Progress 05/15/24 to 05/14/25

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for the second year of the project were the K-8 teachers selected to participate. Thirty three science and math teachers from 25 schools participated in project activities. Participating teachers represented schools from the seven educational regions listed by Puerto Rico's Department of Education. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two main opportunities for training and professional development were provided. The first one was a hands-on workshop at the University of Puerto Rico- Utuado (UPRU) from June 10-14, 2025. Teachers learned and practiced the steps they had to go through for developing their school gardens and how they could integrate all of it in their courses. The agenda included topics such as: garden design and materials; water management and irrigation; planting media, soil management and compost development; plant propagation; parts of the plant; tree management; pollinator gardens; pest identification and management; addressing student needs; medicinal plants; and nutrition, cooking with garden products and promoting healthy eating. Daily assessment activities were performed to measure learning and adjust the workshop accordingly. The second opportunity was the online Science, Math and Agriculture Resources for Teaching (SMART) Certificate. Thirty-three teachers completed the certification by December 2024. The certificate contains twelve educational modules and each module includes a presentation, activities, plans, and assessment tools. Topics for the SMART Certificate include: Using the National Agriculture in the Classroom Curriculum Matrix, resources and webpage; Design and Construction of a School Garden; Water Conservation and Management; Soil Management and Conservation; Parts of the Plant and Eating Healthy; Pollinators; Pest and Pathogen Management; Horticulture and Human Health; School Gardens and Student Needs; and Cooking with Garden Products, among others. Companion resources are provided on the course page and lesson plans are aligned to PR Department of Education academic standards. Although it was not a part of the objectives, this project also provided training opportunities for undergraduate students from UPRU. Students from the Community Service course and other volunteers participated in teachers' training activities and garden development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Participating teachers shared their experiences and knowledge with their directors and fellow teachers. Many of them reported integrating parents and community members in their school garden development. Eight of them brought their students to the UPRU campus during the academic year to receive additional training. Last May, teachers were honored and the project was highlighted during the university's agricultural festival (Festival Tierra Adentro). This festival attracts thousands of visitors and allows for university projects to be exposed to the general public. There was also a school garden gathering during the festival so that teachers could share information and experiences. Project activities and results continue to be disseminated through teacher group chats, school visits, press and social media. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, schools will be visited and materials distributed to complete the development of the school gardens. Another workshop will be offered during June 2025 to exchange experiences, receive additional training on using tools and incorporating materials in the school garden, and to ensure all schools are on track with their garden development and course integration. Also, teachers will be selected to participate and represent the project at the National Agriculture in the Classroom Annual Conference. Teachers will submit one lesson plan they develop to use in the garden. Plans will be revised and made available to all teachers to increase the number of resources for integrating their math and science courses with the school garden.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? This year, all project objectives were targeted in order to achieve the main project goal of increasing Puerto Rico's K-8 math and science teachers' expertise in Sustainable Agriculture and its integration in their courses. For objective 1 (Develop the Science, Math and Agriculture Resources for Teaching (SMART) Certificate), the developed online certificate course was made available to teachers in August of 2024 through the university's Moodle platform. All course modules had an assessment tool to measure learning outcomes and demonstrate the accomplishment of course objectives. These assessment tools allowed project directors to evaluate and determine that course objectives were successfully accomplished. All participants finished the certificate training during the August-December 2024 period and evaluated the course. Participants reported high satisfaction with the certificate course, with 100% claiming they learned something new that they can use for their classes. Participants also provided recommendations on material that could be added to the certificate course. These recommendations will be used to improve the modules. This online certificate is available for other interested teachers. Teachers have to contact the Department of Agricultural Technology and request access. Each module also provides teachers with lessons and suggested materials to use in their classes to cover the topics. These lesson plans were matched to PR Department of Education curricular content standards. Objective 2 (Train K-8 educators on the development and integration of a school garden to apply and integrate real world uses of Math, Science and Agricultural concepts) was achieved through a variety of activities. The first one was a week-long hands-on workshop at the University of Puerto Rico in June 2024. During the workshop, participants learned about school garden design, water and soil management, plant propagation, pest management, nutrition, and addressing student socio-emotional needs using the garden space, among other topics. Participants worked on the development of a model garden at UPRU, leaving with a working knowledge on how to start their own at their schools. These teachers then completed the online SMART certificate during the 2024 August-December semester and participated in online meetings. Additionally, during the school year, project directors visited the 26 schools and worked on each garden design. Teachers and school members described their needs and a list of materials was prepared. Materials were then ordered and will be distributed for the next reporting period. Accomplishment of objective 3 (To promote the use of available teaching resources from the National Agriculture in the Classroom Curriculum Matrix among educators) was targeted as part of the hands-on workshop and the online SMART Certificate. Participants accessed the Curriculum Matrix during the workshop and engaged in various activities to practice how to access and use resources. Pre-tests showed 84% of participants did not know and had not used these resources. After the workshop, all participants responded they would use them for their courses. Learning was reinforced through an online module teachers had to complete as part of the SMART certification. Teachers reported opening accounts on the National Agriculture in the Classroom website and using resources during the school year.

Publications

Progress 05/15/23 to 05/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The first year of the project focused on developing the educational modules and the project application and evaluation materials. This year the project also emphasized on teacher recruitment strategies and participant selection for the program. Science and Math teachers for grades K-8 were the main target audience. Recruitment efforts included the use of social media, school visits, and a press release. These efforts were fructiferous and attracted a large number of applications (953 applications were received for 25 spaces). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The first year of the project was dedicated to the development of training resources and teacher recruitment. There were two rounds of evaluations for the selection process. Training and professional development will be accessible for the second and third year of the project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The need assessment, promotion materials and program application were shared through teacher group chats, school visits, social media and a press release from the Universuity of Puerto Rico at Utuado. Applicants were contacted through the email addresses they shared in their application. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the next reporting period, a week-long experiential learning activity will be offered at the University of Puerto Rico at Utuado during the month of June. Also, the online educational modules for the SMART certificate will be available in July. Participating teachers will have the opportunity to complete them during the first semester of the academic year 2024-25. Project directors will visit each of the participant schools to assess specific needs for the development of their school garden. These visits will start during the month of September. Materials and supplies will be ordered and delivered for the schools to start with their gardens in January of 2025.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Activities addressing the project's three main objectives supportedthe goal of increasing Puerto Rico's K-8 math and science teachers' expertise in Sustainable Agriculture and its integration in their courses. For objective 1 (development of the SMART certificate), twelve educational modules were developed. Module topics range from school garden development, soil and water conservation to addressing students' socio-emotional needs in the garden. These will be uploaded to the University of Puerto Rico at Utuado (UPRU) online platform and be accessible to teachers in July, 2024. Teachers will also participate in hands-on learning activitiesduringthe second week of June at UPRU. A need assessment and a recruitment plan was developed to engage educators and begin to accomplish objective 2 (train K-8 educators on the development and integration of a school garden to apply and integrate real world uses of Math, Science and Agricultural concepts). The need assessment was completed by 44 educators, who reported their topics of interest and areas of need in regards to school garden development. Seventy one percent were interested in starting a garden and incorporating it into their courses, while 25% already had one and were interested in maintaining and expanding it. The two teachers that responded that they were not sure, explained it was mainly because they did not feel they would have the time or space. Information about educators topics of interest was used for the selection and development of the educational modules for the SMART certificate. The recruitment process included the development of an application and the promotion among teachers. The process started with teacher group chats and through UPRU's and Puerto Rico Agriculture in the classroom social media pages. These attracted a good amount of applicants, but the main boost was given by a press release. A major newspaper published the information and the applications doubled. At the end, 953 applications were received for the 25 spaces the project had. Selection was made based on responses to the questions and school commitment to maintaining the garden, while ensuring there were participants from Puerto Rico's seveneducational regions and from both, elementary and middle schools. After a first round of evaluations, 175 finalists were selected and asked to provide additional information. From this second round, 33 educators from 25 schools were selected. The higher number of educators is due to teachers in six of the schools wanting to work together and sharing the stipend and materials. The objective 3, to promote the use of available teaching resources from the National Agriculture in the Classroom Curriculum Matrix among educators, was addressed by developing an educational module that will be part of the SMART certificate. A workshop was also developed for educators to participate in, when they visit UPRU during the second week of June.

Publications