Integrating Sustainable Agriculture with K-12 Curriculum through School Garden/Orchards: a Pre-Service Teacher Training

2013 Annual Report for GNC12-152

Project Type: Graduate Student
Funds awarded in 2012: $9,987.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2014
Grant Recipient: University of Minnesota Duluth
Region: North Central
State: Minnesota
Graduate Student:
Faculty Advisor:
Dr. Cindy Hale
University of Minnesota Duluth

Integrating Sustainable Agriculture with K-12 Curriculum through School Garden/Orchards: a Pre-Service Teacher Training

Summary

Teachers play the important role in our society of educators of the next generation. This project, titled “Integrating Sustainable Agriculture with K-12 Curriculum through School Garden/Orchards: A Pre-Service Teacher Training,” will educate pre-service teachers sustainable agriculture principles and skills using school gardens/orchards. Through experiential learning, pre-service teachers will develop the necessary skills to educate future generations about the benefits of and supporting the development of sustainable agriculture food systems. This pilot project will take place in two phases. During the first phase pre-service teachers will participate in a three-day workshop. The training will include visits to local farms and opportunities for hands-on exploration of sustainable agriculture practices. Pre-service teachers will also have the opportunity to develop a plan for implementing sustainable agriculture to their own lesson plans and curricula. The second phase of this project will take place during a student teaching experience. Pre-service teachers will be placed in a mentor relationship with experienced teachers who can model the use of the school gardens and explore strategies for integrating sustainable agriculture practices in the K-12 curricula. Pre-service teachers will be documenting their learning and accomplishments through ePortfolio, an online professional development program. Project effectiveness and learning by pre-service teachers’ will be accessed through reflective components of ePortfolio. Further, the obstacles and opportunities for successful integration of sustainably designed and managed school gardens/orchards into K- 12 student curriculum will be identified, and the project modified to ensure future viability.

Objectives/Performance Targets

This project will create an opportunity for K-12 teachers to start their careers using sustainable agriculture practices as a teaching method through school gardens/orchards, setting the stage for systemic changes in the ways K-12 students, teachers, and parents view sustainable agriculture. Project participants will define and identify sustainable agricultural practices compared to conventional practices. They will understand that sustainable agriculture practices can increase the quality of food produced, food security for their communities and improve the ecological systems upon which sustainable living is based. Experiences with local farmers, and the integration of sustainable agricultural practices in their school garden/orchard curricula will increase K-12 students, teachers and parents knowledge of and access to sustainable farmers and farm products. This cycle of education will likely improve economic viability, enhancing the quality of life for farmers/ranchers, rural and urban communities, and society as a whole. Students will gain the skills, knowledge, and understanding that will lead them to seek out sustainability in their daily choices including growing their own food, buying from local farmers, and pursuing sustainable farming as a career. Short-term outcomes of this training include changes in the knowledge, awareness, skills and attitudes of pre-service teachers. Project participants will: • Gain experiential understanding of the concept of sustainability (the balance between environment, society and the economy). • Apply their understanding of sustainability through a real-life sustainable agriculture experience; highlight the definition of sustainable agriculture (SARE 2010). Intermediate outcomes include changes in pre-service teachers’ behavior and practices by: • Learning to use a school garden/orchard to integrate teaching of sustainable agriculture concepts and practices with student learning in math, science, and other subjects. • Using school gardens/orchards to engage K-12 student in active learning about the ecological principles, knowledge, and skills related to specific sustainable agriculture practices (i.e. holistic planning, organics, IPM and beneficial insects, soil and water quality improvement, crop/landscape diversity, proactive weed control, etc.). Long-term outcomes of training pre-service teachers in sustainable agriculture school gardens/orchards as a vehicle to actively engage students are expected to include: • Successful and ongoing education of K-12 students through the use of sustainable agriculture concepts and skills integrated with the main subject areas. • Teachers, students, and the community will increase their understanding of the importance of sustainable agriculture to their personal and their communities’ health.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Below is an overview of the accomplishments of this project during 2013:

 

    • During the spring 2013 semester, two education classes participated in a school garden training: Inquiry Social Studies & Science Learning: Birth-Age 8 and Teaching Science and Environmental Education II.  These students were part of several class periods, ranging from 1 hr to 3 hrs, focusing on learning about sustainability and sustainable agriculture, school gardens as a learning tool, and hands-on learnings experiences (both in the classroom and in gardens).

 

    • In order to place students in a teaching experience with current classroom teachers who have access to school gardens (as part of this project), this project needed to work very closely with the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) Office of Field Experience in the UMD Department of Education.  The project also relied on connections made between the Duluth Public Schools and the Duluth Community Garden Program. Over the course of the spring and summer 2013 semesters, the project lead worked to identify connections, promote communication and ellict feedback from pre-service teachers and cooperating teachers participating in the project.  These experiences have helped to create a timeline and process through which to work through in the future. 

 

    • During the fall 2013 semester, one education class participated in a one-hour training on school gardens. Additionally, most of these students participated in another one-hour training during the UMD Department of Education Professional Day

 

Next Steps (Spring 2014):

 

    • Review the draft curriculum developed for this project, and revise based on student feedback, instructor feedback and experience.

 

    • Continue to collect and analyze feedback from student experiences, both during the trainings and the student teaching experience. 

 

    • Share this information with project participants in order to gather final thoughts, and to ensure continuation of the project in the University of Minnesota Duluth pre-service teacher education program. 

 


Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

This project had the following impacts over the course of 2013:

 

    • Two classes participated in the training during the spring 2013 semester.  The total number of training participants was approximately 42 students.  

 

    • Of these two courses, 7 students participated in a Urban Farm tour of Duluth (students from the two participating classes).

 

    • 8 students did their student teaching experience at 5 Duluth area schools with gardens or interest in developing a school garden (students from the two participating classes).

 

    • Approximately 30 students participated in a one hour school garden training during the fall 2013 UMS Pre-Service Teacher Professional Day.

 

    • One class participated in a hour long training on school gardens during the fall 2013 semester.  The total number of participants was approximately 24 students (most of these students had also participated in the Professional Day training). 

 

A total of approximately 72 students participated in some aspect of the school garden training during 2013.

Several area organzations also played some role in the 2013 trainings, including: the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) Office of Sustainability, UMD Facilities Management, UMD Department of Education, the Sustainable Agriculture Project at UMD, the Duluth Community Garden Program, Seeds of Success (a project of Community Action Duluth), the Hillside Public Orchard, the Grant Community School Collaborative (now Myers-Wilkens Community School Collaborative), and the Duluth Grill.

Collaborators:

Dr. Cindy Hale

cmhale@d.umn.edu
Research Associate
University of Minnesota Duluth
D186A
5013 Miller Trunk Hwy
Duluth, MN 55811-1442
Office Phone: 2187266853