Using Inquiry to Develop Agricultural Education Preservice Teachers' Disciplinary Literacy Pedagogy

Abstract

In this study, we examined using a Disciplinary Literacy Project (DLP) to develop secondary agricultural education preservice teachers’ disciplinary literacy perspectives and practices. Our findings revealed that the three preservice teachers developed a deeper understanding of agricultural literacies and applied this knowledge in different ways to scaffold students’ engagement with discipline- specific practices. Implications include that disciplinary literacy inquiry projects can strengthen beginning teachers’ understanding of discipline-specific literacy practices and habits of thinking and encourage teachers to scaffold their students in authentic disciplinary practices.