PROCEDURES AND PROCESSES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE PROBLEM BASED LEARNING CURRICULUM IN SASKATCHEWAN SECONDAY SCHOOLS

Increasing enrolments in the study of agriculture and related programs is an essential component of the overall sustainability of the industry and human well-being on the planet. Despite the abundant opportunities available in the agriculture sector, high school students are largely unaware of the education and careers opportunities in agriculture. Fueling this problem is the fact that secondary science curricula in Canada contain virtually no agriculture related content. As a solution, the College of Agriculture and Bioresources (AgBio) in Saskatoon, SK proposed that if high school science curriculum resources with an agricultural emphasis and related science teacher training programs could be created, perhaps more students would be exposed to this discipline through classroom teachings and choose to participate in agriculture. This study offers a reflective analysis concerning the process and procedures needed for an organization to implement a Problem Based Learning (PBL) curriculum in high school science classes. Qualitative data collected is summarized to include relevant information on integral partnerships with teachers, school divisions and funding agencies. Timelines, program marketing and teacher perceived barriers to implementation are reviewed. An overview of the Problem Based Learning curriculum resources that have been created is shared, and an examination of the high school science teacher workshop explored. Through this outreach endeavour, hundreds of high school science teachers have attended workshops and implemented the PBL curriculum in many classrooms, greatly exposing the careers and education potential of agriculture