Browsing by Subject "Hands-on learning"

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    Identifying the Characteristics, Uses, Perceptions, and Barriers of the School Farm
    (2013-05) Gilbert, Angela; Ulmer, Jonathan; Ritz, Rudy; Burris, Scott
    Due to the increasing gap between the general public and production agriculture there is an increasing need for agricultural education taught utilizing the experiential learning theory. The experiential learning theory is directly imbedded within the agricultural education model. The school farm provides a venue for practical application (laboratory instruction) of principles learned in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to determine the barriers that agricultural science teachers, face when pre-planning laboratory experiences on the school farm. The target population for this study included secondary agricultural science teachers, who have or previously have utilized a school farm as part of their classroom instruction. This study used a descriptive, quantitative research design consisting of an in-depth questionnaire distributed to a random sample of Texas agricultural science teachers. School farms vary in their characteristics, enterprises, structure, and uses. The study indicated that school farms are within a few miles of the classroom, less then 14 acres, and have been well establish for over twenty years. The available resources are primarily for livestock and general shop. The school farms are utilized for the housing of livestock projects and for SAE activities. Agricultural science teachers view the school farm as a place for SAEs. The overall outlook of school farms is positive. Teachers identified important factors when pre-planning activities on the school farm which include: facilities, students attitude, finances, condition of the school farm, ability to oversee and help with the activity, and student experience. There are many potential barriers that could inhibit teachers from pre-planning activities on the school farm.
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    Untethered Learning: A Mixed Methods Study of Mobilized Adventure Learning
    (2014-08) Orr, Gregg W.; Resta, Paul E.
    Mobile technologies now afford unprecedented opportunities, resources, and possibilities for learning. Among them, is the opportunity for students to engage in hands-on, out-of-classroom learning activities such as Adventure Learning. Since 2007, Adventure Learning has developed as an educational framework for using information and communication technologies to connect learners with expeditionary teams where video-based communication provides a sense of adventure for learners. The study was conducted in a public high school where an Environmental Science teacher used mobile learning technologies to create Adventure Learning projects where students participated both fin the classroom and as members of an “expeditionary team.” It was also intended to examine both the benefits and challenges in implementing ubiquitous mobile technologies in the field, combined with the use of student-centered pedagogies in their classrooms. The major questions of the study asked how did a teacher leverage mobilized Adventure Learning to design learning activities? And how did active participation in a mobilized Adventure Learning project affect student interest in the subject of Environmental Science? The study involved examining the ways the teacher leveraged the affordances of mobile technologies to create a hands-on, collaborative, and Adventure Learning environments outside of the classroom. The hands-on learning activities were designed to enable students to gather first-hand information related to environmental science. Subjects in the study included a high school Environmental Science teacher along with 104 participating students. Using a mixed methods approach, qualitative data were gathered through observations of learning activities, interviews and focus groups and artifacts. Quantitative data were gathered through surveys administered to the students before and after the treatment. The results indicated that, contrary to the teacher’s expectations, students indicated a preference for learning through book and lecture rather than hands-on discovery of information in both pre and post treatment surveys. Results of the study also demonstrated differences in learning preference relating to percentage of students participating in field-based, hands-on learning activities or in lecture-book classroom learning activities. Recommendations for future research and for educational practice are offered. Limitations of the study include the small sample size and short time duration of the study.