Identifying the Agricultural Mechanics Knowledge and Skills Needed by Iowa School-based Agricultural Education Teachers

Abstract

A historical portion of many school-based agricultural education (SBAE) programs, agricultural mechanics remains popular in schools across the nation. As such, pre-service and in-service teachers should be prepared to effectively deliver agricultural mechanics instruction (Burris, Robinson, & Terry, 2005). Agricultural education researchers Pate, Warnick, & Meyers, 2012) have identified many laboratory management competencies and welding skills that teachers should have; however, few knowledge and skill areas in other components of agricultural mechanics (e.g., woodworking, electricity, etc.) have been identified. Through the lens of Roberts and Ball's (2009) content-based model for teaching agriculture, we used the Delphi technique to identify the agricultural mechanics knowledge and skills that Iowa SBAE teachers should possess to provide quality instruction. A panel of 10 expert Iowa SBAE teachers provided the data for the present study. After three rounds, a total of 85 items reached consensus, which included 35 technical skills (e.g., plasma cutting, etc.) and 49 "teacher skills"/laboratory management skills (e.g., ordering consumables). We concluded that SBAE stakeholders in Iowa should ensure that teachers are prepared to teach agricultural mechanics via coursework and professional development opportunities. We recommend that this study be replicated in other states.

Preservice Teachers’ Conceptualizations of Agricultural Mechanics

“…These results are encouraging, as preservice teachers sometimes struggle with the complexities of teaching agricultural mechanics (Tummons et al, 2017). Agricultural mechanics is broad (Hainline & Wells, 2019), in-depth, and popular in many SBAE programs (Burris et al, 2005). Thus, it is imperative preservice teachers continue to be exposed to positive experiences related to agricultural mechanics, particularly within agricultural teacher preparation programs (Burris et al, 2005).…”

“…Thus, instruction in agricultural mechanics is common (Burris et al, 2005). As a curriculum area, agricultural mechanics can include a variety of topics, including safety, small gas engines, welding and metal fabrication, electricity, carpentry and woodworking, advanced technologies such as global positioning systems (GPS), and more (Burris et al, 2005;Hainline & Wells, 2019;Shultz et al, 2014). Regarding the educational value and utility of this curriculum area, agricultural mechanics can serve as a useful, practical, and handson context for academic content instruction and reinforcement (Parr et al, 2006), problem-solving (Pate & Miller, 2011), and hypothesis generation (Blackburn & Robinson, 2016).…”

“…A wide range of agricultural mechanics topics are regarded as important to teach (Shultz et al, 2014). As such, SBAE teachers must be prepared to deliver instruction within multiple agricultural mechanics subject matter areas (Burris et al, 2005;Hainline & Wells, 2019). Recent studies have examined different aspects of agricultural mechanics and provide greater specificity regarding teachers' needs and abilities.…”

“…Saucier et al (2014) sought to "describe the laboratory safety professional development needs of agricultural mechanics teachers" (p. 187) while Pate et al (2012) identified various knowledge and skills SBAE teachers need to successfully deliver welding-related curricula. More broadly, Hainline and Wells (2019) determined a list of agricultural mechanics knowledge and skills important for SBAE teachers in Iowa to be competent in. Each of these studies provided numerous competencies SBAE teachers need when teaching agricultural mechanics.…”

Examining Teachers' Agricultural Mechanics Professional Development Needs: A National Study

“…Agricultural mechanics courses are traditionally taught within many SBAE programs (Burris et al, 2005;Phipps et al, 2008) and are popular choices for many students (Valdez & Johnson, 2020). Teaching agricultural mechanics courses requires that SBAE teachers have knowledge and skills in numerous topics, such as maintaining power equipment, teaching students how to properly perform welding procedures, and safely performing agricultural mechanics activities (Albritton & Roberts, 2020;Hainline & Wells, 2019). Scholars (Chumbley et al, 2018;Dyer & Andreasen, 1999;McKim & Saucier, 2011a;McKim & Saucier, 2012;Saucier et al, 2014) have indicated SBAE teachers must competently provide safe environments for effective agricultural mechanics instruction to take place.…”