4-H Hands on and Project Based Learning

Learning by Doing/Project Based Learning

There are many different courses in schools that have a Learning by Doing approach such as art, science, computer courses, music, band, and agriculture related courses. Extra-curricular activities are not required in curriculum at most schools but are gradually being introduced into the classroom. For instance, 4-H is a program or club that is offered outside of the classroom and often outside of school. However, some schools are developing classes that bring 4-H into the classroom. Agriculture based courses, animal sciences, biology, and even math classes are using 4-H programs for hands on learning. 4-H organizations have programs such as sewing, quilt making, fibers and fabrics, entrepreneurship and financial literacy, environmental science and alternative energy, plant and animal science, healthy living, fitness and nutrition, civic engagement, leadership and mentorship, communication, expressive arts, photography, and volunteering. These programs reach out to the interest of the learners and they get to experiment and work on their own projects. This is not only a hands-on learning approach but a project-based learning that engages students and teachers together. These programs were once costly, and schools couldn’t fit an extra-curricular course in the classroom that demanded the expenses some of those programs require. Aquaculture, animal science, and horticulture are a few programs that demand constant participation and funding. However, when these programs were brought into the classroom as specific courses, student enrollment grew, and the response was educational success and positive youth development (nifa.usda.gov). Grants have been made available to provide and maintain many of these courses in schools.

Students are motivated to learn about what they have little knowledge of because they are curious about the who, what, where, when, why, and how that is involved in a hands-on project such as raising an animal not as a pet but as a profit or growing plants in a greenhouse using different substances as fertilizers to discover the best outcome for that plant. Programs like these reach the STEM core classes as well as life skills. Once as student has learned how to make a small crop grow or how to produce pictures directly from film using a dark room, they are just beginning to engage and continue learning.

Once a student learns that the project is successful, they are motivated to learn because there is a goal with an outcome that drives them to accomplish the goal. They observe through other students and their curiosity leads them to enroll in such programs. There are rewards from developing pictures, raising a calf to a steer, and growing plants. Students compete at local, state, and national levels from the classroom and can be rewarded with trophies, financially, or even with scholarships. The outcome of what they focus on learning is positive and beneficial, enticing learners to continue with these programs. The student and the teacher learn together and there is more 1:1 teacher and student focus. These enrichment programs not only proved successful to students but they develop relationships in the community and offer education for students outside of school, such as home school programs (Mincemoyer).

Students are also motivated to learn with these programs when they know they can master what they are learning. Sewing requires skills in measurements and precision in math for example. Students that struggle with math but succeed with fabrics or textiles, sewing projects or quilting, are progressing their knowledge in math whether they realize it or not. This is true with other programs such as robotics, building, gardening, etc. Students build confidence with the more they learn and with the more they know about what they are passionate about. A study done in Iowa did research on a “garden-based learning” where students had curriculum based on agriculture, environmental, food and nutrition, and had to participate in the growing system and food distribution (ISU.edu). Students successfully made healthy choices about eating, recycling, protecting water and air, and were able to communicate about what they had learned and how it applies to life.

Overall, when a student has a project that they start from scratch, they are motivated to see the progress, the success and the outcome of what they have started. Hands on learning is a great approach to reach learners, engage learners, and help learners develop and build the tools they need to be successful.

Works Cited

(n.d.). Retrieved from 4-H..org.

Boser, U. (2020, March 9). Learning by Doing: What You Need To Know. Retrieved from https://www.the-learning-agency-lab.com/the-learning-curve/learning-by-doing

Mincemoyer, C. (2000). The School Community Journal.Retrieved from adi..org: http://pa4h.cas.psu.edu/school.html

Petty, C. (n.d.). 4-H and Positive Youth Development . Retrieved from National Institute of Food and Agriculture: nifa.usda.gov

Technology, I. S. (1995-2021). 4-H Youth Development. Retrieved from https://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/cll-curricula-alignment

-Andrea Peterson