Abstract:
Agricultural literacy efforts are central to the vision for agricultural education as articulated by the National Council for Agricultural Education (1998). An innovative agricultural literacy project known as Pizz-A-Thon uses pizza to connect youth with agriculture. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to assess the impact of the Pizz-A-Thon project on middle school students' perception of their agricultural knowledge and on their agricultural knowledge achievement. The population for the study included 61 Iowa middle school students from three schools. Results show that students believed their agricultural knowledge increased after participating in the Pizz-A-Thon project. Results of the agricultural knowledge achievement post-test confirmed their belief. Middle school students in the ISU (Iowa State University) Pizz-A-Thon group surpassed the achievement level of those in the local Pizz-A-Thon group by 10%. The ISU group represents the highest level of participation in the project and includes additional hands-on learning activities beyond those outlined in the Pizz-A-Thon kit used at the local level. The researchers recommended that key enrichment activities unique to the ISU group be adapted for use at the local level, and training be offered to assist middle school teachers in utilizing the Pizz-A-Thon kit to its fullest potential.
Keywords:
agricultural literacy project, middle school
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