Module 1: Pedagogy & Principles

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Subject areaLearning objectives for trainersActivities for trainersResources & 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 individualsTrainer 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/
landingpage.cfm?article=ca.E.v069n02p113&fulltext=yes

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/
handle/1813/36896/farmertofarmer.pdf?+D22 sequence=1&isAllowed=y

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