Describing Instructional Method Use for Early, Middle, and Late Career Stage School-based Agricultural Education Teachers

Abstract

Instructional methods are the cornerstone of all teaching and learning strategies. This study explored instructional method use by early, middle, and later career agricultural education teachers. One-hundred nine teachers responded to an online questionnaire. These teachers were evenly split in terms of gender and more than three to one were traditionally certified versus alternatively certified. Cooperative learning, demonstration, and lecture were reported as the most frequently used instructional methods across the career stages. Demonstration, discussion, and lecture were the instructional methods in which teachers reported having the most training. Teachers in this study were most confident in using demonstration and least confident in using role play. Demonstration and role play both held the top and bottom spots when teachers were asked about effectiveness related to their instructional methods. Several moderate to strong relationships exist between perceived confidence in using instructional methods and the effectiveness of the given instructional method. Framing instructional method use as a line of inquiry is important within the agricultural education discipline as we continue to see an increase in alternative certification teachers entering the profession and as a lens to study changes in agricultural education teachers throughout their careers.