The Iowa Agricultural Literacy Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of customized professional development workshops for educators across Iowa.
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Agricultural Literacy Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of customized professional development workshops for educators across Iowa. These workshops, in collaboration with partner organizations, aim to improve the skills of educators in integrating agricultural concepts into the curriculum.
Throughout the summer, educators have the opportunity to attend two-day workshops held at various locations across the state. These workshops, hosted by IALF, will delve into using agriculture as a platform for teaching the Iowa Core Standards. By incorporating agricultural themes into subjects such as science, social studies, language arts, and mathematics, teachers can provide students with authentic and meaningful learning experiences.
“Participants can expect to receive a wealth of teaching strategies along with ready-to-implement lessons, resources and activities,” said Kelly Foss, IALF Executive Director. “Our goal is to enable teachers to foster high levels of student engagement through a hands-on approach to learning.”
The workshop will feature interactive sessions, with one day devoted to field visits and tours of farms and agribusinesses, and another day focused on practical classroom applications. The workshop is free, with optional license renewal credits and graduate-level credits available for an additional fee.
The scheduled dates and locations of the workshops are as follows.
- June 13-14, Oskaloosa; agriculture is everywhere
- June 18-19, Fort Dodge; STEM Engineering and Mathematics in Agriculture
- July 16-17, Sioux City; From plow to pixel: years of farming
- July 18-19, West Des Moines; STEM of specialty crops
- July 23-24, Coralville; Technology in Iowa agriculture from the 1800s to the present.
- July 30-31, Mason City; Nothing is wasted: STEM in agricultural co-products
- August 1st-2nd, Waterloo; Explore the story of agriculture
- August 6-7, Irwin; From the field and beyond: STEM careers in agriculture
For detailed workshop descriptions and registration information, please visit the IALF website at https://www.iowaagliteracy.org/tools-resources/general/professional-development.
The workshop was organized by Iowa organizations including the Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Farmers Federation, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Growmark, Iowa Soybean Association, Iowa Beef Industry Council, Corteva Agriscience, and the National Agricultural Classroom Organization. Made possible by supporters of the State Agricultural Literacy Foundation. , Iowa STEM Scale-Up Program.
For more information about workshops in your area, please visit www.IowaAgLiteracy.org, emailinfo@iowaagliteracy.org.
— Iowa Agricultural Literacy Foundation
