The ALS Institute: Building the Capacity of Grades 5-12 Urban Educators to Deliver High Quality & Culturally Responsive Instruction

The Urban Agriculture and Life Sciences Summer Institute will build the capacity of urban educators to recruit and retain the next generation of urban agriculturalists by increasing engagement, knowledge acquisition, and knowledge retention of students using culturally responsive practices. For this project, 36 middle and high school educators will be selected to participate in a summer institute to learn how to develop and implement culturally responsive ALS lessons through professional learning, field experiences, and mentorship. Additionally, 18 previously trained educators will receive additional training on transformative mentoring and serve as instructional design support for teachers during curriculum development and implementation. The goal for implementing culturally responsive curriculum is to encourage student identity expression, increase problem-solving skills, and strengthen career aspirations related to ALS in urban settings. The expected outcomes for this four-year project are: 1) Expand the Urban Agriculture and Life Sciences Academy (UALSA) community of educators to include teacher mentors who support the creation and advancement of high quality and culturally responsive instruction; 2) Develop culturally responsive lessons focused on food safety, nutrition, and health in the areas of animal science, food science, horticulture, agricultural business and finance, environmental science and natural resources, and agricultural technology; and 3) Pilot culturally responsive ALS lessons, make revisions, and upload completed lessons to an online repository. All participants will receive membership to UALSA’s virtual community of practice, culturally responsive ALS curriculum, and other CRP resources and support to advance the implementation of the curriculum in classrooms.

Funder: USDA NIFA

Amount: $500,000

PI: James Anderson, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences