Abstract
Open-ended cases present students with learning situations where a particular dilemma on the farm or in the community food system has not been resolved. With minimal but focused prior preparations, students interview farmers and food system stakeholders to build context for the case and to discover the philosophy, goals, and major challenges faced by clients. Student teams build a rich picture of the current reality, including major elements, interactions, and driving forces both internal and external. Instead of reaching prescriptive recommendations, students develop multiple potential future scenarios that could be used by stakeholders to resolve the situation, and evaluate a priori the most likely outcomes of following each scenario. These are presented back to the farmer or community, and a visioning session is held to bring all the players to the table and decide on the most constructive future course of action. We have found this method to be highly stimulating to students, as they work in a team with instructors and clients to plan a desirable future. Students report that the learning experience has been valuable to their subsequent thesis research as well as contributing to their effectiveness on jobs after the university. Keywords: agroecology, systems learning, action learning, education for responsible action, organic farming systems
Highlights
Thoughtful university instructors are continuously seeking educational methods that will stimulate students to take responsibility for their own academic and practical growth, and to provide relevant guidance down the path that leads to autonomous future learning
There are conflicts and misunderstandings in the classroom and especially in student teams, and a part of the team building and education process is for the learning community to explore and resolve these issues to the extent possible, and to encourage everyone to focus on the team goals as well
Based on over 15 years’ experience in the Norway Agroecology MSc programme, we conclude that the open-ended case learning approach is both stimulating for students, instructors, and stakeholders, and exciting as a method that the students can employ in their thesis research and future educational and other opportunities
Summary
Thoughtful university instructors are continuously seeking educational methods that will stimulate students to take responsibility for their own academic and practical growth, and to provide relevant guidance down the path that leads to autonomous future learning. We recognize that students arrive with diverse points of view, some expecting to learn by farming and hands-on activities, not from lectures and research, some comfortable with more traditional academics building on strong theoretical background. We put these students in teams and direct them to interact with stakeholders and find out what they can learn outside the conventional university educational setting, while applying theory to practice. When student teams have the opportunity to visit farms and communities, to interview key actors in the food system, and to immerse in the farm and community context they report the value of learning first-hand about challenges facing farm families and people intent on
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