Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
from their activities outside the classroom. The fact that students do not find time to ade-
quately prepare for classes, to do a high quality job of writing their outside essays or to inte-
grate information from prior classes into the applications in a new context is often bemoaned
by teachers. Perhaps there should be exploration of how to expand and extend the learning
environment beyond the spatial walls of the classroom and the temporal walls of a specific 50-
minute lecture/discussion.
One step is to recognise that not all information, knowledge or wisdom is contained in the
university library and faculty. Expanding the notion of faculty to include people with special
talents or skills from farming, from government, from non-profit groups and from business
could enrich our classroom or field trip learning environment, even when these people do not
share our academic qualifications. The focus should be what people have to offer our students,
and less on their degrees on the wall. Another question is how to effectively extend the struc-
tured or directed learning experience beyond the classroom walls and into the rest of the stu-
dent's day and evening. How do we foment discussion and analysis of critical issues as students
interact with peers, family and other instructors during the other 110 waking hours of the
week when they are not in lectures? Can we plant compelling questions, or ask for results of an
opinion survey, or otherwise extend the engagement with the material beyond our allotted
time? These are challenges and questions that should be tackled with enthusiasm and creativ-
ity, recognising that students spend far more time with their friends and on outside jobs than
they do with us in class.
Deeloping the learning landscape
The learning landscape includes the design of the learning environment within the university.
If students perceive that subject X is the main topic for a lecture each Monday, Wednesday and
Friday from 10:00 am to 10:50 am and has little relevance in their lives any other time of the
week, they are unlikely to learn much about subject X no matter what we do in the lecture. If
there are assignments outside of class and adequate rewards for completing them, challenges
that can become a part of their regular conversations with peers, or applications of informa-
tion in their jobs or in other courses, there is more likelihood that students will internalise and
apply the lessons rather than memorising a few facts just before the examination.
If the total learning environment can be designed so that subjects X, Y and Z in a given
semester are complementary and interdependent, that a given broad assignment will receive
credit in both classes Y and Z, or that integration of information from all three classes is essen-
tial in order for them to pass all of the classes, there will be greater incentive to embrace and
assimilate the information and put it to use. If there is a relationship of subject Y to the part-
time job that keeps students in the university, there will be further incentive to use the knowl-
edge and skills gained in that subject. If subject Z can be related to a burning issue, such as a
food scare, a coming election or a proposed city ordinance that will directly affect students,
there is ample opportunity and motivation for conversation to continue outside the class and a
chance to gather more information and opinions to enrich the learning experience. Our
creative thinking can be used to implement these possibilities.
Integration of learning with local communities
The concepts of 'service learning' and 'engaged universities' have come into the educational
lexicon in recent years. The possibility to volunteer with service organisations, to shadow
potential employers or to contribute in numerous ways to the community can broaden the
learning experience and give students contacts in the real world that could be useful later. In
2003 an environmental art project in Lincoln, Nebraska, was initiated with secondary school
students acting as teachers and resource people for elementary students: both groups found
