ON COMMON GROUND: EXPANDING AGRICULTURAL LITERACY WITH CITIZEN SCIENCE WILL PROVIDE A THREE-DAY TRAINING FOR 40 PUBLIC, PRIVATE, AND TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE TEACHERS OVER TWO YEARS. THE TRAINING WILL INCLUDE INTEGRATING VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) IN THE CLASSROOM, FARM TOURS, EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ON A RESEARCH FARM, AND AGRICULTURAL CITIZEN SCIENCE CURRICULUM TO MEET CLASS NEEDS. FUNDS FROM THIS GRANT WILL SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF THREE VR TOOLS: 1) 360&DEG; VIDEO TOURS OF DIFFERENT PRODUCTION FACILITIES, 2) GOOGLE CARDBOARD VR THAT EXPLORES THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS, AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES, AND ABOVE AND BELOW GROUND DYNAMICS UNDER DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT SCENARIOS, AND 3) AGCONNECT, AN ONLINE APPLICATION THAT GUIDES STUDENTS THROUGH THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS AND PROVIDES A PLATFORM FOR CLASSES AROUND THE WORLD TO CONNECT AND SHARE PROJECT PROGRESS. ON-FARM TOURS HELP TEACHERS FORM RELATIONSHIPS WITH A NETWORK OF FARMERS WHO ARE WILLING TO HOST STUDENT FIELD TRIPS. AT BORDERVIEW RESEARCH FARM, TEACHERS WILL GAIN HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE WITH EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION, COLLECTING DATA USING VARIOUS TOOLS, AND USING AGCONNECT TO RECORD DATA AND ANALYZE RESULTS. THE AGRICULTURAL CITIZEN SCIENCE CURRICULUM WILL PROVIDE SEVEN LEARNING UNITS THAT FOCUS ON THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS, INCLUDING PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE FOR GENERATING A THOUGHTFUL RESEARCH QUESTION AND UTILIZING THE CAPABILITIES OF AGCONNECT. THROUGHOUT THE COURSE, TEACHERS WILL FORM RELATIONSHIPS WITH PEERS AND INDUSTRY PERSONNEL WHO WILL PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR AGRICULTURAL LITERACY IN THE CLASSROOM BEYOND THIS PROJECT. AN ONLINE PUBLIC REPOSITORY OF RESOURCES AND FORUM TO EXCHANGE IDEAS WILL HELP THE CURRICULUM AND MATERIALS TO BE SELF-SUSTAINING.