Jessica Ronning, agriculture educator at Sanborn Central/Woonsocket recently attended an eight-day professional development institute at New Sweden Dairy Farm and South Central College in Mankato to teach the Introduction to Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) course.

CASE is an instructional system that is changing the culture of agriculture programs in the United States through intense teacher professional development; inquiry-based, student-focused lessons; assessment; and certification.  CASE equips teachers to elevate student experiences in the agriculture classroom, and prepares students for success in college and careers emphasizing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

During the CASE Institute, Ronning spent 65 hours working through nearly every lesson in the year-long curriculum and learning how to deliver lessons in an inquiry-based way that will shift focus in the classroom from teacher-led to student-directed learning.  

For more information about CASE, visit www.case4learning.org