Exposing students at a very early age to agricultural concepts plays a significant role in shaping children’s understanding of food systems and natural resources management. Experiential learning environments like the [agricultural museum] offer a promising environment where agricultural literacy can be cultivated and fostered among elementary learners. This study measured the ranching literacy of third grade students on a field trip visit to the [agricultural museum] in [State]. A pre-test and post-test survey was conducted on 142 elementary students to measure their perceived knowledge using a structured questionnaire on nine dimensions of ranching which include, ranch definition, types of work done on the ranch, livestock species, livestock feed, equipment, revenue generation, ranching interests, importance of ranching, and natural resource management using a five-point Likert scale (Strongly disagree to Strongly agree). Descriptive analysis was used to compare the response distribution at the pre visit and post visit. Findings showed a significant increase in ranching knowledge across all nine dimensions. The percentage of “agree” and “strongly agree” responses increased to an average of 79% on the post-test, compared to the 59% at the pre-test. Conversely, the level of disagreement responses reduced significantly after the visit. These findings suggest that experiential learning and integrated learning approach by visiting the [agricultural museum] can improve elementary students’ conceptual understanding of ranching operations and agricultural systems. This result also supports the value of experiential learning as an effective pedagogical tool to improve agricultural literacy among elementary-aged students. The implication of this study suggests that museum-school partnerships could be an effective way of delivering agricultural education while the potential use of hands-on exhibits at the [agricultural museum] could be useful to the complement classroom instructions which will build foundational agricultural and ranching knowledge among young learners.
600 Russell Street
Starkville, MS 39759
United States
Amy Boren-Alpizar, Texas Tech University Jivan Gaire, Texas Tech University Adebayo Adeoti, Texas Tech University Jason Headrick, Texas Tech University