Using Experimentation As Experiential Learning

James Spiess

The Agricultural Education Magazine, Nov. 1992, Volume 65, pp. 13-15.

The use of experimentation as experiential learning is certainly something that is not new in the education process. However, its application and use today present some new and exciting possibilities for increased learning and the reinforcement of the problem solving method of teaching.

Agriculture students have changed from the early sixties when they were very broad based in their fundamental agriculture skills. It is important to note that their attitude toward the traditional "work ethic" was very aggressive. Since that time these values have changed along with those of society to the degree that it is difficult to apply today's instruction to prior learning experience. Students seem to be grasping for a sound basis of understanding from which they can apply their creative thought processes to the solution of an unknown.

The application of experimentation as experiential education within the agricultural education process is very natural. Agriculture is and has always been defined as a science. Within the definition of science the philosophy of experimentation is assumed. Therefore, the utilization of this method can greatly enhance the experiential learning of the students in agriculture programs.

It is the application of experimental projects or learning tasks within the Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) program of each student that makes this experience a totally encompassing educational program. In essence, it is the controlled application of learning skills in a variety of situations that allows for creative thinking from a basis of acquired learning.

At Wauseon High School, a student's SAE program includes experimentation projects and activities that enhance learning in the classroom. The areas addressed in the curriculum are determined by the agricultural opportunities of our community. These may be traditional, as well as futuristic, as we plan to meet the labor needs of the community, as well as the particular interests of each individual student.

In the following outline, particular experimental educational efforts will be related to selective areas within our program. Present facilities at Wauseon High School include the traditional classrooms, mechanics laboratory, greenhouse, 100 acre land laboratory, orchard, 7.5 acre wildlife area, and a livestock facility for beef and sheep. The department owns and manages a registered suffolk flock, housed at the school throughout the year. The facility also includes a computer lab, as well as satellite downlink capability, data network , and other informational sources.

Experimental opportunities are provided in each of these areas for students to participate, either as individuals or as a member of a small group. Group activities are utilized to enhance the cooperative spirit of the learning process and especially the interpersonal skills that are so important in the successful work ethic. Listed below are some of the experimental activities in which students have participated over the past two years.

Agricultural Education (Freshmen)

Areas of experimentation:

1. Breeding and genetics - Suffolk flock

2. Feeding trials on livestock (forages & minerals)

3. Ultra-sound for pregnancy

Agricultural Engineering (power and machinery)

1. Harvest loss study on combines (corn vs. soybeans)

2. Tillage comparisons (plow, minimum till, ridge till, no-till)

3. Fuel cost study (diesel vs. gas)

4. Soil compaction study

5. Study of harvesting techniques of forage (traditional baling vs. large round bales)

Animal Science

1. Comparison of preventive health techniques

2. Compare ration formulation for starting cattle

Conservation and Natural Resources

1. Comparison of natural habitats of wildlife

2. Study of migration patterns of wildlife

3. Study law of natural selection

4. Population study of habitat

5. Comparison of surface and tile drainage

6. Study of well water quality of surface and deep wells in the community

Agricultural Engineering (construction)

1. Comparison study of fencing materials

2. Comparison study of wood preservatives

Landscaping and Horticultural Science

1. Comparison study of fertilizer application

2. Effects of temperative and light quality on growth of garden plants

3. Turf grass plots for study of textural qualities and general turf suitability of new hybrid varieties of bluegrass and rye grass

4. Conducted performance trials of new varieties of peaches, apples, and pears

Agricultural Business and Farm Management

1. Effects of organic fertilizer vs. commercial fertilizer on corn

2. Effects of plant tolerance to insect infestation

3. Economic impact of using insecticides on forages

4. Comprehensive study of various preservatives and their effect on forage quality in high

Agribusiness

1. Research study on attitudes of high school students about agriculture

2. Traditional marketing strategy research with grains produced on the school land lab

Eighth Grade Agriscience

1. Growth rate of poultry

2. Comparison of windbreak construction and variation in plant materials used

3. Comparison of various type of mulch used in starting a new lawn seeding

A particular example in which we involved students in these activities occurred during the 1988-89 school year when we looked for a better method of handling hay. In the early spring of 1989 a former graduate of the agriculture program who had experienced the utility of the school land lab in his educational experience program made a personal contact with the Agriculture Department at Wauseon High School. He presented several students with the opportunity of conducting research with his company.

The study concerned the evaluation of bacterial innoculant on high moisture alfalfa. Since alfalfa, as well as grain crops, is raised at the land lab, members eagerly accepted the challenge. Each time the hay was harvested, personnel from the company would travel to the school from their international headquarters and assist with the research. During each cutting, the hay was treated with bacteria in different doses, as well as with different materials. Each sample, as well as the control sample, was placed on individual pallets and identified. After a period of 60 days each sample was examined both chemically and visually for final analysis.

This research was duplicated seven other places in the world during that year. The research resulted in the development of a product that became public in 1989 and is today available to the commercial producer. It also allowed our students to better understand the process involved in research, as well as work alongside very skilled professional researchers. It is also important to note that utilization of this product became popular with our students, as well as the adult commercial producers of forages in our area.

It is important to note that teaching, as well as learning, is enhanced by applying the experimental method. Concepts can be illustrated and clarified by a teachable moment in a real setting. Complex questions can be mastered by step-by-step participation of the student within the process of actually solving the problems presented.

Application of these experiences will enter the plan of the students' SAE program in their home or business setting. It is also important that the attitude toward learning through experimentation be encouraged in the student, if we expect adults to be leaders in their trade or business.

Students participated in a national research project with Farm Journal magazine and the Ohio State University in an attempt to determine the actual harvest loss of combines operating in the field. Each test required about an hour of the students' time and included about ten variable skills and experiences. Pictured here are two students determining the grade and quality of the grain, as it relates to the harvest loss of a particular combine's performance.

Application of the experimental method in the educational process also serves other important functions. The participation of community and business interests in the process tends to cement long-term support between business and education. Research or experimental education processes may be more efficiently performed within a community, thereby providing more reliable data to those who mutually share in the resulting outcome. At this point the school is providing a service function to the community or business. It is also important to note that the cross involvement of young students with the adult business person presents many mutually shared moments of appreciation and social understanding. This reinforces the realization that education is a continuous process, as well as a mutual interest of successful individuals, regardless of age or position.

Students involved in the application of the experimental method in their SAE program will be more likely to apply learning to their individual setting, if they can be a functional part of the experimental process. It is often a poor economic base that prohibits students from venturing on their own into experimental or creative query. However, if application through participation is achieved in the educational process, students quickly apply this learning in their own supervised SAE program. It is this infusion of information that adds substance, as well as interest, to this method of education.

Experimental education as it applies to agricultural education provides students with a means of applied learning and creative thought within a controlled situation, which better prepares them for the uncertainties they will face in the future.