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Student-Centered Teaching Through Experiential Learning and Assessment

• Assess and document impact of an

experiential learning project on conceptual

knowledge of the students and their ability to

synthesize and apply the concepts learned.

I. Project • A semester long project incorporating all the

four steps of the Kolb’s Experiential Learning

Model introduced.

• Student pairs managed 13 different species

of cover crops and 6 vegetable crops

including planting, weeding, taking care, and

harvesting of their crops (Figure 2).

• Recorded crop growth and soil quality

parameters.

• Reflected upon their observations on their

crop plots and others, and synthesized

concepts.

Fig. 1. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle

Results

Reference Kolb, D.A. 1984. Experiential learning: experience as the source of

learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Acknowledgements Plant and Environmental Sciences,

New Mexico State University. Las Cruces, NM

Introduction • Experiential learning: "the process whereby

knowledge is created through the

transformation of experience." Kolb (1984).

• Why Experiential Learning:

Students are better able to effectively apply

principles when instruction is combined with

experiential learning.

“Tell me and I will forget,

show me and I may remember,

involve me and I will understand“

(Confucius 450 BC).

• Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory:

• In order to gain genuine knowledge from a

learning experience, the students must go

through the 4 steps of the cycle of (Fig. 1).

Figures 3 & 4. Students’ conceptual knowledge about various topics as

observed in self-assessment (Fig. 3a-c); and direct assessment (Fig. 4a-c).

• Majority of the students showed an increased level of conceptual and applied

knowledge after completing the experiential learning project (Figs. 3, 4, & 5).

• More than 90% of the students earned 95-100% grade in their final report

evaluated based on critical thinking, analytical ability, and problem-solving.

II. Assessment 1. Conceptual knowledge:

i. Self-assessment: pre/post

ii.Direct assessment: post

2. Applied knowledge: crop

evaluations

3. Critical thinking, analytical

ability, and problem-solving:

comprehensive report

Objectives

Methods

The experiential learning

project improved both the

conceptual knowledge of the

students and their ability to

synthesize and apply the

concepts learned.

Figure 2. Students

experiencing the 4 stages

of the experiential learning

cycle.

Conclusion

Kulbhushan Grover1 and Shelly Stovall2

Plant & Environmental Sciences1; Office of the Associate Provost2, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM

kgrover@nmsu.edu1; sstovall@ad.nmsu.edu2

Figure 5a-b. Students’ applied knowledge as observed in in-field direct

assessment (n=19).

0

20

40

60

80

100

A Lot A Little Nothing

“Principles of Planting Cover Crops”

Before

After

0

20

40

60

80

100

A Lot A Little Nothing

“Criteria to Evaluate Cover Crops”

Before

After

0

20

40

60

80

100

A Lot A Little Nothing

“Criteria to Evaluate Cover Crops”

0

20

40

60

80

100

A Lot A Little Nothing

“Principles of Planting Cover Crops”

0

20

40

60

80

100

A Lot A Little Nothing

“Major Roles of Cover Crops”

0

20

40

60

80

100

A Lot A Little Nothing

“Major Role of Cover Crops”

Before

After

3a. 4a.

3b. 4b.

3c. 4c.

% s

tud

en

ts w

ho

kn

ew

ab

ou

t th

e t

op

ic

Degree of knowledge observed

Recommendation

0

20

40

60

80

100

Poor Good Excellent

“In-Field Crop Performance Rating: Oats”

0

20

40

60

80

100

yes no

“Recommend a Crop or Not for the southwest: Oats”

5a. 5b.

% s

tud

en

ts r

ati

ng

th

e c

rop

Crop performance rating

Student Testimonials

New Initiative

“Student-Centered Field Laboratory”

A New Initiative in Experiential Learning.

“Got us to think out of the box.”

“I believe this could revolutionize

the college experience.”

“We worked together, learned

together, & enjoyed the

experience as a whole.”

“You can teach a student all you

want from a book..

…future classes and employment

opportunities.”

“The biggest gain was real-world

experience that can be carried over to

…but it will never be the same as

to actually applying the concepts.”

“This was my best Agronomy class.”

Ins

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cto

r's

ra

tin

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Ins

tru

cto

r's

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