CASE Curriculum Changes Classroom Culture

Since my arrival at Southeast Polk High School in Pleasant Hill, Iowa, I have enjoyed a teaching renaissance. Long gone are the lectures and rinse- andrepeat presentations that I crafted mere hours (sometimes less) before each class. I have no need to caution students about the consequences of failing to complete homework. Now I bask in a classroom culture that promotes learning above memorizing and uses a multitude of labs, robust, experiential learning environments, to reinforce concepts and allow students to pursue learning outcomes.”How?” you ask. Through my adoption of the CASE curriculum, my classroom culture has completely changed. Not only are students more engaged, they are also expending more of their energy in pursuit of their education. My energy, which is finite, is now directed toward helping aid their journey.In the CASE curriculum, students are encouraged to apply the knowledge they gain to a real-world application. I think it’s important that teachers use experiential learning to drive home classroom concepts and allow for more robust synthesis of the material. School-based agricultural education programs have been and continue to be the gold standard for how to do this well.Many benefits were evident when I started conducting labs in my classroom. Students became active knowledge seekers instead of passive vessels waiting to be filled. After an initial adjustment period, students became more reflective and self-supporting. Instead of running to me at the first occurrence of an obstacle, they would stop and ponder possible outcomes and solutions. Creativity began to show through. In fact, I am constantly enthralled with the creativity my students demonstrate. Structured lab situations can be a great catalyst for creativity and I think this may be the primary factor in students’ successes as they move into agricultural careers.About CASEThe CASE project was established to provide a structured sequence of courses, but CASE also serves as a model for elevating the level of rigor and relevance expected for the new vision of agricultural education. Rigor of CASE is validated by the alignment of lessons with national standards for agriculture, science, math, and English language arts. For connection of relevance with student learners, the CASE curriculum highlights the strengths of experiential learning, the heart and soul of agricultural education, by utilizing activity-, project-, and problem-based instructional strategies. (CASE, 2013, Background section, para. 3, 4)CASE lessons are designed with a concept-based educational model. Students learn these concepts by working through activities, projects, and problems. Each lab includes a daily purpose, procedures, and conclusion questions designed to test a student’s grasp of the concepts. Recently, I have begun to move to a standards-based grading system that dovetails nicely with the concepts I am trying to make sure students learn. This ensures that my grades are meaningful representations of student achievement.The CASE philosophy empowers students to take an active role in their own learning. Each activity, project, and problem prepares students for the next step in the learning process.