THE SCHOOL GARDEN: A LEARNING RESOURCE IN TEACHER TRAINING

This paper shows an educational experience whose aim has been to improve the training of future teachers through the implementation of specific teacher skills. In this educational experience teachers and students at different educational levels have worked together. Thus, among the teachers we can fund both Primary school teachers, and university teachers. And among students, students at different levels of Primary studies and inner students in the Department of Didactics of Experimental Sciences and Social Sciences Faculty of Education at the University of Seville who are currently studying Childhood or Elementary studies degree.

With this experience we want to make clear the need for teacher training where the important thing would be to integrate both, the theoretical and the practical through action and reflection. So we've opted for the didactic model Research School when designing and implementing new teaching materials designed. Specifically educational experience revolves around the implementation of a school garden which our communication has been about, with reference to national and international experiences in the middle school and Primary Education “Olivar de Quinto” in Seville, during the academic year 2012/21013.

A school garden is not intended to train small farmers, and produce food without more, but it is an activity that simulates what happens in real farming so that students can learn concepts, attitudes and procedures related to curriculum areas and with cross-curricular areas related to this focus. The school garden is considered a teaching resource in the context of a research methodology that can be used in many different ways, which is a flexible and open to the objectives, so that each classroom can use the school garden in different ways, about getting involved in the project in accordance with the interests of different sectors of the educational community.