Case study: strategies for creative writing and team activities

Students in technical agriculture courses need to develop an intuitive grasp of content material and critical thinking skills to be able to apply technical material when they enter the business and professional world. Skills in communications, team dynamics, and leadership are also critical to the success of students beyond the classroom. This paper describes two instructional projects which were designed to address these needs. Both projects involved students working with problems in the community and developing diagnoses and recommendations utilizing writing and critical thinking activities at the individual, small team, and whole-class levels.