Agricultural service providers seek to help farmers and ranchers adopt complex skills. Yet most of us were never trained in how people learn. As a result, we rely on familiar tools such as lectures, panels, and case studies. The outcome is predictable: strong participation, positive evaluations, and limited long-term adoption of the very skills we aim to build.
This is not for lack of effort, commitment, or passion. Rather, it is often due to a limited understanding of learning science. The research is clear: how we teach matters just as much as what we teach.
This interactive "Ask the Expert" session moves beyond theory by helping participants apply learning science directly to their own programs. Participants are invited to bring examples of their own educational programs and receive guided, evidence-informed feedback on how to incorporate effective active learning strategies. The emphasis is on practical application rather than passive information transfer, enabling participants to identify realistic improvements they can implement immediately.
The session begins with a brief overview of how adults acquire, retain, and transfer complex knowledge and skills, followed by a discussion of active-learning approaches shown to improve engagement, retention, and adoption. Participants will then work through their own programming challenges with facilitated peer discussion and expert coaching.
Participants will leave with:
- Evidence-based instructional strategies that strengthen learning and long-term skill adoption in agricultural financial management education.
- A practical understanding of core learning science principles and their application to program design.
- Concrete revisions and next steps that can be implemented immediately within their own educational programs.
