Smart Farm at Farm School

Central Carolina Community College and Screech Owl Farm School would like to thank the teachers who helped direct our work, and the folks from Digital Entities, for their creative and persevering work bringing these tools to life. Most of all, we extend our gratitude to Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation for their gracious support. We commend ZSR for supporting an initiative aimed at furthering sustainable agriculture in the schools. We are specifically grateful because our efforts here were largely informed by the expertise shared with us by our grant administrators.

Initially intending a promotional effort, we were encouraged to canvas the agriculture instructors in our area as to their specific needs. In the process of listening to these teachers we found that there was a need for focused curriculum support around key concepts.

The curricular areas teachers identified as needing critical attention included:

Pearson Square (a tool for calculating feed nutrient ratios)
Punnett Square (a tool for projecting the genetic characteristics of offspring from parents with specific genetic traits)
Scale (the concepts and tools used in planning and rendering spatial ideas graphically)
Farm Science Vocabulary

The teachers described areas where students typically get lost. We were challenged as educators and curriculum designers to solve what was proving elusive. To be useful, we needed these tools to deliver the essence of effective instruction: teach complex concepts simply. After extensive research and synthesis, we have created a set of tools that augment classroom instruction, interface with a variety of teaching styles and clarify complex concepts. The tools simultaneously engage students while demystifying content. These tools both introduce students to new concepts and work as a review.

Because of this initiative, we now have a dialogue in place. The Agriculture Education teachers of Chatham County shared with us the challenges they face, and with the help of ZSR, we responded. They found great value in the tools created through the Plot of Gold project, and now recognize that we have their interest at heart.

There is more work to be done toward our long-term goal of reaching Agriculture Education students with the practices of Sustainable Agriculture, and the future is full of possibilities.

Feel free to use and download these tools for educational purposes (such as sending them home with students for practice). Please credit source.