Bringing Agriculture to the Classroom: A Hands-On Hybrid Professional Development for Educators

Iowa agriculture is more than just corn and soybeans—it is a dynamic industry that encompasses many specialty crops and careers! Ag integrates STEM while also influencing economics, history, and environmental sustainability. This fast-paced hybrid professional development is designed for teachers, extension personnel, and other educators who want to enhance their curriculum by incorporating real-world agricultural applications that align with Iowa Core science and social studies standards.

Through a blend of online coursework and two days of immersive, in-person learning, participants will gain practical teaching strategies, hands-on activities, and ready-to-use lesson plans that make learning engaging, relevant, and easy to implement. By using agriculture as a framework for STEM and social studies, educators will leave with a deeper understanding of how to connect these subjects in a way that captures student interest and fosters critical thinking.

Day 1: Agricultural Innovations & STEM Applications

• Explore how agriculture serves as a real-world application of STEM through science, engineering, and technology.
•  Participate in on-site industry tours to a dairy farm, where science and technology improve efficiency, animal care, and milk production; a seed corn company, where participants will learn about plant genetics and biotechnology; a winery, where microbiology and chemistry play essential roles in fermentation and food science; and a specialty farm, niche agricultural markets.
•  Engage in hands-on demonstrations, gathering valuable background knowledge on agricultural processes to support classroom instruction.

Day 2: Integrating STEAM & Social Studies Through Agriculture

• Learn how to connect agriculture to core subjects, making learning relevant and hands-on for students.
•  Discover how agriculture can be a powerful tool for teaching economic, historical, and environmental concepts.
•  Participate in lesson plan demonstrations, investigating interactive classroom activities that require little to no extra preparation.
•  Develop strategies to engage students in critical thinking and problem-solving using real-world agricultural examples..

Why Attend?

• Gain firsthand experience with agricultural industries and how they connect to STEM and social studies.
•  Learn practical teaching strategies to make complex concepts engaging and accessible.
•  Access ready-to-use classroom materials that integrate agriculture into multiple subjects.
•  Build connections with industry professionals and fellow educators to expand learning opportunities.
•  Inspire students by making STEM and social studies real, relevant, and exciting through the lens of agriculture.

This immersive professional development experience will help educators reimagine how they teach STEM, social studies, and beyond, using agriculture as a dynamic and engaging context.