Eddy is a firm believer in providing his students with hands-on experience whenever possible. When he discovered that 75% of his students wanted to work in an animal science career field (many as veteri- narians) but none of them had experience handling animals, he jumped at an opportunity presented by the Iowa State Fair.
Every August, his students can be found working at the Iowa State Fair in the Knapp Animal Learning Center, a state-of-the-art, agriculture-based educa- tion facility. Under the supervision of Eddy and a veterinarian, these students work with hogs, goats, sheep and other livestock before, during and after the birthing process. In addition, they manage the Iowa State Fair’s 23-head cow herd throughout the year, gaining valuable hands-on experience.
Most of the classes taught by Eddy are part of the Curriculum for Ag Science Education (CASE) from the National Council for Agricultural Education. This program was designed by American ag instructors in 2009 to teach STEM concepts, including plant biol- ogy, animal science and biotechnology, while incor- porating science, mathematics and English language skills. Southeast Polk was one of three Iowa schools to participate in the inaugural CASE Animal Science Curriculum pilot.
Today, the program has grown to 1,369 teachers from 41 states, plus the Virgin Islands. “I would like to see more Iowa schools adopt this programming,” said Eddy, a CASE Master Teacher and Mentor.
This includes going beyond PowerPoint presenta- tions, lectures and textbook lessons. For instance, Eddy’s aquaculture program with barramundi fish gives students hands-on experience with food pro- duction. The program has been so successful that he is currently working to sell the small 10 x 10 system and expand to a new, larger system with all of the bells and whistles. “Our goal is to eventually have the capacity to produce greens and fish for our school’s lunch program.”
“ 10 | The Retailer Magazine | July/Aug CASE MAKES SURE
KIDS HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS IN THE TOOLBOX TO BECOME EFFECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVERS.” MATTHEW EDDY
He may be on to something. “Experts predict 9 billion people will need to be fed by 2050. How will we raise enough protein to meet the needs of this human population?
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