Integrating Agriculture into STEM and Social Studies Education

This dynamic hybrid professional development workshop is designed for teachers, extension personnel, and educators who work with youth in grades PK-12. The course blends two days of in-person, hands-on learning with engaging online coursework, equipping participants with the skills and resources needed to seamlessly integrate agriculture into their curriculum while meeting Iowa Core science and social studies standards.

Through interactive workshops, industry tours, and lesson implementation sessions, participants will discover how agriculture provides a real-world context for teaching STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), social studies, language arts, and math. By the end of the course, educators will have ready-to-use instructional strategies, lessons, and hands-on activities that require little to no additional preparation—making implementation in their classrooms both easy and impactful.

Course Highlights:

Day 1: Bringing Agriculture-Based Learning to Life in the Classroom

• Learn best practices for aligning agricultural concepts with STEAM and social studies standards.
• Develop engaging, hands-on lesson plans that make learning meaningful and relevant for students.
• Discover new ways to connect local agricultural industries to classroom instruction, helping students see the impact of agriculture in their own communities.

Day 2: Agriculture as a Tool for Engaging STEM & Social Studies Learning

• Explore how agriculture can transform traditional STEM into STEAM (STEM + Agriculture)
• Participate in guided industry tours of local agribusinesses, including a specialty machine and welding show, a pest management company, a grocer, and diverse farms (cattle, sheep, and flower production).
• Gain firsthand knowledge of agricultural innovations, career pathways, and real-world applications of classroom concepts

This course is ideal for innovative educators looking to increase student engagement, deepen content understanding, and bring real-world learning into their classrooms. Whether you teach science, social studies, or another subject area, this experience will provide practical strategies and resources to enrich your teaching with agriculture-based learning.