Marshall Baker is an assistant professor at North Carolina State University, where his research focuses on experiential learning as a mechanism for building and growing rural youth and communities.
Dr. Baker was raised in rural America on a family farm, where he developed his passion for agriculture, experiential approaches to learning, and the role of public education in building rural vitality. Marshall received both a Master of Science degree and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida, focusing on educational psychology and agricultural education. He received his Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University, where his award-winning dissertation explored the causal effects of an experiential approach to learning.
His professional experiences include serving as the director of youth leadership for the National Future Farmers of America organization, teaching at an inner-city school for at-risk youth under the Big Picture teaching framework, teaching at a large high school in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and ultimately serving as the lead principal of a large public school in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He also was elected to the Stillwater Board of Education, where he served the district for two years. Dr. Baker served as an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University before moving to North Carolina State University.
In his current role, Dr. Baker teaches an undergraduate course in experiential learning, has published more than 20 articles related to experiential learning, and has secured over 3 million dollars in external funding focused on developing more experiential curriculum and methods of teacher preparation.