Ashley Bennett’s project-based learning endorsement prepares her to showcase STEM careers for her rural students
Most students cannot attend a farmers market in their media center, but Ashley Bennett created this opportunity to culminate her student’s studies on food production. Bennett teaches geography at Woodruff Middle School. She is a participant in the College of Education’s AWAKE-STEM programming and is earning her project-based learning endorsement. Her students are using the unit to propose solutions to the problem of food production and accessibility in their community and school. In the past, they have studied agriculture, food pathways and even food deserts using maps from the Department of Public Health. This year, she wanted to make their learning more experiential. With support of her university mentors, she and her school team developed a farmers market concept that allowed her students to learn straight from the horses — well, farmer’s mouths.
“I wanted my students to see the real experiences of farmers and scientists in our community,” says Bennett. “At first, I imagined a panel of experts, but then I thought why don’t they bring in what they produce and allow us to show our support of them as well. My school team jumped on board and helped me bring the farmer’s market vision to life.”
What began as a panel of five became a 22-vendor market. Bennett prepped her students with proper communication and interview tactics. Her students were tasked with interviewing each of the vendors to learn how their farms work, what they produce and what farming methods they use depending on their area of agricultural interest. The students were studying hydroponics, aquaculture, dairy farming, terracing and more. When the vendors arrived, the students busily interviewed their guests and to learn about their products and production methods.
“My principal couldn’t believe it,” says Bennett. “He was so impressed with how engaged they were and how well they interacted with our guests. He has already promised his support in expanding the market next year to the whole school. We are moving to a new building, so we will have much more space for vendors and students. Even some animals may attend outdoors.”
Bennett cites her students’ professionalism as an unplanned win from the event.
“These kids don’t have much experience communicating with adults beyond their teachers and their parents,” says Bennett. “I was amazed at how well they overcame their timidity and engaged with our professionals. I think this part of workforce preparation — the social aspect — is something we can continue to guide and support in our classrooms.”
The market did not come together overnight. Bennett is in her second year of participation in the AWAKE-STEM grant programming. She shares that the program has been more challenging than expected in a positive way.
“I’ve been teaching for 21 years,” says Bennett. “I’ve completed by master’s, National Board Certification and more. I always had a desire to study project-based learning, so I was glad to have this opportunity.”
Bennett, along with her school’s guidance counselor, Selena Turnipseed, and science teacher, Emily Wireman, work together to take College of Education courses in project-based learning. Participation in the AWAKE-STEM program offers the educators a coach, Courtney Bernal. She serves as the group’s support system while they work in integrating project-based learning into their curriculum. In their first year, they developed two units and took three courses. In the second year, they expanded upon their earlier projects while receiving feedback from the grant team. Bennett shares that the coaching aspect was especially refreshing.
“Once you’ve been in education as long as I have, you can get complacent and not continue to grow your craft,” says Bennett. “The coaches and professors have done an excellent job of giving us feedback that is productive and encouraging. They have helped me continue my growth as a tenured educator.”
Another aspect of the program is its emphasis on group work. Soft skills are hugely important to employability. Professor Christine Lotter, their coach and school counselor, Selena Turnipseed, helped Bennett develop roles for their students. Turnipseed also developed several lessons on collaboration and active listening to help students cultivate these much needed skills.
“We videoed ourselves daily,” says Bennett. “This experience helped me and my team up our game for sure. It has been one of the most astounding growth experiences of my career.”
Beyond expanding the market next year, Bennett is using some of her own connections to local farmers to offer her students new opportunities as well. Her students will also be able to meet with a farmer that produces a community supported agriculture box. The students will plant their own school garden in collaboration with their science teacher, Wireman. She ensures that the students gain a full understanding of science and engineering in all of their units. The farmer will visit the classroom and share how they grow their vegetables, pack them and distribute them to the community. Bennett is working with the school’s food director to work on a grant that will support her market and class garden. Her teaching team also submitted a secondary grant to support their STEM learning, written by Turnipseed. One of the highlights of project-based learning is all the connection points it can create between students, their school and community at large.
“We chose to hone in on agriculture as our subject because of the large role it plays in our local community,” says Bennett. “Our students had this one-sided concept that agriculture is just a farmer with a tractor. They did not consider the technology and engineering that play such a huge role in this industry. We got to travel from farm to table, and it made the biggest difference in our year.”
ABOUT AWAKE-STEM
The College of Education’s AWAKE-STEM project is funded by the National Science Foundation. School counselors are paired with educators to infuse career development into classrooms. This project is managed through the college’s Institute for Rural Education and Development. To learn more or partner with this organization, visit sc.edu/ired.