Clintonville ag teacher attends state conferenceClintonville agriscience teacher Crystal Retzlaff was chosen to attend the first DuPont Agriscience Inquiry Institute at the Wisconsin Association of Agricultural Educators Professional Development Conference, June 21-25 in Madison.

This was a professional development institute facilitated by Wisconsin Agriscience Educators who have been trained as DuPont National Agriscience Teacher Ambassadors.

The Wisconsin DuPont Agriscience Inquiry Institute helps agriscience teachers learn to incorporate scientific teaching methodology, problem solving, and inquiry-based learning into existing agriscience curricula.

Throughout the training, teachers engage from both the student and teacher perspectives. This allowed participants to create challenging experiences that will impact students in the Clintonville School Agriscience Department.

Inquiry-based teaching is student-centered, allows for more collaborative learning, and encompasses 21st century skills development. During the training, teachers explored inquiry-based learning in the Agricultural Power, Environment/Natural Resources, Plant Science, Animal/Vet Science, and Food Science pathways.

The DuPont National Agriscience Teacher Ambassador Program has impacted many agriscience teachers in all fifty states, and the Agriscience Teacher Ambassadors from Wisconsin wanted to share the impact of that training with their colleagues throughout the state. This training is invaluable for solidifying the connections between the core subject areas of math, science, language arts and social studies with the agriscience curricula.

Another goal is to improve student performance on standardized tests through the methodologies of inquiry-based instruction and activities in the agriscience classroom.