The STTA focused on the educational activities of the Booker T. Washington Institute and Grand Bassa Community Colleges in order to assess current service-learning and community engagement activities. The STTA conducted an assessment of service-learning at BWI and presented a seminar on service-learning. The STTA also met with the faculty of Grand Bassa Community College and evaluated the Farmer Resource Center that GBCC was negotiating to incorporate into its educational mission and to also engage the local community. The STTA also evaluated the condition of the soils lab at the UL Fendall campus.
OBJECTIVES
During the assignment, the Land Laboratory and Service-Learning Specialist will work with the Vocational Training and Non-Formal Education Specialist (VTNFES), Dr. Dennis Eaton, in coordination with the Ministries of Education and Agriculture to contribute to the development of vocational agriculture programs focused on youth.
The Specialist will:
- Conduct an appraisal of the Land Laboratory (hands-on science) programs and service-learning activities at the Booker Washington Institute, Nimba Community College, and Grand Bassa Community College;
- Develop protocols and procedures to engage students in service-learning activities linked to formal classroom instruction at the Vocational Centers of Excellence;
- Conduct service-learning workshops for vocational instructors and administrators;
- Explore the development and strengthening of the Land Laboratories and integrating into formal classroom instruction at the Center of Excellence;
- Conduct workshops on hands-on science (gardening) applications and implementation in the Centers of Excellence as needed.
DELIVERABLES
- Assessment report of the Land Laboratory and service-learning and recommendations and proposed revisions at all institutions.
- Report on hands-on science and/or service-learning workshops for vocational instructors and administrators.
- Provide the vocational training centers with guidelines and/or materials for developing, and implementing service-learning opportunities.
- Recommend ways to strengthen the connection between formal classroom instruction and the Land Laboratory at the Centers’ of Excellence.
- Recommend how to integrate service-learning as an integral component of the Vocational Education programs.
- Submit and present (e.g. power-point presentation) a preliminary trip report with meeting notes and recommendations to the DAI/FED Project Office before the IDS’s departure for the United States.
- A final trip will be submitted within seven days of his departure.