"Home-to-School" Cooperative Learning Management in Agriculture and Environment

Abstract

     This research was aimed at the development of cooperative learning management in agriculture and the environment through a participatory process among the community, schools, and a university. The objectives of this research were to: 1) develop approaches to learning experience in agricultural and environmental education at a basic educational level with mushroom production activities as a major learning basis, 2) explore approaches to the transmission of learning experiences in mushroom production from homes to schools, and 3) encourage pre-service teachers to produce research work based on activities that emerged from "The Home-to-School Project on Mushroom Production". A participatory process approach among the community, schools, and a university was employed. The research participants comprised 16 pupils from four schools and 11 pre-service teachers who were selected based on the project criteria. The consecutive research procedures involved: 1) the pupils taking mushrooms home to produce products under the supervision of pre-service teachers acting as apprentice researchers, 2) the pupils concluding their lesson by identifying an approach to learning experience transmission, and 3) pre-service teachers developing their research based on "The Home-to-School Project on Mushroom Production". The research findings were: 1) The pupils participating in the project gained greater experience in mushroom production. 2) The pupils participating in the project produced a variety of approaches to the transmission of learning experience in mushroom production including a self-sufficient agricultural camp, mushroom production for young farmers, a cartoon book, and mushroom story telling. 3) Pre-service teachers, as apprentice researchers, produced four research reports, with each having a research article, based on "The Home-to-School Project on Mushroom Production".