Early Field Experience Course Students’ Perceptions of School-based Agricultural Education Laboratory Environments

Abstract

Laboratory instruction is an important component of school-based agricultural education (SBAE) programs (Phipps, Osborne, Dyer, & Ball, 2008). Early field experience (EFE) coursework can be an important component of agricultural teacher preparation programs (Retallick & Miller, 2007). Through the use of a modified photovoice technique, we sought to identify the perceptions of students (i.e., preservice teachers) enrolled in an EFE course in relation to the laboratory environment component of the SBAE model. Students enrolled in a 40-hour EFE course photographed a laboratory environment at their placement site and completed a 250-word descriptive/reflective summary of the laboratory. Through open coding of the summaries, three prominent themes emerged: 1) project-based learning is widely used for instructional purposes; 2) laboratory environments are set up and arranged in particular fashions based on needs; and 3) laboratory environments are arranged as settings for effective learning. Within the photographs, the agricultural mechanics laboratory was most commonly identified as a laboratory environment. The EFE students identified laboratory environments are not always traditional in their scope, and classrooms can serve as laboratory environments. We recommend photovoice be further used as a tool to explore students' perceptions of the realities of modern SBAE programs.

Identifying Challenges Pre-service Teachers Encountered When Teaching Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) Coursework during Student Teaching

“…and cooperating teachers' actions, attitudes, and motives, while some challenges were related to the pre-service teachers' attitudes toward CASE coursework. Our results highlight the need for high-quality experiences in placements that are suitable for enriching pre-service teachers' experiences (Wells et al, 2018).…”

“…Positive experiences are an important component of the educational process (Baker, Culbertson, Robinson, & Ramsey, 2017;Dewey, 1938;Rank & Smalley, 2017;Wells, Smalley, & Rank, 2018). The use of experiences as a tool throughout the educational process can positively impact an individual's long-term development and should be used to help guide future growth (Dewey, 1938;Wells et al, 2018). Moreover, experiences can expose individuals to numerous circumstances, both positive and negative, that can challenge preconceived notions, ideas, or concepts and provide a medium to critically evaluate such things (Baker et al, 2017).…”

“…Lambert et al (2014) documented the positive and negative experiences of SBAE teachers who taught CASE coursework; yet, what of the pre-service teachers who engage in the same coursework under the guidance of cooperating teachers? The use of experiences in a context can be beneficial to better understanding a topic (Lambert et al, 2014;Wells et al, 2018). Further, as Lambert et al (2014) noted, in-service teachers have questions about "the readiness of pre-service teachers to understand and implement the [CASE] curriculum as first year teachers.…”

Images from the Trenches: A Visual Narrative of the Concerns of Agricultural Education Majors

“…To help agricultural education majors navigate such concerns, several researchers have advanced early field experiences (EFEs) as an essential component of teacher preparation (Rank & Smalley, 2017;Retallick & Miller, 2007a, 2007bSmalley & Retallick, 2012;Wells et al, 2018). EFEs occur before students engage in student teaching and include an array of observations, microteachings, and other opportunities "to immerse themselves into the complex world of teaching and serve as a means for students to think as teachers" (Retallick & Miller, 2007b, p. 20).…”

Preservice Teachers’ Conceptualizations of Agricultural Mechanics

“…SBAE laboratory facility types include meat processing, greenhouses, apiaries, livestock handling, and agricultural mechanics (Shoulders & Myers, 2012). SBAE laboratories can serve as pragmatic contexts for experiential learning and project-based learning (Wells et al, 2018). Moreover, as noted by Croom (2008), laboratory-based instruction is a component of the model used to guide SBAE programming.…”