Works-In-Progress Series: "How and Why Youth Learn to Grow Food"

This event will feature Learning Sciences student fellow, Jess Bautista, and colleagues, as part of a new "Works-In-Progress" series sponsored by the Center.

"A Systematic Literature Review to Understand Models of Youth Agricultural Learning: How and Why do Youth Learn to Grow Food?" 

With support from Director Leslie R. Herrenkohl and the Eileen Lappin Weiser Center for the Learning Sciences, Jessica Bautista (Doctoral Candidate at the University of Michigan), Jill Zipperer (Doctoral Candidate at Texas State University), and Sarah E. Fogelman (Professor of Practice at Stonehill College) have been collaborating to understand models of agricultural learning for youth. Through this work, they are hoping to challenge boundaries of formal and informal science learning and envision agricultural learning as a site for critical place-based learning that can support systems thinking around complex issues like food justice and climate change.

More about their project: 

Agriculture is essential to the health and well-being of all, yet how people learn to grow food has received relatively little attention in mainstream education research. Agriculture is also an ideal context for exploring experiential and place-based learning across formal and informal contexts. In this systematic review, we examined literature across three disciplinary databases to understand how different models of agricultural learning are structured, why this kind of learning is prioritized, and what agricultural learning looks like for youth. Preliminary findings reveal two different model types: traditional school-based models and community-school partnerships. Across these models and studies, different outcomes of agricultural learning were prioritized, including civic engagement, academic outcomes, nutrition, and experiential learning, among others. We hope this preliminary conceptual map of the field can inform future research, curriculum design, and partnerships that position agriculture as content and context for interdisciplinary, community-engaged, and justice-oriented learning.

This event will be in a hybrid format, with some speakers presenting from Zoom. Audience members may join via Zoom or in person. 

Lunch will be provided for in-person attendees. Please register to help with planning.