Procurement News Notice |
|
| PNN | 6236 |
| Work Detail | Teachers at Hampshire Unit School spent their professional day Friday in a school workshop developing ways to implement the new problem-based teaching model while simultaneously planting the seed of the school’s partnership with the University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture. As the first step in becoming a feeder school for the program, teachers and representatives from the University of Tennessee brainstormed ways to create a hands-on learning environment for students using the school’s surrounding agricultural resources for kindergarten students to high school seniors. “We are in the initial stages of a transformation,” Hampshire Principal Sonya Cathey said. “We are going toward a focus of agriculture, ecology and the natural sciences. For our students, it is a step toward more engaging projects. It means they are going outside and actually be involved, developing their critical thinking skills trying to solve problems which affect their community everyday.” The teachers heard from university professors on how to best implement problem-based learning in an agricultural context. For elementary school students, that might mean traveling to a local farm and picking out a pumpkin, then returning to the classroom to learn about the biological life cycle and photosynthesis. Then in middle school, those same students could again go and pick and pumpkins, but use mathematics to determine their volume and density to calculate mass. “The goal is to embed students in authentic, real world problems that exist in the world around them, to use those skills and concepts that they need to be successful,” Assistant Professor of Agricultural Leadership and Education Communication Dr. Jennifer Richards said. “It allows us to put kids into nature and use those things that would just naturally stimulate the curiosity of the child, to teach those basic core competencies, to be ready for a career or college.” Professor of Wildland Recreation and Human Dimensions Research Lab Director Dr. Mark Fly said the partnership is much more than just training Hampshire’s students to become the next generation of farmers. He said there are more jobs in the field of agriculture and natural resources than any other profession, citing plant sciences, food sciences, agricultural economics and many more. “It is the full range of sciences,” Fly said. “We replicate the same programs found on our other (University of Tennessee) campuses, except we focus ours on agriculture.” Former Antioch University New England professor Steve Jones visited the session at Hampshire to see first-hand how the teachers implement the new initiative. “Living is project based,” Jones said. “Whether it’s the math you use to decide where to put the nail to hang the photograph so it’s centered. Even driving here was a project that involved math, science and geography, so why should learning not be project based?” Maury County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Chris Marczak was there, encouraging the teachers. He said their efforts in establishing problem-based learning in the classroom put them at the top of the list in becoming the first school to provide each student with personal computer with Hampshire planned to be the first school to receiver a 10 gigabyte overhaul to its servers and internet connection. “We feel more confident about the direction we are going,” second grade teacher Kristy Brown said. “We don’t have as much fear about it now. There are a lot of resources right here in our community that we are not even aware of.” During a break in the session, Marczak said he was excited to see the enthusiasm in the teachers to bring change to their classrooms for the improvement of their student’s education. “This is absolutely awesome,” Marczak said. “This is the future of education in Maury County.” Hampshire is planned to begin gradually implementing the agriculture based practices in the coming spring semester, Cathey said. |
| Country | United Kingdom , Northern Europe |
| Industry | Food & Agriculture |
| Entry Date | 15 Oct 2016 |
| Source | http://www.columbiadailyherald.com/news/20160905/hampshire-steps-into-partnership-with-uts-institute-of-agriculture?start=2 |
