Food systems education : the case for interdisciplinary lesson plans in high schools
(Book - Regular Print)

Thesis,MSFS,Green Mountain College,2018

Includes bibliographical references.

Holistic food systems education is essential for inciting early passion and critical thinking on how to solve food systems problems. This capstone engages in the process of developing and integrating food systems lessons into core high school courses, without detracting from the core course curriculum. This project aims to equip high school students with the ability to engage in critical thinking about food systems, develop resilience through food literacy, and deepen their understanding of the food systems with which they will soon become an active participant. Food systems education is rarely addressed in current high school curricula in non-science courses. The development of the interdisciplinary lesson plans centers around issues of food justice and ethics, equity and access, and global food security, and the pedagogies to creatively solve these problems. The participants in this study included both students and faculty at Southbridge High School, a private boarding school. The lessons were developed within the context of an American History and American Literature course, but with the flexibility to be adopted and integrated as part of the core curricula for these courses in other schools. The curricula was implemented in two eleventh grade classes in May of 2017. The students assumed knowledge and interest increased after implementation and the teachers felt the lessons met the class goals and would implement them again. Ultimately, the development process revealed that the integration of such content can be successfully implemented if time and resources allow for more thorough pre-implementation observation and co-teaching partnerships.