Cultivating learning, teacher’s vegetable garden makes science fun

Step into Jonathan Ferrell’s sixth-grade science class at Briarwood Elementary in the Shawnee Mission School District and you may forget that you are in a room full of 11-and 12-year-olds.

The sight of these students hard at work on their school-issued computer tablets, seated on a couch or at a small table gives the place the look and feel of a cool tech startup company rather than a classroom. That’s because there’s nothing traditional about Ferrell’s teaching style.

Ferrell, who was one of eight finalists for the Kansas Teacher of the Year award for 2017, has taken everything you think you know about education and turned it upside down. In this classroom, innovation is the name of the game.

“The way education used to be isn’t compatible with the world now,” Ferrell said. “You can’t just memorize everything. I believe in empowering students to take ownership of their learning. If I can equip them to learn on their own they will be equipped for success outside the classroom.”

In Ferrell’s classroom, this takes the form of student-driven projects like building a robot or writing their very own novel. It’s also seen in things like Ferrell’s “genius hour projects,” where students choose a topic they are passionate about, research it, interview experts in the field and then write a report and present it to their classmates.

Briarwood Elementary principal Chris Lash has seen firsthand how Ferrell helps make learning relevant to his students.

“Kids are constantly engaged in their learning because he individualizes their learning.” Lash said. “He lets them do things they are interested in.”

On one recent visit to Ferrell’s class, students were preparing a lesson on coding that they were going to teach to fourth graders at the school.

“Do you feel ready?” Ferrell asked one of his students as they made final tweaks to their presentation.

Having his students pass on their knowledge about computer coding to younger students is one method that Ferrell uses to keep his students engaged in their subject matter.

Talk to his students and you realize his methods are working.

“In the past, school could sometimes be kind of boring,” sixth grader Abby Stein said. “But now I get to think more and be more creative. I’m really excited for school now.”

“He makes science fun,” sixth grader May Valdez said. “He’s just a wonderful teacher.”

One of the ways Ferrell tries to make science fun is by growing vegetables in his classroom using a a hydroponic garden, allowing students to grow vegetables without soil or sunlight. Once the vegetables are harvested, Ferrell wraps up the lesson by having a class salad day as a way of encouraging healthy eating.

Ferrell uses other innovative tools and technology like a 3D printer to help bring excitement to his science lessons. Students use CAD software to design replacement parts for everyday broken items like a water bottle and then print out the part on the 3D printer. According to Ferrell, it’s just another way for students to solve real-life problems.

“I want them to no longer view school as a passive experience but that they are the drivers of their learning,” Ferrell said. “And being in charge of their learning will overflow into their lives.”

Ferrell’s journey to becoming a public school teacher is kind of surprising given that he didn’t step foot into a public elementary school classroom until he was a college student at Kansas State. Ferrell was homeschooled for his entire K-12 education.

Ferrell, 33, graduated from K-State with a degree in elementary education. He has a master’s degree in educational technology from Pittsburg State University.

He’s taught in the Shawnee Mission School District for the last three years. Before that, he spent seven years teaching in the Gardner Edgerton School District.

Ferrell said his homeschool background has helped him to look at learning differently than someone who was educated in a traditional classroom. And that in turn has helped him to find new ways to inspire his students.

“My goal is cultivate a love of learning that will last a lifetime,” Ferrell said. “When done right, learning should be fun.”

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Cultivating learning, teacher’s vegetable garden makes science fun."