We conducted a case study on the implementation of an adult mentoring program designed to connect land-grant university graduate students who participated in a transdisciplinary and multi-institutional research project with industry professionals for the purpose of exposing students to industry practices. Seven mentees and six mentors participated…

Background: Case study is widely used in teaching and learning literature; however, the extant literature contains few examples of student-developed case studies. This study used the situated perspective of experiential education (EE) to highlight context and legitimate peripheral participation encouraging enculturation into research communities…

Most educational programs are designed to produce lower level outcomes, and Extension educators are challenged to produce behavior change in target audiences. Social norms are a very powerful proven tool for encouraging sustainable behavior change among Extension's target audiences. Minor modifications to program content to demonstrate the…

Recruitment and support processes in sustainability-profiled incubators have received little research attention. The article addresses this knowledge gap in an empirical investigation of three sustainability-oriented incubators in Sweden, Finland and Germany. The data are based on interviews with managers, stakeholders and tenants in Green Tech…

We report and reflect on three projects, carried out by us as educators and technology researchers over a four year period, that explore the use of mobile technologies in the fieldwork of Australian tertiary students of architectural history, landscape history and urban design. Treating these as three case studies, our focus is on the emerging…

This exploratory and descriptive research intended to examine ways to engage a vulnerable young adult population in environmental and ecological education and in community planning and public participation processes. A goal was to understand how to be more inclusive in the decision-making process at the community level based on ethical principles…

Purpose: Problem-based learning (PBL), a relatively novel teaching and learning process in horticulture, was investigated. Proper application of PBL can potentially create a learning context that enhances student learning. Design/Methodology/Approach: Students worked on two complex ill-structured problems: (1) to produce fresh baby greens for a…

Purpose: Rwanda is developing its agricultural capacity to meet the needs of national food security while addressing food demands and requirements of regional and international markets. The Rwanda Horticultural Export Standards Initiative was developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources in collaboration with Michigan State…

School gardens are ideal places for students to ask and answer questions about science. This paper describes a case study of two 3rd grade teachers and two STEM coordinators who were recruited to implement and evaluate a horticultural-based curriculum developed for this study. Informed by the Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform model we conducted a…

A tool from social marketing can help Extension agents understand distinct audience segments among their constituents. Defining targeted audiences for Extension programming is a first step to influencing behavior change among the public. An online survey was conducted using an Extension email list for urban households receiving a monthly lawn and…

In 2005, The National Council for Agricultural Education (NCAE) unveiled The Long Range Goal for Agricultural Education also known as 10 x 15. According to NCAE, the primary goal of 10 x 15 was to create 10,000 new agricultural education programs by 2015 that focused on an integrated model of classroom and laboratory instruction, experiential…

Mobile technologies can support learning across different contexts as their portability enables them to be used by the learner in whichever context she or he is in. They can be particularly beneficial in informal and semiformal contexts where learners have more control over their learning goals and where motivation is often high. Inquiries in…

University faculty and outreach program directors have been called to deliver more effective, equitable, and sustainable ways in which neighborhood and university communities may creatively interact. The authors report on the case of the Pittsburgh Studio, an initiative that matches students and resident stakeholders in researching local issues…

To the individual, garden areas link to the natural world, offering solace, refuge, inspiration, and purpose. To a low-income neighborhood, where often the only greenery sprouts from between cracks in concrete, their impact can be monumental, signaling sustainability, beautifying, attesting to value and worth--even prompting civic change. A 2000…

This article examines utilization of online training courses in a Midwest-based landscaping company in the United States. The company had implemented online training to facilitate employee development for their 5,000 employees who were in locations throughout the United States. The courses had been in place for about a decade before the…