About my project and its real world connections:
The current world population is 7.4 billion (as of 2016) and is expected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050. As the population explodes, the need for a sustainable food supply will become an even bigger challenge. Agricultural scientists and farmers will be expected to grow more food on less land. In my project based learning experience, participants engage in a simulation in which they study how organisms interact in their ecosystem through the lens of agricultural science.
In this project’s simulation, students work in cooperative learning groups forming a “nursery company” hoping to contract with Lowe’s Gardening Center. In order to earn Lowe’s business, they must have healthy plants ready for consumers before the planting season begins. The students conduct research on factors affecting plant growth (soil, water, light, and biotic factors). Then, students use a “choices handout” to guide decisions about how they will create their own desk-sized greenhouse. They will also design a blueprint of the greenhouse. They will use multimedia to present their solutions and justifications to an agricultural expert. After receiving feedback from the expert, teams will make any final changes and submit the greenhouse plan. Next, they will set up and maintain their greenhouses. The team with the tallest and healthiest plants will earn the business with Lowe’s to sell their plants.
Steps in project:
- Students research factors affecting plant growth through whole group instruction and independent internet research.
- Students make design choices and prepare multimedia presentations for greenhouse proposal to agricultural experts.
- Students present greenhouse proposal to agricultural experts for feedback.
- Students use feedback to finalize greenhouse design plan and to submit final plan.
- Students build and maintain greenhouse while evaluating the design.
Students are assessed through group discussions, the Choices Handout, exit tickets, and the Greenhouse Project Student Reflection at the end of the activity. A major theme in assessment in the justification of choices based on research, rather than the choice itself.
The evolution of my project:
My Kenan Fellows internship was based at Bayer Crop Science in RTP. As the inaugural fellows at Bayer, Lindsey and I were navigating new territory. We wanted to strengthen Bayer’s Making Science Make Sense (MSMS) program and use it for our Kenan Fellows product. However, as we starting working, the MSMS lessons did not fit together into an easily usable package for classroom teachers. We do have long-term plans to share these with teachers in a different format, but we wanted to be sensitive to the differing goals and realities of the MSMS volunteers compared to classroom teachers. Additionally, Lindsey and I had different experiences at Bayer so the classroom implications looked different for both of us. Therefore, we created two separate products and agreed to share with one another.
After pouring hours into our initial MSMS project, I realized I was back at square one in September. With my hands in the dirt at Bayer, I thought about the importance of agriculture for our health and economy. I saw numerous connections to Bayer’s work and my 5th grade curriculum, but I felt overwhelmed trying to put it all together. Since my students live in suburbia, many of them have little to no background in agriculture and do not think about where their food comes from. One of my mentors reminded me that the simple act of having students plant seeds and make observations as they grow is bringing Ag into the classroom. With this advice in mind, I created an outline for my project and eventually added in the pieces educators know make for a good lesson: cross disciplinary activities, integration of technology, community involvement, and 21st century skills (collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking). Before I knew it, my project blossomed into something which accurately reflected what I learned at Bayer while faithfully addressing state standards.
Next steps/How I’d like to see it used:
*I still need to wrap up this project with my class. (Thank you snow days and sick days for messing up our schedule!)
*I want to continually revise my project. The day after I submitted the project, I ran across a vocabulary word and thought to myself: Oh, I need to add that to my project! Revision is a circular process.
*I have shared my project with a colleagues both at my school and through the Kenan Fellows Program. I have also email the director for Elementary Science in Wake County to see if it can be utilized throughout the county.
*At this time, I am hoping to share this project and other Crop Science related lessons at the Making Science Make Sense teacher workshop in June.
