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Designing a New Learning Environment

Community as Curriculum: a different kind of food network – a learning environment that is:-- adaptable to various education settings, focus on what is learned, not just how it is learned-- responsive to students with their remedial needs-- healthier because it teaches students about good diet practices in a community context-- inspiring to teachers and students so that education is more innovative and relevant

from www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/health/nutrition/04well.html

Rationale: We need a new learning environment that serves diverse student populations who struggle in traditional settings and therefore have remedial needs. This new learning environment could exist in a variety of education settings that connect different elements of a community while also teaching students how to live healthier lives and how to participate in the community.

it’s an Education Issue that’s tied to Class Issues: “Not surprisingly, most schools in bad condition are in cities where at least 70% of students are below the poverty line. Urban students are less likely to graduate than their suburban counterparts. High school graduation rates are 15% lower in the nation’s urban schools when compared with those located in the suburbs. In 2008, the graduation rate among African-Americans was 61.5% compared to 81% for whites. In 2008, 17 of the nation's 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50%… Children of poor families are up to six times more likely to drop out than wealthy children.”

from www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-education-and-poverty-america

it’s a Health Issue that’s tied to Community Issues: …a study, published in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, comparing the prices of 370 foods sold at supermarkets in the Seattle area. The study showed that “energy dense” junk foods, which pack the most calories and fewest nutrients per gram, were far less expensive than nutrient-rich, lower-calorie foods like fruits and vegetables. The prices of the most healthful foods surged 19.5 percent over the two-year study period, while the junk food prices dropped 1.8 percent. Obesity researchers worry that these trends will push consumers toward less healthful foods. …Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan and her family took a weeklong “food stamp challenge,” spending only $5.87 per day per person on food — the Michigan food stamp allotment. She told reporters that she ended up buying a lot of macaroni and cheese. Ms. Leonard and Mr. Greenslate, who chronicled their dollar-a-day experience on their blog, onedollardietproject.wordpress.com, say they are looking at other ways to explore how difficult it is for people with limited income to eat a healthful diet.

from www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/health/nutrition/04well.html

“…[In California] we remove over 500,000 students from instruction each year through suspensions and expulsions, many of them for minor acts of misbehavior, we are sadly condemning a significant number of our youth to unproductive, problem-filled lives that not only threaten their own well-being, but the well-being of the communities within which they reside. …As Chief Justice of California “I am deeply concerned about the well-known connection between school suspensions and our criminal justice system. One Texas study shows that one suspension triples the likelihood of a juvenile justice contact within that year. And that one suspension doubles the likelihood of repeating the grade. And nationally, the studies show that suspensions have a racially disparate effect: African-Americans, Latinos, American-Indians appear to have a far greater risk of suspension.” from http://witnessla.com/category/zero-tolerance-and-school-discipline/

“The even greater challenge is nation-building at home at a time when funding for schools is being slashed, about 7,000 high school students drop out every day, and there are long waits to get into early-childhood-enrichment programs like Head Start. Literacy programs can help break cycles of poverty and unleash America’s potential — and a single F-35 fighter could pay for more than four years of the Reading Is Fundamental program in the entire United States.” from www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/opinion/kristof-its-a-smart-smart-smart-world.html

To address these issues, our new learning environment will connect students in need with adult mentors who will tutor and morally support them in a meaningful manner that strengthens communities. One of the unique features of our learning environment will be that it connects participants using more meaningful data and involves various constituents in a more engaging manner using food. Students, teachers, parents, restaurant owners, local farmers and their markets, community gardeners, entrepreneurs, community and business leaders, and organizations like the Boy and Girls Clubs will be the core network in the new learning environment. Nursing homes and colleges could also be incorporated.

System Function and Features: Participation in this new learning environment will be organized through a social network that uses the best metrics of “online dating” and Facebook to connect everyone involved. The key is to organize and track data so that the most important information is easily accessible in the format most available to the user – text messages will be one of the most used by students at home but they will be able to access institutional computers at school or at tutoring locations like the Boys and Girls Club or a local library.

The University of Phoenix offers a model for this: PhoenixConnect® which is an academic social network that also offers interaction in real time. Features allow students to: Create a support network that’s always available. Discover interesting academic and professional conversations that can enrich your classroom experience. Ask questions and get answers from the University’s technical support, financial services and student services. Post status updates, ask for study strategies or discuss current events. Develop an online user profile to let others know your academic, professional and personal goals. Create a personalized activity stream that aggregates updates from among your connections and the communities you follow. Join or start a group based on your interests, and follow conversations that are relevant to you. Keep up with official University news and announcements via blogs written by faculty members, students and staff. Control privacy settings — for the level of sharing you prefer.

from www.phoenix.edu/students/how-it-works/innovative_education_technology/phoenix-connect.html

One element that we would add would have to do with healthy eating and would allow students to record and discuss their daily diet decisions. Other people could comment and students and other participants could earn merit badges based on their decisions. Periodic competitions for the most badges/prestige would earn free dinners that are donated by local restaurants that source their products locally.

from http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/undergrad-tech.jpg

Target Audience and Learning Conditions: we would target students ages 12 – 16 who live in low income urban areas where there are both academic, health, and community challenges. We would seek to create an ecosystem network of partners that include students, teachers, parents, restaurant owners, local farmers and their markets, community gardeners, entrepreneurs, community and business leaders, organizations like the Boy and Girls Clubs, and corporations . Tutoring and support for students would take place in a variety of locations depending on the participants and the schedule they establish. Meetings could take place in school, in the home, at the Boy and Girls Club, at a restaurant, at a farmer’s market, or at a farm. Teachers could coordinate with mentor-tutors online. The mentor-tutor might be a local business person or community gardener.

Projects that support lessons from school could be developed by network team members who sign on to support a particular student or students. This may take the form of designing a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure type of project or perhaps an entrepreneurial project to get healthy food into the community or even an internship.

Business or Implementation Model: This new learning environment and curriculum would tap into existing frameworks like the Let's Move initiative supported by First Lady Michelle Obama. Corporate social responsibility would also be a part of funding and managing it as sponsorships who be available for companies like Whole Foods and non-profit organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. To ensure that this learning environment is a physical presence in communities, partnerships could also be established with corporations like Starbucks or 7-Eleven that have almost ubiquitous existence. The key would be to get students, parents, and schools to connect to people who could support the remedial needs of students and to create partnerships with local restaurants and food producers who are interest in education.