Does a Math-Enhanced Curriculum and Instructional Approach Diminish Students' Attainment of Technical Skills? A Year-Long Experimental Study in Agricultural Power and Technology

Abstract

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 < .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 and supported use of the experimental treatment.