Teachers’ Use of Agricultural Laboratories in Secondary Agricultural Education

Abstract

Trends in the agriculture industry require students to have the ability to solve problems associated with scientific content. Agricultural laboratories are considered a main component of secondary agricultural education, and are well suited to provide students with opportunities to develop problem-solving skills through experiential learning. This study serves to examine the current availability and use of agricultural laboratories in secondary agricultural education, as well as their relationship to teacher perceptions regarding student learning, preparation requirements, and barriers to their use. Findings indicate that while many facilities are available and frequently used during instruction, teacher perceptions of student learning, preparation requirements, and barriers vary by facility.

Does Prior Experience in Secondary Agricultural Mechanics Affect Pre-service Agricultural Education Teachers' Intentions to Enroll in Post-secondary Agricultural Mechanics Coursework?

“…Thus, in order to provide maximum opportunities for cognitive growth in agricultural mechanics, quality instruction should continue at both the secondary and post-secondary levels (Burris et al, 2005;Hubert & Leising, 2000). Experiential learning provided through laboratory experiences remains a dominant and effective tool in agricultural education (Roberts, 2006;Shoulders & Myers, 2012). Thus, research should be conducted to determine if high-quality experiential learning is currently taking place in secondary and post-secondary agricultural mechanics coursework and laboratory experiences.…”

“…Student interests are in a perpetual state of change, thereby demanding that curricula be updated often to reflect those changes (Sutphin & Newsom-Stewart, 1995). Challenging handson learning experiences (particularly in courses that utilize learning laboratories extensively, such as agricultural mechanics) provide methods through which teachers can replicate real-world situations and students can experience practical, industry-based educational settings (Shoulders & Myers, 2012). Increasing the rigor of secondary agricultural mechanics coursework could help to address changing student interests through movement away from traditional production-oriented agricultural education curricula and toward coursework that emphasizes theory and application (Parr et al, 2009), thereby increasing students' utility of the agricultural mechanics curriculum.…”

“…Perhaps teachers' preparation and experience in agricultural mechanics (or lack thereof) may have hindered the educational potential of the mechanics laboratory. As laboratories remain an important component of agricultural education programs (Phipps, Osborne, Dyer, & Ball, 2008;Shoulders & Myers, 2012), it is vital that quality learning experiences occur within those environments to provide students with high-quality agricultural education instruction. Robust secondary and post-secondary programs must be present to prepare the next generation of agricultural education teachers in a wide variety of ways (Phipps et al, 2008).…”

Determining the Effects of Reflection Type and Cognitive Style on Students' Content Knowledge

“…Inquiry-based instruction encompasses multiple dimensions of teaching and learning which demands that learners develop deep cognition while associating content knowledge to solving problems (Parr & Edwards, 2004). Incorporating laboratory experiments is a means of providing additional opportunities for teachers to increase the problem solving ability of students (Shoulders & Myers, 2012). Although opportunities exist for teachers to design rigorous laboratories that teach scientific problem solving (Parr & Edwards, 2004), little evidence exists on how they are used (Shoulders & Myers, 2012) or the effect that they have on student achievement.…”

“…If teachers desire to see effects on student performance, they must be present during the laboratory experience by constantly pushing students to reflect-in-action (Baker et al, 2014). Shoulders and Myers (2012) concluded, "Experiential learning in agricultural laboratories has been established as an ideal method to teach scientific content and problem solving skills to agriculture students . .…”