Where Do We Learn?: A Multi-Site Case Study of Learning Spaces of Rural Schools and Agricultural Education Programs in Oklahoma

Abstract

This multi-site case study explored the experiential learning theory concept of learning spaces (Kolb & Kolb, 2017), in the context of rural high schools and agricultural education programs in Oklahoma. Data were collected through teacher and administrator interviews, document review, photodocumentation, and observations. Data were initially coded using an eclectic coding strategy blending descriptive and in-vivo coding within the site, then theoretical coding strategies were used at the case level. In the rural, high school learning space, a total of 22 theoretical codes emerged across the five dimensions. In the rural, agricultural education learning space, a total of 18 theoretical codes emerged across the five dimensions. Themes describe the learning space using the five dimensions of psychological, social, institutional, cultural, and physical. Though the case cannot be generalized, issues of describing the dimensions of each space were resolved within the case.