{"title":"Students’ perspectives on using virtual reality technology in a university-level agricultural mechanics course","authors":"Trent Wells, G. Miller","doi":"10.5032/jae.2022.02017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02017","url":null,"abstract":"Simulator technologies have become more prominent in many educational contexts in recent years. Simulator technologies such as virtual reality (VR) exist in many forms and can be used for different purposes, including weld process training. University-level course students have previously reported using VR technology can positively contribute to a course experience. Limited data exist regarding students’ perspectives of using VR technology to develop welding-related psychomotor skills in a university-level agricultural mechanics course. Through two focus groups conducted during the Spring 2018 semester, we sought to describe the perspectives nine students had on using a VR technology application throughout their weld process training. Students indicated that while using a VR technology application can be useful, it should not take the place of using actual welding equipment as part of the teaching and learning processes. We recommend faculty who are considering using a VR technology application should carefully analyze current instructional needs and course structures to ensure using VR technology will adequately address students’ educational requirements and will complement live weld process training procedures.","PeriodicalId":73589,"journal":{"name":"Journal of agricultural education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43381803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jay K. Solomonson, Steven Still, Lucas D. Maxwell, M. Barrowclough
{"title":"Exploring Relationships Between Career Retention Factors and Personal and Professional Characteristics of Illinois Agriculture Teachers","authors":"Jay K. Solomonson, Steven Still, Lucas D. Maxwell, M. Barrowclough","doi":"10.5032/jae.2022.02119","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02119","url":null,"abstract":"The shortage of school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers in the United States has been a chronic issue for decades. Besides not having sufficient graduates in our teacher preparation programs, the number of SBAE teachers annually leaving the profession further exacerbates the problem. While the reasons why SBAE teachers leave the profession are well-documented, little research has examined career retention factors and the reasons they stay. The purpose of our study was to determine the relationships between selected career retention factors and specific demographic characteristics of SBAE teachers. Using a census design, we administered an electronic questionnaire to all 432 SBAE teachers in Illinois to determine perceived levels of occupational commitment, work engagement, and work-life balance and their relationship to nine demographic characteristics. We found no significant differences among the career retention factors under investigation and sex, marital status, parental status, possessing CASE certification, length of teaching contract, and the number of teachers employed in the agriculture department. However, we did discover that occupational commitment was significantly higher for both SBAE teachers who were fully-state certified and those with an advanced degree. Further, our findings indicate late-career teachers possess significantly higher levels of occupational commitment and work engagement than those in the novice or mid-career professional life stages. A large, positive relationship was found between levels of work engagement and occupational commitment. Two small, negative relationships existed between perceived levels to achieve a work-life balance and both work engagement and occupational commitment. Recommendations for practitioners and researchers are provided.","PeriodicalId":73589,"journal":{"name":"Journal of agricultural education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46471190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Best of Both Worlds: Exploring the Experiences of Alternatively Certified Agriculture Teachers","authors":"Kellie Claflin, J. Stewart, Haley Q. Traini","doi":"10.5032/jae.2022.02219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02219","url":null,"abstract":"Alternative certification is often seen by policymakers and local school districts as the answer to the teacher shortage problem. Yet, little is known about the experiences of alternatively certified teachers in agricultural education. This case study sought to explore the experiences of alternatively certified agriculture teachers through a composite case study grounded in Dewey’s conception of experience. The participants for this study included four early career alternatively certified teachers in Wisconsin. Our findings illuminate insights regarding the fortuitous nature of alternatively certified teachers entering the classroom, the importance of their prior experiences, their passion for the content, the hurdles of becoming certified, and the significance of support. This is the first study of its kind in agricultural education to examine the first-hand accounts of alternatively certified teachers in an attempt to understand the benefits and challenges and the stepping stones leading to alternative certification. How are alternatively certified teachers becoming certified? What personal and professional experiences are they utilizing in the agricultural education classroom? It is critical that we do not disregard these teachers or their valuable experience, but instead seek to understand their background and certification process to ensure continued school-based agricultural education success.","PeriodicalId":73589,"journal":{"name":"Journal of agricultural education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45539957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Casey Parker-Crockett, Shelli Rampold, Sebastion Galindo, J. C. Bunch, H. Yoder, Anthony C. Andenoro, C. R. Connelly, A. Lucky, R. Telg
{"title":"Fight The Bite: Implementation of Mosquito-Based Curriculum in Elementary, Middle, and High Schools in Florida","authors":"Casey Parker-Crockett, Shelli Rampold, Sebastion Galindo, J. C. Bunch, H. Yoder, Anthony C. Andenoro, C. R. Connelly, A. Lucky, R. Telg","doi":"10.5032/jae.2022.02037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02037","url":null,"abstract":"Mosquitoes are both a nuisance and public health threat. In recent decades, outbreaks of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika in Florida have raised awareness of the importance of domestic and peri-domestic container mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The synanthropic nature of these species, coupled with their preference for human bloodmeals, makes them a concern of and target for mosquito control. However, mosquito control programs (MCPs) often struggle to sustainably manage these mosquitoes because of the cryptic and abundant nature of their larval habitats, and negative public opinion towards MCPs and the use of insecticides. Fortunately, mosquito control can be improved by the actions of homeowners and residents as they have regular access to their own property and containers. School-based education programs can provide a means to community-wide education regarding mosquito control. We developed and delivered a mosquito education program to elementary, middle, and high school students. Knowledge of mosquitoes significantly improved in participating elementary and middle/ high school students. This knowledge was partially retained according to a follow-up test that was administered. Additionally, attitudes towards mosquito control and at-home control methods significantly improved following the instruction. The improvements in knowledge and attitudes observed in students suggest they can and should be targeted for mosquito education campaigns by mosquito control programs and educators.","PeriodicalId":73589,"journal":{"name":"Journal of agricultural education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43932002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Warner, A. Rihn, A. Fulcher, S. Schexnayder, A. LeBude
{"title":"Relating Grower Perceptions and Adoption of Automated Nursery Technologies to Address Labor Needs","authors":"L. Warner, A. Rihn, A. Fulcher, S. Schexnayder, A. LeBude","doi":"10.5032/jae.2022.02150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02150","url":null,"abstract":"This study examined factors that shape how nursery growers perceive automated nursery technologies and evaluate how these perceptions relate to growers’ adoption. We applied Rogers’ (2003) Diffusion of Innovations to understand growers’ perceptions of automated technologies to inform Extension programming serving niche audiences in the nursery and horticulture arenas. Data were collected via a mixed-mode survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. Nursery growers indicated fairly strong perceptions of observability, relative advantage, and compatibility. Automated nursery technologies were not perceived as being complex. Notably, perceptions of trialability were low. Compatibility, complexity, and trialability predicted growers’ current adoption of automated technologies. Relative advantage, complexity, and compatibility predicted the future adoption of automated nursery technologies. Compatibility was the most important predictor of both current use and the likelihood of adopting automated nursery technologies. Extension professionals, researchers, and others who support the nursery industry can use these findings to encourage the adoption of technological innovations. Chiefly, automated nursery technologies need to be designed with compatibility in mind (e.g., adaptable to nursery operations’ existing infrastructure, values, and goals). Uptake could be accelerated by emphasizing compatibility (e.g., conveying how these technologies can be integrated into existing systems and how the current labor force’s skillsets can be applied to new technologies). This study considered a suite of automated nursery technologies to provide a starting point in developing and diffusing these types of innovations. Future research should examine the characteristics of specific technologies to pinpoint precise strategies aimed at behavioral adoption.","PeriodicalId":73589,"journal":{"name":"Journal of agricultural education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42264613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Peng Lu, S. Schroeder, S. Burris, J. Rayfield, M. Baker
{"title":"The Effectiveness of a Metacognitive Strategy during the Reading Process on Cognitive Allocation and Subject Matter Retention","authors":"Peng Lu, S. Schroeder, S. Burris, J. Rayfield, M. Baker","doi":"10.5032/jae.2022.02201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02201","url":null,"abstract":"Metacognition is an important skill required for improving students’ reading comprehension ability. Studies have reported effectiveness of metacognitive reading strategies to increase reading comprehension and information retention. However, there is limited research utilizing eye-tracking technology to explore the effectiveness of metacognitive reading strategies. This experimental study utilized eye-tracking technology on 40 undergraduate students to investigate the effectiveness of a metacognitive strategy on reading comprehension outcomes. The Survey, Question, Read, Respond, Recite, Record, and Review (SQ5R) strategy was used as the metacognitive reading strategy intervention. Participants’ eye movements were recorded during the reading process. Reading comprehension was assessed before and after watching the SQ5R intervention. This study revealed that participants adopted the SQ5R when reading scientific text, which enabled the students to better comprehend and retain more information. Results suggests that agricultural educators should incorporate the SQ5R metacognitive reading strategy into the design of agriscience reading materials to improve students’ reading skills and their ability to comprehensively understand complex and controversial issues in agriculture.","PeriodicalId":73589,"journal":{"name":"Journal of agricultural education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45519114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of a Simulation on Eighth Grade Students’ Business Management Knowledge and Entrepreneurial Intent in an Exploratory Agriculture Course","authors":"Andrea B. Brown, Neil A. Knobloch","doi":"10.5032/jae.2022.02088","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02088","url":null,"abstract":"Entrepreneurship education has historically been part of agricultural education; yet few researchers have studied entrepreneurship-related outcomes for youth in formal and nonformal educational settings. Entrepreneurship education programs develop entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions, but limited studies exist regarding junior high school youth. This quasi-experimental study utilized a business management simulation with eighth grade students and focused on teaching, learning, and outcomes of entrepreneurship in an exploratory agriculture course. Junior high school students had higher business management knowledge when an educational simulation (playing a board game using double-entry accounting and computing financial statements) was used compared to students who were taught using a board game and tracked a cash balance. Students’ entrepreneurship intent was similar between the control and treatment groups after the two-week unit. However, students who previously completing a 4-H animal science project had higher entrepreneurship intent than their peers who did not complete a 4-H animal science project. This study supports the premise that educational simulations can effectively teach business management skills and offers educators an enhanced understanding of how to capitalize on the value of SAEs and 4-H animal science projects when building entrepreneurial skills in youth.","PeriodicalId":73589,"journal":{"name":"Journal of agricultural education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43298668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Members’ Perceptions Regarding Diversity and Inclusion within the American Association for Agricultural Education","authors":"C. Estepp, Laura Cline, Mary T. Rodriguez","doi":"10.5032/jae.2022.02186","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02186","url":null,"abstract":"Professional scientific societies, such as the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE), have not been immune to struggles with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), even as it has come to the forefront of national conversation. In response to the 2017-2020 AAAE Strategic Plan, specifically goal one to build a more inclusive culture within the society, this study describes members’ perceptions of organizational climate regarding diversity and inclusion within the AAAE organization. This manuscript reports the quantitative survey findings from the AAAE membership to determine perceptions of opportunities and barriers for participation in AAAE, as well as perceptions of AAAE’s progress toward diversity and inclusion. Data are provided as a benchmark to describe the membership demographics of the organization. Member perceptions of opportunities to share diverse perspectives, become involved in leadership, and to be awarded and recognized by AAAE are varied. Many barriers to engagement in AAAE seem to create a dichotomy between persons who feel fully included and those who do not in the organization. Over half of the respondents do not consider AAAE’s membership to be diverse. Perceptions of progress toward diversity and inclusion across the dimensions of sexual orientation, socio-economic status, disciplinary focus, gender/gender identity, faculty rank, race/ethnicity, institution type, and religious representation reveal some areas of success and opportunities for growth in the organization. The profession should be challenged to examine how our practices and scholarship may perpetuate exclusivity as AAAE works toward meeting the goal of building a more diverse and inclusive culture within the society.","PeriodicalId":73589,"journal":{"name":"Journal of agricultural education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42833709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Grant Ermis, Ann DeLay, Sharon Freeman, Jalisca Thomason, M. Spiess
{"title":"Pandemic Pedagogy: How Early Career Agriculture Teachers Reflect on Their Practice","authors":"Grant Ermis, Ann DeLay, Sharon Freeman, Jalisca Thomason, M. Spiess","doi":"10.5032/jae.2022.02071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02071","url":null,"abstract":"In a struggle to cope with school closures and shifting instructional paradigms from face-to-face to virtual, agriculture teachers across the United States were drastically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to understand how early-career agriculture teachers (ECATs) in California reflected on their teaching experience before and during the transition through February, March, and April 2020. Our work was guided by Pedagogical Design Capacity (Brown & Edelson, 2003) and the Discovery Learning® Change Process Model (Musselwhite & Jones, 2010) to explore the lived experiences of ECATS during the initial transition from face-to-face instruction to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). In this qualitative inquiry, the data illuminate how ECATs in California spent time reflecting on their reactions to mandates with raw emotion and how they are driven to change their teaching practice in novel ways. The data further reveal how ECATs cope with crises while supporting the fundamental socio-cultural needs of their students. The data lead us to better understand how ECATs leverage their networks and curricular resources to keep their students engaged in the absence of the traditional in-person instructional environment. The ECATs in this study also exhibited tendencies of resilience that impacted their experience during this teaching transition. Recommendations are discussed around understanding the process teachers undergo, triggered by a traumatic event, to return life to some form of homeostasis for themselves and their students.","PeriodicalId":73589,"journal":{"name":"Journal of agricultural education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45589953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Perceptions of Agricultural Educators Entering the Profession through Alternative Means","authors":"Ali Cannon, S. Smalley, Mark S. Hainline","doi":"10.5032/jae.2022.02001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02001","url":null,"abstract":"With the ongoing national shortage of agricultural educators, alternative certification has become increasingly important. The preparation programs for alternatively certified educators to enter the profession vary in content and length due to state requirements. This study sought to determine South Dakota Alternatively Certified SBAE Teachers’ decisions to teach and describe their perceived satisfaction associated with their decision to become a SBAE teacher. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight SBAE Teachers with alternative certification. Two main themes and two sub-themes emerged from the data derived from the interviews, which included (1) no plan to teach but the opportunity arose and (2) satisfaction with the decision to teach (i.e., regret not being certification sooner and passion for youth and agriculture). Conclusions, implications, and recommendations for future practice and research were provided.","PeriodicalId":73589,"journal":{"name":"Journal of agricultural education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48333642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}