Module 1: Pedagogy & Principles
Text. Text.
| Subject area | Learning objectives for trainers | Activities for trainers | Resources & references | |
| 1.1. Pedagogical principles for training and learning by Latinx small farmers | Julie Obudzinski, Jan Perez & Ann Williams, Cultivating the Next Generation–An Evaluation of the Beginning Farmer & Rancher Development Program, Washington, DC: National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, 2017, https://sustainableagriculture.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Cultivating-the-Next-Generation-Oct-2017.pdf; “Teaching Handbook–Refugee Farmer Training,” ISED Solutions, 2015 https://nesfp.nutrition.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/resources/teaching_handbook_refugee_farmer_training_updated_1.20.pdf | |||
| U.S. Agricultural education is designed and practiced for the benefit of idealized, white, English speaking individuals | Trainer will recognize that conventional teaching methods do not address the social position and experience of im/migrant farmers | Michael J. Martin, Katherine Hartmann, and Shannon Archibeque-Engle, “Decentering Whiteness in the Pedagogy of Agriculture,” North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, 2019, https://www.nactateachers.org/images/TeachingTips/Summer_2019/5_Decentering_Whiteness_in_the_Pedagogy_of_Agriculture.pdf | ||
| Agricultural pedagogy is premised on a “knowledge deficit” approach that assumes transfer from experts to practitioners through formal methods. | Trainer will not teach through formal presentations and scientific research and will incorporate farmers’ expressed needs, desires and goals | Adam Calo, 2018. “How knowledge deficit interventions fail to resolve beginning farmer challenges,” Agriculture and Human Values 35: 367-81, DOI 10.1007/s10460-017-9832-6 | ||
| Adult education incorporates students’ knowledge and practices derived from their life experience. | Trainer will recognize and integrate farmer experience into course design and curriculum planning. | Tara Baugher, et al., “Learning Preferences of Next Generation Hispanic/Latino Specialty Crop Growers,” HortTechology 27, #2 (April 2017): 263-68, https://journals.ashs.org/horttech/downloadpdf/journals/horttech/27/2/article-p263.xml | ||
| Presentations relying on in-class visual materials do not have the visceral impact of seeing and manipulation. | Trainer will learn to incorporate demonstrations and hands-on presentations to illustrate elements of formal presentations | Lisa A. Guion, “Educational Methods for Extension Programs,” Florida Cooperative Extension Service, IFAS, University of Florida, 2001, http://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/IR/00/00/21/76/00001/FY39900.pdf | ||
| Knowledge is transmitted by peer-to-peer exchange and farmers who do not speak English rely on their children for system access. | Trainer will learn to be sensitive to the social and cultural dynamics and relationships of migrant farmer communities, many of whom rely on family and friends to operate. | Matthew Hoffman, Mark Lubell & Vicken Hills, “Network-smart extension could Catalyze social Learning, California Agriculture 69, #2 (April-June 2015), http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.edu/ Melissa Matthewson, Melissa Fery & Maud Powell, “Creating Farmer Networks,” Pacific Northwest Extension, Feb. 2013, https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/pnw638.pdf | ||
| 1.2. Curriculum planning and preparation | International Rescue Committee, “Experiential Teaching Techniques,” ISED, https://nesfp.nutrition.tufts.edu/resources/experiential-teaching-techniques | |||
| Curriculum should be based on farmers’ expressed needs, desires and goals, and not approached in topical fashion. | Trainer will meet with farmers to identify their knowledge & skills base, farming experience and practical needs required to succeed in farm operation. | Lisa A. Guion, et al., “Conducting an In-Depth Interview,” Florida Cooperative Extension Service, IFAS, University of Florida, nd, https://www.betterevaluation.org/sites/default/files/FY39300.pdf Janet McAllister, et al, “Reading the Farm—Training Agricultural Professionals in Whole Farm Analysis for Sustainable Agriculture,” NortheastSARE, June 2015, pp. 28-29, https://www.sare.org/wp-content/uploads/RTF-guide-final-and-appendix-6_4_15-1.pdf | ||
| Curriculum should include visits to and observation of operating farms by trainer. | Trainer will visit several farms to observe farm conditions and operation, identify critical topics and issues and record them. | Janet McAllister, et al, “Reading the Farm—Training Agricultural Professionals in Whole Farm Analysis for Sustainable Agriculture,” NortheastSARE, June 2015, https://www.sare.org/wp-content/uploads/RTF-guide-final-and-appendix-6_4_15-1.pdf | ||
| Curriculum structure should reflect the most pressing issues for farmers, rather than the more conventional academic-scientific topical logic. | Trainer will utilize interviews and observations to organize and construct curriculum modules and sequence. | Lisa A. Guion, “Educational Methods for Extension Programs,” Florida Cooperative Extension Service, IFAS, University of Florida, 2001, http://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/IR/00/00/21/76/00001/FY39900.pdf Nancy Franz, et al, “How Farmers Learn: Implications for Agricultural Educators,” Journal of Rural Social Sciences 25, #1 (2010): 37-59, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nancy-Franz/publication/291999420_HOW_FARMERS_LEARN_IMPLICATIONS_FOR_AGRICULTURAL_EDUCATORS | ||
| Class/workshop introduction will include small group discussions for farmers to compare history and experience. | Trainer will present workshop structure and organization and pose questions and issues for discussion in small groups, and record responses in writing. | Kathy Barrett, with D. Merrill Ewert, “Farmer to Farmer Discussion Groups,” Cornell Cooperative Extension, 1998, https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/ Laura Liu & Taylor Russell, “Farming Practices as Funds of Knowledge,” Science Education and Civic Engagement 14, #1 (Winter 2022): 45-54, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1343554.pdf | ||
| Class/workshop will include bilingual translation, and printed & on-line materials should be in farmers’ language and provided primarily for background. | Trainer will ensure that any handouts are translated appropriately and that translated on-line materials are made available |