Virginia State University hosted area teachers at Randolph Farm to learn about incorporating agricultural concepts into the curriculum
By John Adam
Staff Writer
ETTRICK — Teachers from around the Tri-Cities area took a field trip to Virginia State University’s Randolph Farm on Wednesday to receive special training from educators on how to better incorporate agricultural concepts into the curriculum. The teachers were shown ways they could use examples from agriculture in math and science lessons.
“There are so many math applications; like building a greenhouse, when you’re laying out a farm, the water rates, all those things have mathematical implications,” said Dr. Cheryl Adeyemi, the chair of the Mathematics Department at Virginia State. “This is a great opportunity to make math fun and bring it alive,” said Adeyemi.
The teachers were first given a special presentation in the pavilion before being taken around to the various parts of the farm like the greenhouse and tractor shed. There, VSU administrators gave them examples as to how agriculture can be used in math and science problems for their students. One example given would have students use math to calculate a number of tractors needed to maintain a farm.
“I think it will help give some real life applicability to what goes on in agriculture,” said Christopher Catanzaro, the chair of the Agriculture Department at VSU. “A lot of kids haven’t been educated about where their food comes from.”
Organized by Dr. Krishan Agrawal, a VSU professor, the agricultural-concepts training is one of several projects that Virginia State is undertaking to help train teachers in the area. Previously, VSU hosted teachers in a special computer coding presentation. Another trip in several weeks will take teachers to the Edgar Allen Poe Museum in Richmond.
“Every activity will be independent,” said Agrawal. “They won’t necessarily be connected, but they talk about math in an interdisciplinary fashion, where you can bring some of those ideas into the classroom.”
Agrawal also noted how all the area school districts are benefitting from the training.
“The teachers are coming from all five districts, Prince George, Dinwiddie, Hopewell, Colonial Heights and Petersburg,” said Agrawal.
Jake Reynolds, the Math Specialist for Colonial Heights Public Schools talked about how the training at the Randolph Farm can help make math and science more real for the students.
“It will definitely help us make more connections to math,” he said. “It’s making math seem more relevant.”
• John Adam may be reached at jadam@progress-index.com or 804-722-5172.
http://www.progress-index.com/
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Monday, May 1st 2017 at 12:23AM
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