Module 3: Project Development
of Community-Based
Horticulture Education
Jennifer Wheeler
Graduate Assistant
Neil Knobloch
Assistant Professor
Learning Objectives
• Outline a community-based service learning
project
• Identify learning objectives and standards
• Explain key steps throughout the project
• Create a rubric to measure expected project
outcomes
• Identify instructional and project resources
Our goal is to answer this
question
• How do you create a community-based
horticulture education project based on
place-based learning and service learning?
Situating a Project
Context
Project
Content
Instructional Design Process
Step 1: Context
Step 2: Content
Step 3: Project Assessment
Step 4: Project Activities & Instruction
Deciding on Context
• Begin by thinking about “how” and “why” this content
would be used by learners, and starting to identify:
– What knowledge, understandings, and skills are needed:
• To enter and continue to learn in a career field;
• For education beyond high school; and,
• To practice avocational interests and skills.
– How vocational-technical skills can be integrated with
academic skills; and,
– What are some real-life problems that would help students
learn what they need to know, understand, and do to enter
and continue to advance in a career (Bottoms, Pucel, &
Phillips, no date)
• What are some real-world settings where this
content is used?
Deciding on Content
• Begin with the end in mind (Backward Design
Process - Wiggins & McTighe, 1998)
– Identify Big Idea or Key Concepts
• At the end of this unit, what big idea should students
understand and be able to do?
–
–
–
–
Consider teacher goals
Assess community assets and needs
Review curriculum expectations
Examine established content standards (Illinois Learning
Standards)
• Does the big idea have long-term value beyond the
classroom?
• Will the big idea motivate and engage students?
Deciding on Assessment
• Determine Acceptable Evidence or Desired
Outcomes (Learning Objectives)
– What will the learners understand (concepts –
Illinois Learning Standards)?
– What will the learners be able to know
(knowledge)?
– What will the learners be able to do (skills)?
– How will we know if learners have achieved the
desired results and met the learning standards?
• What will be acceptable evidence of learner
understanding and proficiency?
Deciding on a Project
• Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
– What project will equip learners with needed
knowledge and skills?
– What will need to be taught and coached, and
how should it best be taught, in light of learning
objectives?
– What is the anticipated timeline to successfully
complete the project?
– What materials and resources are best suited to
accomplish these objectives?
Project must be…
• Community-based (place-based)
• Engage students in service learning
• Interdisciplinary by drawing on multiple
disciplines
• Aligned with Illinois learning standards
• Able to assess student performance of
horticulture knowledge and skills from
Master Gardener program
Creating a Project Plan
•
Identify learning objectives (desired outcomes)
– Knowledge, skills, and/or concepts
– Aligned with Illinois Learning Standards
•
Describe “project” that will be presented to students
– Applications of horticulture knowledge
• Master Gardener content
• Interdisciplinary (draws on more than one discipline)
– Community-Based
• Place-Based Learning
• Service Project
– Key steps and instructions
– Timeline
•
Create a rubric to evaluate students
– Performance-based assessment
– Criteria, levels of performance, and indicators
•
Identify key resources
– Instructional and learning resources
– Technology and web-based resources
– Equipment and laboratory resources
Creating a Timeline
1. Estimate the amount of time (or days) that your
learners would be interested in the project (unit of
study).
2. Estimate the amount of time you think is appropriate
for the project.
3. Compare your time estimates. Adjust the amount of
time for the project, or cut out some of learning
objectives, content, or student tasks.
4. Think about the logical sequence of tasks for the
project.
5. Place the key steps (daily tasks and topics) of the
project on the calendar.
Community Garden Example
•
Identify learning objectives (desired outcomes)
–
–
•
Identify Illinois Learning Standards that align with the learning objectives
–
–
•
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Describe a project that will engage students to learn and apply the Master Gardener content in a
community setting
E.g., Community garden project to teach problem solving of science concepts such as
photosynthesis
Identify ways to measure desired outcomes (ways to measure learning)
–
–
•
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/ils/Default.htm
E.g., State Goal 12.A.5a Explain changes within cells and organisms in response to stimuli and
changing environmental conditions (e.g., homeostasis, dormancy).
Identify a project to meet the learning objectives
–
•
What do you want the students to be able to know and do at the end of this course?
E.g., By the end of the lesson, students will be able to explain the effects of shade on plant growth
E.g., Students will be assessed through a quiz about photosynthesis, through reflections about their
experiments, and through a poster presentation used to discuss what they have learned.
Create a rubric to assess the students’ performance in the project
Identify performance levels and indicators of performance
–
The quiz will be based on A, B, C, D, F grading scale, reflections will be graded for depth of
understanding, and the poster presentation will show that the students can reproduce the
experiment
Creating a Rubric
• Think of the ideal performance
• What criteria need to be met to complete the performance?
• What are the different levels that could be performed on each
criterion?
– A, B, C, D, F (5 levels)
– Excellent, Good, Average, Unacceptable (4 levels)
– High, Medium, Low (3 levels)
• What are the indicators for each criteria and each level?
• Rubric Resources
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http://www.ruraledu.org/rtportfolio/index.htm
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/page/4521.html
http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/assess.shtml
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
Example of Rubric
Levels of Quality
Criterion
Unacceptable
Application
of Master
Gardener
Content
Good
Excellent
Indicators:
Indicators:
Indicators:
Knowledge OR
skills of Master
Gardener content
were not identified,
OR content was
not aligned with
Illinois Learning
Standards
General
knowledge AND
skills of Master
Gardener content
were clearly
identified, AND
aligned with Illinois
Learning
Standards
(mentioned)
Specific
knowledge AND
skills of Master
Gardener content
were clearly
identified, AND
aligned with Illinois
Learning
Standards (clearly
listed)
Guidelines for Effective Service Learning
• Should last at least 40 hours over a course to yield
positive results for students and community
• There should be clear and specific learning
objectives
• The service learning should have a strong
connection to the curriculum that they are studying
• Teachers and students should work together to
draw connections between what students are doing
and what they should be learning
– Source: Students in Service to America,
www.studentsinservicetoamerica.org
Guidelines for Effective Service
Learning (con’t)
• The relationship between service and democratic
practices, ideas, and history should be made explicit
in order that students see service as a civic
responsibility
• Project participants should be given time to reflect
on their service (journaling, discussions, etc. to think
critically)
• Students should have a role not only in executing
the project but also in making decisions about
development
• In order to ensure that service is really useful and
strengthens community ties, strong partnerships
with community groups based on mutually agreed
upon goals, roles, and responsibilities are essential
– Source: Students in Service to America,
www.studentsinservicetoamerica.org
Service Learning Projects
Must
• Have clear learning objectives and be aligned with Illinois
learning standards
– Found at http://www.isbe.state.il.us/ils/Default.htm
– Think how the project can be interdisciplinary and help students
meet learning standards in two or more content areas
– E.g., From the science learning standard under solving problems,
“Recognize and investigate problems; formulate and propose
solutions based on reason and evidence.”
• Objective to address this standard: Students will analyze and
describe the importance of sunlight for plant growth and hypothesize
reasons to support their findings of this importance.
• Engage students in a service learning project
– Example: Helping in the community garden
• Provide a structured experience for learning and reflection
– Have specific learning goals and require time for reflection
10 Steps to Implement Service Learning
•
Assess the needs and resources of your community and school
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•
Form community partnerships
–
•
Identify key organizations that would be involved in your proposed project, then
identify key individuals within those organizations and within the school
Set specific educational goals and curriculum
–
•
•
•
•
•
•
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What service would benefit the community and be beneficial for students in the
school?
Combining service project with IL learning standards
Select a project and begin preliminary planning
Plan your project in detail (schedule, benchmarks, budget, evaluation tools)
Acquire necessary funding and resources
Implement and manage project
Organize reflection activities
Assess and evaluate your service program
Celebrate achievements
Source: Students in Service to America www.studentsinservicetoamerica.org
Conclusions
• This module should be used to walk you
through brainstorming and planning of your
Community-Based Horticulture Project
• Be sure to follow the guidelines given and
refer to the grading checklist when working
on your project
• If you have any questions or problems, feel
free to contact us
References
• Illinois State Learning Standards
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/ils/Default.htm
• Students in Service to America
www.studentsinservicetoamerica.org
Resources
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Junior Master Gardener Program: http://www.fourh.purdue.edu/staff.home/kathryn/jmg.html
Kidsgardening: www.kidsgardening.com and www.kidsgardening.com/themes/sevice2.asp
Cornell Garden Based Learning: www.hort.cornell.edu/gbl
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School Gardens:
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Foodbank & Poverty Assistance
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www.slowfoodusa.org
www.ecoschools.com
http://www.schoollunchinitiative.org/
http://www.edibleschoolyard.org/homepage.html
Model Wellness Policy Guide (PDF)
Curriculum Integration: Rethinking School Lunch Guide (PDF)
Food Bank & Poverty Assistance –
Atlanta Foodbanks - www.acfb.org/projects/community_garden/
http://servicelearning.org/resources/lesson_plans/index.php?popup_id=375
http://www.secondharvest.org/
http://www.acfb.org/
After School Environmental Education Program http://servicelearning.org/resources/lesson_plans/index.php?popup_id=1104
Resources
•
Landscaping Projects
– http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/landscape.cfm
– Designing for Shade and Energy Conservation (PDF)
– Landscaping Youth Guide (PDF)
•
Outdoor Learning Environments
– http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/outdoor.cfm
– http://www.whitehutchinson.com/children/articles/childrennature.shtml
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Ecological Literacy
– http://www.ecoliteracy.org/publications/pdf/challenge.pdf
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http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/k-12.htm#teachers
http://www.evergreen.ca/en/lg/resources/allhands/index.html
The Learning Grounds Guide for Schools (PDF)
Thinking Outside the Classroom (PDF)
Connecting Youth and Elders – Intergenerational Mentoring Program
Garden Mosaics – The Science Teacher Article (PDF)
– http://www.gardenmosaics.cornell.edu/pgs/aboutus/Manual_Overview.pdf