The Effect of Two Different Pedagogical Delivery Methods on Students’ Retention of Knowledge Over Time

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of two contrasting pedagogies (i.e., experiential learning and direct instruction) on students’ retention of agricultural knowledge over time. A six-week deferred post-test was employed to assess long-term retention of the subject matter. The results indicated that initially, students who were taught both experientially and through direct instruction experienced a statistically significant increase in analytical scores, with the direct instruction treatment group outperforming the experiential learning treatment group. However, that increase was not statistically significant but was followed by a statistically significant decrease in analytical scores six weeks following instruction. Implications exist for preparing instructors to pace their lessons in a slower fashion to increase understanding and mastery of the content learned.