Learning Through Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Teaching: A Case Study of Faculty Work as Learning in Sustainable Agriculture Education

摘要

The National Academy of Sciences called for a dynamic approach to teaching and learning in colleges of agriculture. In response, faculty at colleges and universities are implementing innovative frameworks for undergraduate education in the agricultural sciences. This study explored the collaborative and interdisciplinary teaching and learning practices of faculty in sustainable agriculture education curricula at a land grant university as an illustration of this innovation. Drawing upon a socioculturallearning framework, this study specifically emphasizes faculty work as a social practice and the inherently relational learning that occurs with other faculty, their students and community partners. Using an in-depth, qualitative research approach, a single embedded case study design was implemented to illustrate the teaching and learning experiences of an interdisciplinary group of faculty collaborating within an undergraduate minor that fosters community engagement through service-learning and sustainable agriculture curricula. The collaborative teaching structure that is explored is comprised of an instructor of record, collaborating faculty, community-partner and graduate teaching assistant. Faculty teaching in this program of study experience learning in the areas of disciplinary knowledge and pedagogical practice and navigate organizational challenges and barriers to collaborative work.