A Comparison Of The Cognitive Behaviors Exhibited By Secondary Agriculture And Science Teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of cognitive behavior exhibited by secondary agriculture teachers and compare the behavior to science teachers. Teachers within the two groups were found to have similar attitudes toward teaching at higher levels of cognition. Agriculture teachers spent 83% of their time on lower-order behavior. Similarly, 84% of science teachers' time was spent on lower-order behavior. It was concluded that pre-service and in-service instruction should address teaching at higher-levels of cognition. When comparing the cognitive behavior of the two groups, no differences were found in their total cognitive behavior or their behavior exhibited at the six levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. Opportunities for agriculture teachers to model higher-order thinking are abundant, teachers should utilize the opportunities to assist in the development of students' higher-order thinking.