UW Ag Education students gain experience in the classroom

UW student Aleah Russell, left, works with UW Lab School student Yaseena Basitkhan as part of an agriculture course. (Rosemary McBride photo)

University of Wyoming high school students are getting hands-on experience working with high school students in Laramie as part of an Agricultural Education Methods class.

The class, taught by Rosemary McBride, assistant professor at the UW School of Teacher Education, is a collaborative program that allows pre-service teachers and high school students to work together to shape knowledge and skills and innovate for the future of agricultural education. The one-year practicum is done with UW Lab School students enrolled in an “Exploring Ag” elective in high school.

In September, the UW students spent time learning about each other’s strengths, creating plans for their foundational supervised agricultural experience, exploring career options and developing career-ready skills.

As part of this program, students recently took part in an activity inspired by the famous TED Talk ‘Marshmallow Challenge’. They worked in teams and used limited resources – spaghetti, tape and string – to build the tallest marshmallow towers possible. This challenge is known for its interesting results: research shows that preschoolers and construction engineers tend to perform best, with towers measuring an average of 45 centimeters high, while recent business graduates tend to perform the worst.

Impressively, two of the three teams, made up of student teachers and high school students, managed to build towers taller than the average height of the study, despite having no experience with the challenge.

“The most rewarding experience that comes from working with the Lab School students is their newness to agriculture and the opportunity to try to spark their interest in that field,” said student Aleah Russell of Shandon, California. “My field experiences within the ag education program have given me the opportunity to gain insight into what it is like to be an ag teacher. I would like to see more practical connections made in primary and secondary education. I know that when my students can relate the learning content to something that is important to them, they tend to be more enthusiastic learners.”

The activity concluded with a discussion about the importance of developing career-ready skills such as teamwork, communication and focus, all of which were essential for success in the Marshmallow Tower challenge, life, future classrooms and careers.

Other UW students participating in the practicum are Madison Fields, of Lyman; Jane Goldy, of Parker, Colo.; Lindsey Kisicki, of Cheyenne; Garrett Strohschein, of Wright; and Jonah Zeimens, of Cheyenne.