InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Future of Food > Student Materials > Section 2: Environmental Dynamics and Drivers > Module 6: Crops > Goals and Learning Objectives
InTeGrate's Earth-focused Modules and Courses for the Undergraduate Classroom
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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For the Instructor

These student materials complement the Future of Food Instructor Materials. If you would like your students to have access to the student materials, we suggest you either point them at the Student Version which omits the framing pages with information designed for faculty (and this box). Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in your course website or local Learning Managment System. Learn more about using, modifying, and sharing InTeGrate teaching materials.

Goals and Learning Objectives

Goals

  • Describe key features of categories of crop plants and how they are adapted to environmental and ecological factors.
  • Explain how soil and climatic features determine what crops can be produced in a location, and how humans may alter an environment for crop production.
  • Classify environments as high or low resource environments and interpret how both environmental and socio-economic factors contribute to crop plant selection (coupled human-nature systems); and the pros and cons of the cultivation of various crop types.

Learning Objectives

After completing this module, students will be able to:

  • Define annual and perennial crops and list some examples of annual and perennial crops.
  • Distinguish and explain why annual or perennial crops are cultivated in high resource or resource-limited environments.
  • Explain some ways that farmers alter the environment to produce annual or perennial crops.
  • Name some major crop plant families with some example crops.
  • Explain the nutrient significance of legumes.
  • Describe key plant physiological processes and how climate change may influence crop plant growth and yield.
  • Classify major crop plants into types including plant families, temperature adaptation, and photosynthetic pathways.
  • Formulate an explanation of the advantages and disadvantages of producing annual and perennial crops.
  • Interpret what environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic factors influence what crops farmers produce.
  • Distinguish some environmental, ecological and socioeconomic advantages and disadvantages of producing types of crops.


These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »