Gordon Wallangas completed MPhil studies at the School of Agriculture & Environment, Curtin University and now teaches Agriculture Education, Agriculture Extension and Farm Management in the School of Science & Technology, University of Goroka. His thesis was on farmers’ learning styles and agricultural skills training and adoption experiences. Four sets of combined learning styles - reflector-pragmatist, activist-pragmatist, activist-reflector, and no-preference and several key factors that restricted Eastern Highlands farmers’ training, learning, and adoption of learned skills were identified. The sample was small (150) and the learning styles study was conducted for the first time in EHP, hence the findings are preliminary. His Honours project was on the importance of sufficient energy intake at breakfast to learning achievement of Secondary school students.His other educational qualifications includes a diploma in agriculture, a BSc Agriculture degree (incomplete), a diploma in teaching agriculture, and a B. Ed degree and supervision management certificate. His work experiences to-date are a 6-month with the Plantation division of NGIP company, 10 years with Ramu Sugar Limited as a Crop Production supervisor and Section manager and agricultural teacher in Secondary schools for 3 years. He joined the UOG in 2001 and, from 2004 onward, has been initiating and providing leadership to the development and advancement of agriculture education and extension programs and facilities as well as linking the University for collaborative partnership in teaching, research and extension with key national and international agricultural institutions and industries.

Agriculture Education, Agriculture Extension & Farm Management.

Current Research Project
2015 - 2016: Extension training experiences and learning styles of smallholder farmers of East Sepik Province.

Publications

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2012: Learning styles and extension training experiences of smallholder farmers of the Eastern Highlands                    Province of Papua New Guinea. Unpublished MPhil thesis. Curtin University. 

2016: The Coffee Curriculum: A preliminary evaluation report on the pilot trialling of the curriculum in thirty                schools. Paper written and will be submitted to UOG Journal of Postgraduate Studies and Research.

Conference Papers
2004: Teacher as an agent and school as a vehicle for agricultural extension in Papua New Guinea’. National                Agriculture Extension and Policy Summit, PNG University of Technology.

2011: Learning styles and extension training experiences of smallholder farmers of the Eastern Highlands                    Province of Papua New Guinea. Science & Technology Conference. University of Natural Resources and                        Environment.

2013: Preliminary evaluation report of the performance of coffee curriculum in the 30 pilot schools. National            Education Conference. University of Goroka.