Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Nepal, M.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
PO BOX 2275A
BROOKINGS, SOUTH DAKOTA 57007

IMMERSIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND RURAL NETWORKING (I-LEARN): A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR SECONDARY EDUCATORS

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Students are not graduating with agricultural STEM degrees at the rate needed to replace those leaving agricultural science fields. iLEARN is an immersive professional development workshop for secondary educators. It builds on successful workshop models the PIs have utilized, while building on the established track record of K-12 outreach and strong teacher connections. This workshop brings South Dakota Science and Agriculture educators together to apply best practices of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and increases ties between their curricula. iLEARN immerses participants into SDSU's agricultural science laboratories to explore first-hand current best practices relevant to scientific agricultural content. The project objectives include: 1)Identifying content and pedagogical challenges for teaching climate change; 2. Providing immersive collaborative opportunities for teachers to work with scientists to develop instructional modules mirroring current practices;3. Creating activities based on teachers' challenges in teaching climate change in the context of agricultural sciences aligned with NGSS; and 4. Assessing teachers' ability to implement the workshop outputs into their classrooms.The iLEARN project addresses content and pedagogical challenges faced by rural science and agriculture teachers. The workshop provides 15 teachers per year immersion experiences exploring the greenhouse effect, soil-water interactions, CO2 sequestration, and rangeland ecosystems. Teachers will participate in forums with stakeholders and experts,prepare lessons, implement and assess lessons effectiveness, and share their findings through online forums.The iLEARN immersive workshop and continued support utilize personal relationships to provide teachers with effective ongoing professional development and longitudinal support from SDSU and industry scientists across South Dakota.

OBJECTIVES: Students are not graduating with agricultural STEM degrees at the rate needed to replace those leaving agricultural science fields. iLEARN is an immersive professional development workshop for secondary educators. It builds on successful workshop models the PIs have utilized, while building on the established track record of K-12 outreach and strong teacher connections. This workshop brings South Dakota Science and Agriculture educators together to apply best practices of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and increases ties between their curricula. iLEARN immerses participants into SDSU's agricultural science laboratories to explore first-hand current best practices relevant to scientific agricultural content. The project objectives include:Objective 1. Identify teachers' content and pedagogicalchallenges for teaching climate change.Objective 2. Provide immersive collaborative opportunities for teachers to work with scientists to develop instructional modules mirroring current practices.Objective 3. Create activities based on teachers' content challenges in teaching climate change in the context of agricultural sciences aligning with the NGSS.Objective 4. Assess the teachers' implementation of the workshop outcomes into their classrooms.