Effects of Novelty on Project-Based Methods when Integrating Physics into Agriculture Courses
Abstract
Researchers have reported that participation in agricultural education reinforces STEM concepts. The use of projects in instruction is common in agricultural education. However, the foundational understanding of certain tenets of this method of instruction is not clear. A quasi-experimental study was conducted to test how real and/or authentic projects need to be to affect learning. AFNR students (N = 219) were sampled and assigned as a cohort group to one of four treatments. Treatments were project types designed to vary in their degree of project authenticity while learning about electricity. During analysis, it was apparent that the intended project variable of authenticity had less effect on the outcomes then other factors. An analysis of covariance was used to test the effects of perceived novelty on change scores in a pre-post quasi-experimental design. A test of project type groups, which varied on novelty, yielded statistically significant results (p < .05) with small effect size (ω2 = .04). A Pearson Chi Square analysis was run to determine if a relationship between novelty and project type existed and determined to be significant, X2 (12, N=152) = 22.35, p = .034. A pairwise comparison was calculated to compare levels of novelty to determine where the variation exists within the variable reported novelty levels. Students with novelty level 4 had statistically different change scores than those at novelty level 2 (p =.006) and students with novelty level 4 were different from those with a novelty level 5 (p = .012).
