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Eric.ed.gov – Selected Effects of a Curriculum Integration Intervention on the Mathematics Performance of Secondary Students Enrolled in an Agricultural Power and Technology Course: An Experimental Study

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this study was to empirically test the posit that students who participated in a contextualized, mathematics-enhanced high school agricultural power and technology (APT) curriculum and aligned instructional approach would develop a deeper and more sustained understanding of selected mathematics concepts than those students who participated in the traditional curriculum and instruction. This study included teachers and students from 38 high schools in Oklahoma (18 experimental classrooms; 20 control classrooms). Students were enrolled in an APT course in the spring of 2004. The experimental design used was a posttest only control group; unit of analysis was the classroom. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the study’s null hypotheses. The math-enhanced curriculum and aligned instructional approach did not significantly affect (p greater than… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Exploring the Technical Expression of Academic Knowledge: The Science-in-CTE Pilot Study

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Science-in-CTE pilot study tested a curriculum integration model that enhanced the science that oc-curs in CTE curricula. The study replicated the National Research Center for Career and Technical Ed-ucation’s (NRCCTE) Math-in-CTE experimental research design (Stone, Alfeld, & Pearson, 2008) with applied science in secondary agricultural education. The semester-length study was conducted in North Dakota with secondary agricultural educators who were randomly selected to participate in the experi-mental and control groups. The experimental treatment mirrored the Math-in-CTE model of extended professional development, partnering experimental CTE group teachers with science educators, and use of a 7-element pedagogic framework. Standardized measures of science achievement were administered to students to determine the impact of the treatment on their science knowledge and skills. The results of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Sustainability of Professional Development to Enhance Student Achievement: A Shift in the Professional Development Paradigm

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this study was to describe the sustainability of professional development, specifically the teacher utilization of the Science-in-CTE pedagogical model and science-enhanced agricultural education lessons in curricula one year following the Science-in-CTE pilot study. This quasiexperimental study included 41 teachers (15 treatment agricultural education, 14 control agricultural education, and 12 science) who participated in seven days of professional development in the pilot study in 2009-2010. This study was a partial replication of the Math-in-CTE follow-up study and data were collected using a mixed methods approach. Quantitative data were obtained from online questionnaires and qualitative data were collected from personal and telephone interviews. Researchers found that a majority of the treatment agricultural education and science teachers voluntarily incorporated portions of the seven-element pedagogical model and 15… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Outcome Framework for School Garden Program Development and Evaluation: A Delphi Approach

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: School gardens programs and garden-based education are positioned to become fixtures in educational institutions given recent trends and the national interest in gardens at school sites. Agricultural education professionals have integrated school gardens into core science, social studies, math, and language arts courses as well as agricultural education programs for elementary, middle, and high school curriculum. The literature shows that while there are specific curriculum links being made, school garden programs elicit a multitude of benefits in addition to enhancing student performance. Although the literature outlines an extensive set of impacts that may result from a school garden program, they are grounded in a specific case or intervention. Those who are planning for and evaluating school garden programs are left to make connections based on case study… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Developing Self-Efficacy: Exploring Preservice Coursework, Student Teaching, and Professional Development Experiences

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: To extend current understanding of school-based agriculture teacher development, this study explored the relationship between teacher development experiences and the self-efficacy of early career agriculture teachers. Three teacher development experiences were of interest: (a) preservice coursework, (b) student teaching, and (c) professional development. Teacher development experiences were analyzed in relation to classroom management self-efficacy, instructional strategies self-efficacy, leadership self-efficacy, science teaching self-efficacy, and math teaching self-efficacy. The relationships between development experiences and self-efficacy were analyzed through five linear regressions with teacher development experiences as independent variables and the five areas of self-efficacy as separate dependent variables. Only statistically insignificant relationships were identified for classroom management self-efficacy and instructional strategies self-efficacy. Student teaching and professional development were statistically significant, positive predictors of leadership self-efficacy. Professional development was also… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Does a Math-Enhanced Curriculum and Instructional Approach Diminish Students’ Attainment of Technical Skills? A Year-Long Experimental Study in Agricultural Power and Technology

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this study was to empirically test the posit that students who participated in a contextualized, mathematics-enhanced high school agricultural power and technology (APT) curriculum and aligned instructional approach would not differ significantly (p less than 0.05) in their technical competence from students who participated in the traditional APT curriculum and instruction. This study included teachers and students from 32 high schools in Oklahoma (16 experimental classrooms; 16 control classrooms). Students were enrolled in an APT course during the 2004-2005 school year. The experimental design used was a posttest only control group; unit of analysis was the classroom. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the study’s null hypothesis. The measure of students’ technical competence did not reveal results that held statistical significance… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – In-Service Training Needs of Agriculture Teachers for Preparing Them to Be Effective in the 21st Century

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this descriptive survey research study conducted with agriculture teachers in North Carolina was to determine their in-service training needs in order to be effective for preparing students with the 21st century skills necessary for students to be successful. This study reaffirms the need for continuation of leadership education as an important skill and integration of reading, writing, and math concepts into all agricultural education curricula for preparing students to be successful in the 21st century. The role of agriculture in global food security; application of problem-based learning; planning and delivering lessons to utilize higher order thinking skills; teaching leadership skills; and development of teamwork and student collaboration were identified as the five most important in-service training needs for preparing agriculture teachers to be effective… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – An Exploration of Relationships between Teaching Practices in Secondary Agricultural Education Programs and Student Engagement

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study was designed to explore the relationship between teacher practices and levels of student engagement in secondary agricultural education programs. Most researchers have agreed that student engagement at the secondary level may be measured through three constructs: cognitive engagement, behavioral engagement, and emotional engagement. The intra-curricular components, namely the FFA organization and Supervised Agricultural Experience Program, make secondary agricultural education unique when compared to the foundational classes of math, science, and English. Respondents included a total of 152 agricultural education programs, which were randomly selected within 11 states to participate in the study. One class in each program was surveyed, which totaled 2,106 student respondents. Relationships were identified between specific teaching and advising practices performed by the secondary agricultural educator and their students’ level of engagement… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Exploring the Relationship between Self-Efficacy and Career Commitment among Early Career Agriculture Teachers

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in career commitment and perceived efficacy among early career agriculture teachers as well as the relationships between early career agriculture teachers’ perceived efficacy and career commitment. Five areas of self-efficacy were investigated among early career agriculture teachers in five western states: classroom management, instructional strategies, leadership of students, science teaching, and math teaching. Only small effects were found on four of the five self-efficacy variables based on years of teaching experience. Using multiple linear regression analysis, a predictive model for early career agriculture teachers’ career commitment was developed. The final model explained a total of 20% of the variance in early career agriculture teachers’ career commitment. Two areas of self-efficacy were identified as significantly related to early… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Examining the Common Core State Standards in Agricultural Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent a shift in the American education system. Included in the CCSS are opportunities for agriculture teachers to integrate math and English language arts content into their curriculum. Using the theory of planned behavior, we sought to identify Oregon agriculture teachers’ attitudes, familiarity with, current level of integration, and professional development needs related to the Common Core State Standards. Our research identified the majority of responding teachers were somewhat familiar with the CCSS. Additionally, teachers had varying levels of agreement that the CCSS would help their teaching, yet the majority of agriculture teachers in our study reported they had somewhat implemented the CCSS. In an effort to identify the professional development needs of teachers concerning these standards, we used the CCSS… Continue Reading