Building student capacity to lead sustainability transitions in the food system through farm-based authentic research modules in sustainability sciences (FARMS)

Abstract

Undergraduate courses provide valuable opportunities to train and empower students with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to advance society in more sustainable directions. This article emphasizes the value of bridging primary scientific research with undergraduate education through the presentation of an integrated experiential learning and primary research model called Farm-based Authentic Research Modules in Sustainability Sciences (FARMS). FARMS are collaboratively designed with agricultural stakeholders through a community needs assessment on pressing food system issues and opportunities with the objective for faculty and students to jointly identify evidence-based management solutions. We illustrate the implementation of FARMS in an undergraduate course in Ecological Agriculture at Dartmouth College, NH where students assessed various agroecological solutions for managing plant vitality, weeds, soil quality, pests, pollinators, and biodiversity at the Dartmouth Organic Farm. Student reflections indicate that the FARMS course component was beneficial for understanding agroecological theories and concepts while also motivating involvement in sustainability sciences despite the challenges of primary research. Educator reflections noted that the FARMS pedagogical approach facilitated achieving course objectives to develop students’ ability for systems thinking, critical thinking, and interdisciplinarity while fostering students’ collaboration skills and overall motivation for creating change. Adopting the FARMS model should enable faculty in the sustainability sciences to serve as bridges between the learning, practicing, and scientific communities while supporting educational programming at student and community farms. Ultimately, it is expected that the implementation of FARMS will increase student capacity and prepare the next generation of leaders to address complex challenges of the food system using an evidence-based approach.

Co-design of Adaptable Learning Outcomes for Sustainable Food Systems Undergraduate Education

“…It is expected that exposing SFS students to such new paradigms for living and science, their capacity to assess food system challenges and to develop concerted solutions increases. Curriculum activities about applying appropriate research methodologies require educators to critically analyze the ways in which they prepare students to ask questions, think across disciplines, test possible solutions, collaborate with a diverse range of stakeholders, facilitate community engagement, and synthesize evidence (Ahmed et al, 2017). The premise is a critical self-reflection of the instructors on their own positionality, which should be shared with the students.…”

“…To sensitize students on the impact of epistemology on research results and the subjectivity of evidence, having students performing research using theoretical lenses with different epistemologies (for example, positivism, political economy, and feminism) in their fieldwork can be a powerful experience (Galt et al, 2013). Primary research in the undergraduate classroom (Hunter et al, 2007;Derting and Ebert-May, 2010;Brownell et al, 2015;Linn et al, 2015;Ahmed et al, 2017) is a typical way to train students to apply appropriate methodologies. For example, Farm-based Authentic Research Modules in Sustainability Sciences or FARMS (See Glossary in Appendix 5 for further information) incorporates primary research into course curricula based on input from diverse local agricultural stakeholders (Ahmed et al, 2017).…”

“…Primary research in the undergraduate classroom (Hunter et al, 2007;Derting and Ebert-May, 2010;Brownell et al, 2015;Linn et al, 2015;Ahmed et al, 2017) is a typical way to train students to apply appropriate methodologies. For example, Farm-based Authentic Research Modules in Sustainability Sciences or FARMS (See Glossary in Appendix 5 for further information) incorporates primary research into course curricula based on input from diverse local agricultural stakeholders (Ahmed et al, 2017). Another curriculum activity to train the selection and application of appropriate research methodologies is to guide students to employ ethnographic techniques such as participant observation and the conversational method of gathering knowledge built upon an indigenous relational tradition (Glossary) (Kovach, 2010).…”

“…Pluralism refers to explicit engagement and valuing of multiple perspectives when characterizing a system (Reynolds and Holwell, 2010;Williams and Hummelbrunner, 2010). Food systems thinking further draws from a socio-ecological approach that examines the ecological, socio-economic, cultural, and human health dynamics pertaining to food (Ahmed et al, 2017Mason and Lang, 2017;. Food systems thinking is, therefore, transdisciplinary, involving what is between different disciplines, across, and beyond them.…”

Educating for transitions: ecovillages as transdisciplinary sustainability “classrooms”

“…Institutes of higher education have a crucial role to play in the education of professionals who will directly shape the trajectories of sociotechnical systems (Ahmed et al , 2017; Konrad, Wiek and Barth, 2020). They must, therefore, prepare students to deal with the complexity of these systems in their ecologic, economic, social, cultural and health dynamics so as to promote sustainability transitions.…”