Popcorn pedagogy reaching new ears
"As an education major, I never thought I would know so much about corn,” says College of Education sophomore Hannah Haas.
Haas is part of a unique project partnership between the College of Education and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. With funding from a USDA grant, this collaboration brings together future educators and agricultural researchers to develop an engaging, standards-based curriculum for K–12 students using popcorn.
The initiative is led by Anthony Studer, a popcorn breeder and associate professor in the Department of Crop Sciences, whose work focuses on plant genetics. Studer has always been committed to connecting younger students with agriculture and exposing them to potential careers in the field. Building on previous outreach efforts with high schools across the state, he started having conversations with colleagues in the College of Education to involve undergraduates in developing a popcorn-based curriculum for younger, elementary school students.
The initiative, called PROCESS, stands for Popcorn-Related Outreach Curriculum and Experiences for Student Success.