Effective Professional Development in Agriscience Education: An Examination of Core Features

Abstract

Reform efforts that are designed to increase student achievement often include in-service teacher professional development (PD) as a foundational component. However, the content and activities included in PD sessions varies greatly. Guided by Desimone’s (2009) Core Features of Professional Development, this study sought to describe agriscience teachers’ perceptions regarding various aspects of science integration based on their participation in PD. Participant responses to the survey instrument differed after attending the PD from what was reported prior to the event, supporting previous research regarding the effectiveness of PD on teacher behavior change. A comparison of the participant responses based on attending the PD prior to or following the restructuring of the PD or the number of times the respondent participated in the PD did not show practical differences, indicating that a PD’s repeated participation and the inclusion of active learning in PD were not directly influential in its effectiveness.