In a typical high school biology lab, microscopes, test tubes, beakers, and Bunsen burners are easy to find. Now thanks to Feed the World, an educational program designed to show science teachers how to use agriculture as a learning tool, an ear of corn will be part of the lab work as well.
?In these workshops, we are introducing science teachers from all over Ohio to topics that we know connect to their science standards in biology, chemistry, environmental science and in agricultural science to teaching things about ethanol, understanding food production, biotechnology, water quality, soil science and corn and the value that commodity brings to the state?s economy,? said Jeanne Gogolski, Founder and CEO of Education Projects and Partnerships.
The latest Feed the World workshop was held in mid-July at the University of Findlay. The teachers taking part ? some with no farming background or agriculture experience ? got a little dirty as they delved into the projects that included dissecting a corn stalk, which had been muddied by a very recent rain.
?We want them to understand the corn plant?s root systems, growth stages for corn and looking at the inside of a plant is what you do in biology,? Gogolski said. ?They also studied an ear of corn and got an understanding of how much corn is produced in Ohio.?
That required some math on the teachers? part as they were challenged to figure out how much corn it takes to make a bushel, how much corn one plant produces and how much an acre of plants can produce.
?Many within the industry know that agriculture is Ohio?s No. 1 industry,? Gogolski said. ?Our teachers are kind of surprised to hear that and when they get here they are amazed at how much science there is in agriculture.?
Lessons taught within the Feed the World workshops are crafted with hopes that teachers will choose to add them to their own classroom experiments and then, in turn, the message of agriculture?s importance will be realized by their students.
?In order to have a scientifically literate populous you have to go to the influencers and those influencers are teachers who may not know a lot about agriculture,? Gogolski said. ?The comment that we hear over and over again is that these teachers had no idea that agriculture is so interesting and they just didn?t realize how it connects to their curriculum and how many different ways they can use agriculture to teach the things that they have to teach.?
To make the experience of the Feed the World workshops less overwhelming to those teachers not-so-familiar with agriculture, teachers with more knowledge of the industry are peppered in to help the learning along. Adam Staley was among those lending his help. He is a vo-ag teacher at Clear Fork High School in Bellville.
?There is a bridge between those that know about food production and how vital agriculture is to our society and those that don?t,? Staley said. ?Over the years I have seen that bridge become longer and longer, even between teachers, that?s why I wanted to be a part of this program and why I feel it?s so important that we keep doing this type of teacher outreach.
?As a teacher you don?t have to be an expert in agriculture to teach it, but if you simply introduce it to the kids, that might just spark an interest in them to be a part of the industry. It?s not all corn, beans and dirt. There are some brilliant minds out there that may have no farming background at all, but agriculture certainly needs them in the future.?
Jeff Jostpille was also part of the Feed the World workshop in Findlay. He teaches biology, environmental sciences, botany and zoology at Ft. Jennings High School. After his first experience learning about agriculture?s role in the classroom, Jostpille made a few adjustments to his lesson plan.
?I incorporate a lot more agriculture into all of my science classes, biology and environmental sciences especially,? Jostpille said. ?Since I am from a rural school, the kids see agriculture in action, but they may not know some of the specifics of what the people in the industry are actually doing and now they do with the activities we are doing in the classroom.?
The resources for teachers taking part in the Feed the World program aren?t limited to the workshops. The learning continues for the teachers and their students with a plethora of free downloadable lesson plans online. To find out more about the program, supported by Ohio Corn and Wheat, visit ohiocorneducation.org.
