Linking Classroom to the Real World through Engaging Students with Farmers and Extension Faculty.

Research shows that students learn agricultural principles better through experiential learning than in a traditional classroom setting. Students also like to visit farmer fields to observe the crops and management practices first hand and learn about the issues farmers are facing. While students get opportunity to first hand see or experience crop management through experiential learning and field visits, they don’t get to know how the extension faculty help tackle the issues that growers are facing. Moreover, many students don’t know about the extension service component of the agricultural sciences, they are often aware only about teaching and research activities that take place at an academic institute. The objective of the current project was to bring growers as well as extension faculty into classroom and give students an opportunity to learn directly from the growers about the issues that they face in their sustainable crop production operations; and to learn how the extension faculty would address those issues and make recommendations. The student feedback indicated a positive impact on student learning about the real world issues in sustainable crop production along with an increased awareness and appreciation of the contribution of extension faculty in helping growers addressing those issues.