Effects of Mathematics Integration in a Teaching Methods Course on Self Efficacy of Preservice Agricultural Education Teachers

Abstract

Teachers who are efficacious persevere through challenges in the learning environment and put forth more effort in designing learning activities. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of mathematics teaching and integration strategies (MTIS) on preservice agricultural teachers’ personal mathematics efficacy, mathematics teaching efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy in a teaching methods course. The research design was quasi-experimental and utilized a nonequivalent control group.Data were collected at the following three collection points; (a) week 1 of the semester; (b) week 12 of the semester/after the preservice teachers in the treatment group delivered their first mathematics enhanced lesson; and (c) week 15 of the semester. Participants were moderately efficacious in mathematics teaching efficacy and efficacious in personal mathematics efficacy and personal teaching efficacy at all three data collection points. Furthermore, significant differences were not found in the mathematics teaching efficacy, personal mathematics efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy of the preservice agricultural teachers based upon the MTIS treatment.