Course Description:
This course is designed for K-12 teachers, administrators and other educators who wish to integrate farm-to-school lessons and activities into standards-based curriculum.
The term “farm to school” encompasses efforts that bring local or regionally produced foods into school cafeterias; hands-on learning activities such as school gardening, farm visits, and culinary classes; and the integration of food-related education into the classroom.1 By exploring topics in agriculture and creating lesson plans that embed relevant concepts in science, math, literacy and social sciences into experiential activities centered around food production, educators can help enrich children’s bodies and minds while supporting connections with local agriculture.
This 3-credit course is delivered in an online, self-paced format that includes reading assignments as well as a capstone project that implements a Farm to School based activity for a school or campus. This course has the prerequisite, EDUO 9535, Introduction to Farm to School.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Identify potential partnerships with local farmers and organizations that might participate in Farm to School programming
- Create SMART goals for a Farm to School project
- Develop and/or maintain a farm-to-school based project within their district that will be utilized as an instructional resource.
Grading Rubric:
Exemplary: A+ to A- | Acceptable: B+ to B | Unacceptable: Must be resubmitted |
---|---|---|
All assignments were submitted and demonstrate research and community connections. | Assignments were submitted but do not show sufficient research or capacity building within the community. Assignments show l | Assignments are incomplete |
SMART goals are well developed and are specific, measurable, attainable and connected to a timeline | SMART goals are submitted, but unrealistic or not able to be measured or held up to a timeline | SMART goals are incomplete |
Project is designed to connect students to Farm to School concepts while reinforcing academic learning. Project shows impact on student learning outcomes. | Writing contains a few spelling and/or grammatical errors | Numerous spelling and/or grammatical errors make the writing difficult to read |
Instructor
Heather Ridge
B.A., M.S.Teaching in K-12 Public Schools and Collegiate level, 16+ years.
Heather is passionate about connecting classrooms with their surrounding community for real-world applications and learning.
Her primary purpose is helping other teachers connect agriculture and natural resources to a wider variety of core content learning objectives.
Heather’s personal interests are plants, environmental education and international travel.