Considerations for Program Delivery

 

Community Partnerships Involve Using Local Farms and Farmers to Learn

 

Throughout this program, pork producers, livestock equipment and machinery dealers, and pork or livestock specialists are recommended as resource persons to enhance student learning and to provide practical experience.  Students should also use related livestock production businesses and services such as:

·        feed mills

·        livestock auction markets

·        producer organizations

·        farm building contractors

·        veterinarians

·        short-line equipment manufacturers or machinery dealers.

 

Teachers will need to seek assistance from pork producers in the community in order to provide opportunities for practical experience and to use as resources as required.  Adjustments should be made to accommodate the particular circumstances of the community as well as the related experiences of the students.

 

Work study opportunities are a requirement of the course (e.g., 25 to 50 hours per credit).

 

Instructional Resources

 

There are a wide variety of resources to support the instruction of pork production.  Students should develop skills in finding and using the most current information on topics relating to pork production. 

 

Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization is the most important source of current resources.  Resources can be ordered from the Publication Distribution Centre Order Desk by telephone at (306) 721-4330, by fax at (306) 721-4626 or by e-mail at Valb.pad@sk.sympatico.ca.  Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization’s web site is http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca.

 

Instructional Strategies and Methods

 

Pork Production 10, 20 encourages the use of the following instructional strategies and methods.  Consult Saskatchewan Learning’s foundation document Instructional Approaches: A Framework for Practice (1991), for additional information.  Many methods are recommended for use with the ATEC program.

 

experiential

·        field trips

·        field observations

·        job shadowing.

 

interactive

·        presentations including on-site demonstrations or symposiums

·        discussions

·        mentoring with co-operating farmers-trainers.

independent learning

·        learning contracts

·        student reference manuals.

           

Learning contracts and the creation of Student Reference Manuals are of particular importance in the ATEC Program.

                       

Learning Contracts

 

Pork Production 10, 20 is designed for more individualized exploration, and application of skills and abilities through on-site practice with working farmers or on-site trainers.  Learning contracts should be used to organize the on-site practice with the foundational and learning objectives required by the modules throughout the course.  Examples of learning contracts can be found in Saskatchewan Learning’s foundation document, Student Evaluation: A Teacher Handbook (1991).

 

Student Reference Manual

 

The purpose of the Student Reference Manual is to be a repository of useful, work-site reference material collected throughout the course and throughout the various levels.  The Student Reference Manual provides an exhibit of a student’s effort, progress, and achievement over a period of time.  The manual should be organized so that it is clearly useful to the individual student.

 

Throughout each level, students are requested to prepare material to insert and maintain in the manual.  The manual should be evaluated on accuracy, completeness, usefulness, organization and presentation of the material.