THE TEACHER LEARNING AND LEADERSHIP THROUGH AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING (TILLAGE) PROJECT WILL COLLABORATIVELY DESIGN, DEVELOP, FIELD TEST, EVALUATE, AND REFINE AN INNOVATIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM MODEL FOR UPPER ELEMENTARY TEACHERS FOCUSED ON IMPLEMENTING AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING DESIGN CHALLENGES IN SCHOOL GARDENS. THE PROGRAM WILL INVOLVE CURRICULUM-BASED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING IN WHICH TEACHERS LEARN ABOUT AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING IN GARDENS BY EXPLORING A MODEL UNIT OF INSTRUCTION, AS WELL AS ONGOING VIRTUAL STUDY GROUPS TO SUPPORT CLASSROOM IMPLEMENTATION. THE PROGRAM GOALS ARE TO: A) HELP TEACHERS DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CONCEPTS, B) HELP TEACHERS DEVELOP SKILLS TO FACILITATE ENGINEERING DESIGN IN A GARDEN SETTING, AND 3) TRANSLATE THIS KNOWLEDGE INTO LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR THEIR STUDENTS. THIS PROJECT IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN BSCS SCIENCE LEARNING AND LIFE LAB, TWO NON-PROFIT EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONS COMMITTED TO ADVANCING SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURAL LITERACY THROUGH K-12 EDUCATION. PROJECT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ALIGN WITH AFRI PRIORITIES AND NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION REFORMS, INCLUDING THE NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS. OVER THE TWO-YEAR GRANT PERIOD, THE PROGRAM WILL DIRECTLY IMPACT 20 TEACHERS AND FOUR TEACHER LEADERS, WITH AN INDIRECT IMPACT ON APPROXIMATELY 600 STUDENTS. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING MATERIALS WILL BE FREELY AVAILABLE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND THE PROGRAM WILL BE SUSTAINED BY PROJECT PARTNERS FOR AN ENDURING IMPACT ON FUTURE TEACHERS AND THEIR STUDENTS.