Agricultural Teacher Education Programs Research Articles

Technical agriculture skills teachers need to teach courses in the animal systems pathway

Fundamentally, agricultural teacher education programs and their faculty are tasked with preparing competent teachers capable of teaching students enrolled in public schools. As part of their design, an important facet of these programs is ensuring pre-service teachers are ready to provide educational opportunities in aspects of school-based agricultural education (SBAE), including teaching technical agriculture skills to students. We used a three-round Delphi technique to identify the technical agriculture skills SBAE teachers in Illinois and Iowa need to effectively teach courses in the Animal Systems pathway within the broader Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR) Career Cluster. Thirty-four SBAE teachers who were nominated by state-level SBAE leaders and other SBAE teachers in their states contributed data for our study. Twenty-two teachers participated in all three rounds. In total, we identified 35 technical agriculture skill items. To help ensure teachers are competent and prepared to teach courses in the Animal Systems pathway, we outline several approaches agricultural teacher educators should contemplate: (1) facilitating opportunities to foster technical agriculture skill development within agricultural teacher education programs, (2) collaborating with agricultural faculty who teach technical agriculture courses to pre-service teachers, and (3) using our list of 35 skills to facilitate future scholarly investigation on the topic. While not generalizable beyond the SBAE teachers in these two states, we do believe our findings have value for SBAE stakeholders. To overcome the limitation of generalizability and to delve deeper into teachers’ technical agriculture skill needs, we suggest that our study be replicated in other states.

Comparison of preservice teachers’ time allocation and performance evaluations while student teaching: An exploratory study

Student teachers’ experiences during their internship are crucial in their development as a teacher. In agricultural teacher education programs, it is common for student teachers to record where their time is allocated each week on categorized timesheets. The purpose of this study was to examine the preservice teachers' performance over the 14-week student teaching experience and how their performance was affected based on their weekly allocation of time. It was found that hours spent on observation had a small, positive effect on teacher professionalism and reflective and autonomous practitioner performance constructs. In addition, hours logged for direct student contact had a small positive effect on the reflective and autonomous practitioner construct. However, the measures of model fit suggest that these effects were trivial. Time allocations were excessive and sporadic. Therefore, discussion regarding the expectations of appropriate thresholds and distributions of time for student teachers and trainings on time management strategies should be conducted across the profession. Additionally, continued research should be conducted on student teachers’ time allocation and its effect on their performance.

Technical Agriculture Skills Teachers Need to Teach Courses in the Plant Systems Pathway

Agricultural teacher education programs are designed to prepare competent teachers who are ready to teach students in public schools. One aspect of agricultural teacher education is ensuring teachers are ready to lead instruction in various aspects of school-based agricultural education (SBAE), such as teaching students various technical agriculture skills. As part of a larger study, we used a three-round Delphi study to identify the technical agriculture skills SBAE teachers in Illinois and Iowa need to effectively teach courses in the Plant Systems pathway within the broader Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR) Career Cluster. A panel of 27 experienced SBAE teachers nominated by their colleagues contributed data for our study. Eighteen teachers participated in all three rounds. At the conclusion of our Delphi study, we identified 82 technical agriculture skills. To help ensure teachers are competent and prepared to teach courses in the Plant Systems pathway, we suggest several approaches agricultural teacher educators should consider: (1) facilitating opportunities to implement technical agriculture skill development opportunities within agricultural teacher education programs, (2) engaging with agricultural faculty who teach technical agriculture courses to pre-service teachers, and (3) using our list of 82 skills as a springboard to facilitate future scholarly inquiry on the topic. While our results are not generalizable beyond the SBAE teachers in Illinois and Iowa, we do believe our findings are valuable to SBAE stakeholders. To enhance generalizability and provide a more thorough exploration of teachers’ technical agriculture skill needs, replication of our study should occur in other states.

A Regional Study of the Agricultural Mechanics Knowledge and Skills Needed by School-based Agricultural Education Teachers

A priority of agricultural teacher education programs is to develop technically competent, prepared school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers. SBAE teachers should be knowledgeable in various agricultural subject matter, such as agricultural mechanics. Using Roberts and Ball’s (2009) Content-based Model for Teaching Agriculture as the conceptual framework for our study, we used a three-round Delphi technique to identify the agricultural mechanics knowledge and skills SBAE teachers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas need to successfully teach agricultural mechanics courses. Spread across all four states, a panel of 47 SBAE teachers with expertise in agricultural mechanics contributed data for our study. Thirty-five teachers participated in all three rounds. After all three rounds were completed, 71 technical agricultural mechanics knowledge and skill items (e.g., circular saw use, computer numerical control [CNC] systems use, etc.) and 49 agricultural mechanics “teacher skill” / laboratory management knowledge and skill items (e.g., budget management, developing a student traffic control system, etc.) were identified. We recommend various efforts to help expand teachers’ competence in these items should be undertaken within these states, including: (1) establishing and expanding partnerships with agricultural industry stakeholders to provide professional development opportunities for SBAE teachers, (2) realigning agricultural teacher education courses and experiences to better reflect teachers’ agricultural mechanics knowledge and skill needs, and (3) facilitating opportunities for teachers to develop competence in agricultural mechanics through SBAE teacher-led training. To help provide systematic, consistent examination of teacher competence needs in agricultural mechanics, replication of our study should occur at regular intervals.

Supervised Agricultural Experience Instruction in Agricultural Teacher Education Programs: A National Descriptive Study

Faculty in agricultural teacher education programs are responsible for preparing future teachers to lead effective school-based agricultural education programs. However, agriculture teachers are having difficulty implementing supervised agricultural experience (SAE), even though they value it conceptually as a program component. In an effort to improve SAE instruction in teacher education, the American Association for Agricultural Education has adopted a guiding philosophy and competencies for teacher preparation in SAE. Using these documents, the purpose of this national descriptive study was to identify where and to what extent SAE instruction was included within agricultural teacher education curriculum and describe the level of SAE instruction occurring in agricultural teacher education programs in the United States. Findings of this study indicate that there was a broad range in the level of instruction occurring for each of these competencies among teacher education programs. These results provide a snapshot of one- moment-in-time and serve as a starting point for a conversation about how supervised agricultural experience should be taught in agricultural teacher education. It is recommended that supervised agricultural experience competencies be taught using inquiry-based or problem-solving methods guided by the experiential learning process.

Preservice Agricultural Education Teachers’ Mathematics Ability

The purpose of this study was to examine the mathematics ability of the nation’s preservice agricultural education teachers. Based on the results of this study, preservice teachers were not proficient in solving agricultural mathematics problems, and agricultural teacher education programs require basic and intermediate mathematics as their minimum mathematics coursework requirements. Furthermore, preservice teachers that completed an advanced mathematics course in high school and/or college obtained higher mathematics ability scores. However, a small percentage completed an advanced mathematics course. In addition, preservice teachers that received an A in their highest completed college mathematics course also obtained higher mathematics ability scores. Moreover, 39% of the variance in mathematics ability was explained by completion of an advanced mathematics course in college, a grade of an A in highest level of mathematics completed in college, and being a preservice teacher at University 7, 8, and 9. Based on the data collected in this study, the nation’s teacher education programs may need to further evaluate their mathematics coursework requirements.

Agricultural Education Early Field Experience Through the Lens of the EFE Model

The purpose of this national study was to describe agricultural teacher education early field experience (EFE) practices using the EFE model. The population for this study was all agricultural education teacher preparation programs (N = 83) listed in the AAAE Directory of University Faculty in Agricultural Education. Data were collected via an online survey sent to a single point of contact (i.e., the agricultural teacher education coordinator) at each institution. For this study, EFE was defined as all field experiences that occur prior to student teaching; the experiences could be offered within or outside of the agricultural education curriculum. Programs required a minimum number of contact hours and a minimum number of lessons to be taught while in the field. The most common forms of assessment were the university supervisor’s review of documents, cooperating teacher signatures, reflective writing, and student journaling. This study has implications for agricultural teacher education programs that are planning to evaluate or revamp their current EFE programs. Developing consistency across programs will provide a better experience for all students involved in agricultural education EFE

Purposes, Activities, and Documentation of Early Field Experience in Agricultural Teacher Education: A National Delphi Study

The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify the purpose, expected outcomes, and methods of documenting preservice teacher early field experience (EFE) activities in agricultural teacher education programs. A Delphi technique was used to electronically collect data via email and SurveyMonkey®. An expert panel was established and after three rounds of questioning, the panel identified 16 purpose statements, 14 activities and 9 methods of documenting EFE. The findings of this study, as established by a panel of experts who reached consensus, indicated that EFE should be documented via a combination of journaling and portfolio development. The verification of these documents should be completed by the cooperating teacher and through university assessments. Documentation of an EFE experience can be accomplished through journaling, cooperating teacher signature, reflective paper or a review of collective documents. The results of this study can be used to modify and improve EFE by clarifying the purpose, activities and ways of documented activities in agricultural teacher education programs. This study will aid the profession in providing a more congruent EFE experience for preservice teachers.

Leadership Courses Required in Agricultural Teacher Education Programs

Leadership development has been an important component of secondary agricultural education programs since the FFA was first organized in 1928. Student leadership development continues to occur through the FFA; however, leadership has also become an element of the agricultural education instructional program. There was a need to examine how agriculture teachers are being prepared to teach about leadership. This study was conducted to describe leadership courses required in agricultural teacher education programs throughout the United States. Most agricultural teacher education programs did not require courses in leadership. Furthermore, for programs that required leadership coursework, the content topics, grading components, and required textbooks varied widely. Required leadership courses were typically taught in the same department that administered the agricultural teacher preparation program. Based on findings of this study, agricultural teacher educators need to identify a core of leadership content topics that should be taught in secondary agricultural education programs in order to ensure that agricultural teacher education candidates are adequately prepared to teach leadership. Programs that do not require leadership courses should examine their curriculum to determine if their teacher candidates are adequately prepared to teach leadership content in a secondary agricultural education program.

Preparing Future Secondary Agricultural Education Teachers To Work With Students With Learning Disabilities: Reports from Teacher Educators

Secondary agricultural education programs are enrolling increasing numbers of students with various disabilities. One consequence is that pre–service teachers are expressing a need for additional preparation to work with such students. This study was conducted to examine the preparation that pre– service teachers receive to work with students with learning disabilities in secondary agricultural education programs. The target population for the study was agricultural teacher educators who plan and in some situations, deliver such preparation. An instrument was mailed to a purposive sample of 84 teacher educators in the fall of 2006. As a result, 63 were returned for a 75% response rate. The respondents reported the cooperative pairs/groups teaching technique and the extra/extended time accommodation as most covered in their teacher education programs. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001was the federal legislation pre–service teachers felt was most covered in their program to prepare them to implement in the secondary setting. A majority (73%) of the respondents indicated that their pre– service teachers must complete at least one special education course. It is recommended that when a special education course is not offered by another department, agricultural teacher education programs should offer a course within the department.

Early Field Experience Documents In Agricultural Education

The purpose of this study was to describe the means by which early field experience (EFE) is implemented within the context of agricultural teacher education.A content analysis using course documents obtained directly from each program's teacher education coordinator was determined to be the most appropriate method to accomplish the purpose and objectives of this study.Thirty-eight of the 82 agricultural teacher education programs responded by providing 57 unique, usable EFE documents. The study found that the most common purposes articulated in these documents were career exploration and observation.Secondary purposes of EFE were instruction and assisting in the classroom.The primary activities to achieve the purposes of EFE were observation, practice teaching, and reflection.A major finding of this study was that over three-fourths of the programs refer to observation as both a purpose and an activity.It is recommended that teacher education programs develop EFE programs that go beyond exploration and, using the established professional EFE standards, require more than non-academic, procedural-based activities.Programs could benefit from the development of EFE programs into a sound educational component focused on the application of professional and pedagogical knowledge and the development of critical reflection and higher-order thinking skills.

Early Field Experience In Agricultural Education: A National Descriptive Study

The purpose of this study was to describe the nature of early field experience (EFE) in agricultural teacher education programs nationally. A descriptive census survey of all active agricultural teacher education programs in the country was used for this study. The fact that nearly all agricultural teacher education programs require EFE indicates that EFE is valued as an important component of teacher education programs. It was discovered that multiple early field experiences are required at multiple classification levels. The primary responsibility for EFE and the associated administrative tasks are placed on faculty within the agricultural teacher education program. Similarities regarding EFE requirements seem to end at broad, categorical levels. Most programs report having requirements; however, the means by which each program fulfills the requirements are considerably different. Teacher licensure, as well as state and national teacher education accreditation, influences procedural and minimum EFE requirements. This study provides the foundation for further research. Additional research is needed to identify the purposes and outcomes of EFE and determine the extent to which student learning occurs.

AGRICULTURE TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS: A SYNTHESIS OF THE LITERATURE

The role of teacher education programs and the demand placed upon those programs is changing. This study sought to synthesize research related to pre-service agricultural teacher education programs in the following areas: (1) demographics of teacher educators, (2) demographics of teacher education programs, (3) responsibilities of teacher education programs, (4) student selection, (5) preservice curriculum, (6) teacher education program models, and (7) field experiences. After a review of the literature in these areas, deficiencies in the current literature base were identified.

Clinical Experiences For Agricultural Teacher Education Programs In North Carolina, South Carolina, & Virginia

The purpose of this study was to build a task list for the clinical experience program for the agricultural teacher education programs in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The objectives were to: (1) compile a list of clinical experiences, both early field and student teaching, that currently are provided in the clinical experiences for students of agricultural education in three selected teacher education programs, and (2) determine which tasks should be included for both the early field and student teaching experiences. A modified Delphi technique was used to collect data via three questionnaires. Data were analyzed using mean scores and standard deviations of tasks rated on a five point Likert-type scale. Those tasks that the panelists rated with a standard deviation of less than or equal to one were considered to have met consensus, as suggested by Shinn (1998). The population for this study consisted of agriculture teachers, secondary school administrators, agricultural education field staff, and agricultural education teacher educators from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Thirty-four Delphi panel members were purposively selected from the population. Thirty-one panel members responded to Round I, 33 panel members responded to Round II, and 29 responded to Round III yielding an overall response rate of 92%. Rounds I, II, and III resulted in 102 tasks for early field and student teaching experiences that met consensus. Based on the findings, the researcher developed a task list for early field experiences and student teaching experiences to be considered for use by the agricultural education programs in the three cooperating states.

AN EXAMINATION OF SELECTED PRESERVICE AGRICULTURAL TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN THE UNITED STATES

The researchers surveyed department heads of purposefully selected agricultural teacher education programs to determine the curricular structure of agricultural teacher education in the United States. Nominations of programs to examine were sought from members of the profession. Graduation checklists and course syllabi for all professional agricultural education courses were analyzed. The authors concluded that programs vary greatly across the country. Courses on teaching methods and program and curriculum planning are generally available. Separate courses on serving as FFA advisors or in managing Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) programs are offered in only a few of the selected institutions. FFA was listed as a topic in 9 of the 10 institutions. SAE, or an equivalent topic was listed in all of the institutions studied. The authors offer a potential composite structure based on the programs studied.

Peer Rankings Of The Leading Agricultural Teacher Education Programs

Peer Rankings Of The Leading Agricultural Teacher Education Programs

An Assessment Of Agricultural Mechanics Safety Instruction Conducted At Agricultural Teacher Education Programs Across The United States

An Assessment Of Agricultural Mechanics Safety Instruction Conducted At Agricultural Teacher Education Programs Across The United States