NC State University, he has served as both the undergraduate coordinator and the director of graduate programs for the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, and the Academic Programs Team Leader for the department. He has served on various university, college, and departmental committees, including serving two terms as Chair of the University level Undergraduate Admissions Committee.

Dr. Flowers and his wife, Peggy, have three children and seven grandchildren.

Professional Honors/Offices/Recognitions

• Distinguished Lecturer, American Association for Agricultural Education, 2014
• Alumni Outstanding Teacher Award, NC State Alumni Association, 2014
• North Carolina State University Academy of Outstanding Teachers, 2014
• Outstanding Teacher Award, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, 2014
• Outstanding Agricultural Educator, American Association for Agricultural Education, 2012 AAAE Conference, Asheville, NC
• Outstanding Research Paper (with Sara Brierton, primary author, and Elizabeth Wilson, Mark Kistler, and David Jones), American Association for Agricultural Education Research Meeting, 2012, Asheville, NC
• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Outstanding Faculty Advisor, 2012
• National Council for Agriculture Education, 2000-2002 & 2012-2015
• Senior Fellow, American Association for Agricultural Education, 2009
• Distinguished Lecturer, Southern Region of American Association for Agricultural Education, 2006
• Outstanding Agricultural Educator, Southern Region, American Association for Agricultural Education, 2005 & 2013
• National President, American Association for Agricultural Education, 2001
• National Secretary, American Association for Agricultural Education, 1997-1998
• Editing Managing Board, Journal of Agricultural Education, 2011-2013
• Association for Career and Technical Education, 1973 – present; Vice President of the Agricultural Education Division & Board of Directors, 2012-2015
• Outstanding Graduate Student Research Paper (co-authored with Jodi Reidel, Elizabeth Wilson, and Gary Moore), Southern Agricultural Education Research Conference, 2007, Mobile, Alabama.
• Outstanding Research Paper, American Vocational Education Research Association, 2000
• Outstanding Poster Presentation, First Runner-Up, American Association for Agricultural Education, 1997
• National Association for Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Teaching Fellow, 1994
• Distinguished Teaching Award, Southern Region, American Association for Agricultural Education, 1994
• Outstanding Young Member Award, American Association for Agricultural Education, 1992
• Outstanding Research Paper, American Vocational Education Research Association, 1992
• National Membership Secretary, American Vocational Education Research Association, 1990-91
• Honorary American FFA Degree, 1990
• AATEA Journal Author of the Year, 1st Runner-Up, Volume 29 – American Association of Teacher Educators in Agriculture, 1988
• William E. Nagel Leadership in Vocational Education Award – University of Illinois, 1987
• Honorary State FFA Degree, North Carolina, 1988 and Tennessee, 1982

Primary Teaching Responsibilities

• AEE 101, Introduction to Career and Technical Education
• AEE 427, Student Teaching in Agriculture
• AEE 579, Research Design in Agricultural and Extension Education

Recent Publications/Presentations

Book Chapters

Flowers, J.L. & Martin, D.R. (2010). Teacher certification: Traditional and Alternative Approaches, Preparing and Advancing Teachers in Agricultural Education, 246-255, Columbus, OH: The Ohio State Curriculum Materials Center.

Articles and Publications

• Brierton, S. Wilson, E.B., Kistler, M.J., Jones, D.W.W., & Flowers, J.L. (2015). A Comparison of Higher Order Thinking Skills Demonstrated in Synchronous and Asynchronous Online College Discussion Posts, NACTA Journal.
• Coley, M.D., Warner, W.J., Stair, K.S., Flowers, J.L., & Croom, D.B. (2015). Technology Usage of Tennessee Agriculture Teachers, Journal of Agricultural Education.
• Shoulders, C.W., Johnson, D.M., & Flowers, J.L. (2015). Peer Review in Agricultural Education: Interrater Reliability of Manuscript Reviews for the 2014 National Agricultural Education Research Conference, Journal of Agricultural Education.
• Flowers, J.L. (2015). “Do What is Important,” Journal of Agricultural Education, 56(1), doi:10.5032/jae.2015.01001. (Distinguished Lecture for the 2014 AAAE Conference)
• Anderson, J., Bruce, J., Jones, D., & Flowers, J. (2015). The Impact of Livestock Exhibition on Youth Leadership Life Skill Development: Youth Agricultural Organizations, Journal of Extension.
• Kish, J., Jayaratne, K.S.U., Flowers, J. & Kistler, M.J. (2014). Motivational Factors of Effective Extension Advisory Leaders: Implications for Building Strong Extension Advisory Councils, Journal of Human Sciences and Extension.
• Mills, K. Bruce, J., Jones, D. & Flowers, J. (2013). Socially Responsible or Just Plain Social: Socially Responsible Leadership Skills of New Members of Greek Letter Organizations. Journal of Leadership Education, 12 (1).
• Baughman, K., Bruce, J., Jones, D. & Flowers, J. (2012). The Leadership Proficiency of Commissioners of Agriculture. Journal of Leadership Education. 11(2).
• Johnson, L., Wilson, E., Flowers, J. & Croom, B. (2012). Perceptions of North Carolina High School Agricultural Educators Regarding Students with Special Needs Participating in Supervised Agricultural Experience and FFA. Journal of Agricultural Education. 53(4), 41-54. DOI: 10.5032/jae.2012.02153.
• Curry, K., Wilson, E.B., Flowers, J.L, & Farin, C. (2012). Scientific Basis vs. Contextualized Teaching and Learning: The Effects on Achievement of Postsecondary Students, Journal of Agricultural Education, 53(1), doi: 10.5032/jae.2012.01057.
• Murray, K.A., Flowers, J.L., Croom, D.B., & Wilson, E.B. (2011). The Agricultural Teacher’s Struggle for Balance Between Career and Family, Journal of Agricultural Education, 52(2), doi:10.5032/jae.2011.2107.

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Area(s) of Expertise

• Instructional Methodology- Problem Solving Instruction
• Improvement of Career and Technical Education Teacher Preparation Programs