Sustainable Agriculture Learning Modules for High School Agriculture

Sustainable Agriculture Learning Modules for High School Agriculture

Summary

Over the first two years of the project we completed modules with the enthusiastic support of ten high school teachers, and the highly capable advice of an excellent teacher from nearby Norris High School. These topics ranged from backyard gardens, to composting, to hoop houses and greenhouse production, to intensive rotational grazing, to food and nutrition. The modules were presented by the teachers in different formats, and it remained for us to standardize them and locate the most suitable platform for access by other teachers in the state. Cursory evaluation of the value of these modules by core teachers suggested that they were quite academic in the present format, and that other alternative methods of building modules should be a priority. We pursued ideas for modification of the project.

Objectives/Performance Targets

We learned from the teachers who participated in the project that a relatively simple outline of ideas and activities, even though presented within an important subject for teaching, would be unlikely to have the intended outcomes. Thus we decided to revisit the overall project objectives and set new targets as well as modify the types of deliverable materials that would be prepared. We continue to believe the short-term, intermediate-term and long-term outcomes are sound, as well as the general outputs and frame of activities. However, the specific activities will be modified, and reported in the 2012 report.

Accomplishments/Milestones

We did complete ten modules as described in the above summary. These were on important topics as listed, and were expected to contribute to the high school curriculum as intended. What we learned from teachers was that their plates were already extremely full due to state requirements and an already-established curriculum and set of materials, and their lack of time to incorporate new materials if they were not really accessible with little energy investment by teachers. Although this was disappointing to learn, it was a major milestone that caused us to re-think the entire project and plan to modify the outputs as will be reported in the 2012 report.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Without doubt the most important impact of the first two years was on our own understanding of the complexity of curriculum change and the types of materials that are most useful to teachers. It was the in-depth feedback from our key teacher cooperator and the other teachers who participated in the first two years that we gained valuable perspective on what was needed in the classroom, and what types of materials would really get used. These findings corroborated some personal experience of the PI, whose sister has taught “Ag in the Classroom” in Puyallup, Washington, at the Western Washington Fair Grounds. She described how the slick and easily used materials for elementary and pre-school children came from the commodity boards for apples, for wheat, and for poultry. These were full-color posters, slide sets and power points, and guides to hands-on activities that obviously showed commercial agriculture in the best possible light. There was nowhere to be found anything remotely related to sustainability. We should have heeded this information and perspective in the initial planning, but we will bring it to the revision in 2012.

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