Student Perceptions Toward Agriculture in a General Education Life Science Course
Posted on: Saturday, 10 May 2008, 03:00 CDT
By Rasmussen, Clay L Warnick, Brian K; Miller, Rhonda L
Abstract Undergraduate students enrolled in a general education life science course were surveyed to determine the extent to which their perceptions of agriculture and life science changed throughout the duration of the course. A 16- item Likert-type scale questionnaire was distributed at the beginning of each section of the course and again at the conclusion. Statistical analysis showed positive changes in all areas of the questionnaire with significant changes in half of the items. General areas for which significant changes were found include understanding the role of agriculture in their personal lives and in society, and in the ability to relate life science to other disciplines (e.g., chemistry, medicine, environment, and agriculture).
Introduction
Introductory science classes are often the most difficult and intimidating courses undergraduate students are required to take (Kardash and Wallace, 2001). College level science classes are traditionally taught abstractly and through the form of lecture. This style of science teaching works well for some students, but a larger population of students find it easier to learn science when it is taught with a real-world connection (National Research Council, 1996) or what some would term contextually.
Contextual learning is a theory of teaching and learning where instruction is based on real-life subject matter, problems, and situations (Berns and Erikson, 2001; Caine and Caine, 1994). The use of contexts in teaching motivates students to connect what is being taught with information and knowledge they already posses (Parnell, 1999). This connection between new information and prior knowledge establishes stronger synapses and cognitive understanding (Parnell, 1996). In addition, Parnell explains that making connections with prior learning is essential for lasting knowledge.
The science classroom is a prime place to practice contextual learning (Balschweid, 2002). The American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (1993) has recommended connecting what students learn in school through interdisciplinary links, real- world connections, and connections to the world of work. Research in contextual learning (Chang and Mao, 1999) indicates significant results in student achievement of earth science students being taught contextually. Results from this study found that students taught with contextual methods scored significantly higher on an earth science achievement test when compared with students who were taught through lecture-based methods. Additionally, it was found that student attitudes toward learning earth science were considerably higher among students taught contextually. Hofstein and Lunetta (1982) found that students were significantly more optimistic and motivated to learn science when it was taught with contextual methods. In a more recent study Johnson et al. (1997) found that science students who were taught using agriculture as a contextual method had significantly more positive attitudes toward learning.
Chiasson and Burnett (2001) reported significant findings on student achievement in science by students who were enrolled in agri- science courses. Louisiana 11th grade students who had taken agricultural education classes had a higher passing rate on the end- of-year science exit exams when compared with students who had not taken agricultural education classes. Additionally, agricultural education students had higher year end scores than non-agricultural students.
Agriculture serves as a natural vehicle for teaching science, particularly biological or life science (Balschweid, 2002). Many would say agriculture is the ideal setting for teaching all of the science disciplines such as chemistry, physics, math, and biology (Buriak, 1992; Hillison, 1996; Shepardson, 1929). Agriculture provides concrete real-world examples of what science is and how it can be applied.
In addition to using agriculture to enrich science content, agriculture as a context in science courses might also increase the agricultural literacy of non-agriculture students. The National Research Council (1988) stated that it is important for students to have an understanding of agriculture as it relates to the food, fiber, and natural resource industry. According to Meunier et al. (2002), agricultural knowledge that used to be common has disappeared with each passing generation. "Educational need arises from the inability of the American public to receive agricultural knowledge from everyday experiences as they would have in previous decades" (pg. 49). Teaching science using agriculture is a possible approach to help undergraduate students increase their understanding of the food, fiber, and natural resources system.
Purpose and Objective
The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which students' perceptions of agriculture and life science changed throughout the duration of a general education life science course. The specific research objectives of the study were to: (a) describe the demographic characteristics of students enrolled in two sections of a general education life science course, and (b) compare and describe student perceptions at the completion of the course with those at the beginning.
Materials and Methods Description of the Course
All undergraduate students at Utah State University are required to take 18 credits in general education breadth or "core education" classes. These courses are intended to introduce students to the nature, history, and methods of different disciplines; and to help students understand the cultural, historical, and natural contexts shaping the human experience. Integrated Life Science (USU 1350) is one of the breadth classes students can choose to take in fulfilling their depth education requirement. Students taking this course are typically not science majors, but come with differing majors from across the university.
University professors from the College of Agriculture serve as instructors for two sections of the course each year. It is during these sections that students are exposed to agricultural principles as they learn life science.
Population
Each student registered for the course sections taught by agriculture professors during the 2006 summer (N = 54) and fall (N = 218) semesters were invited to participate in a survey during the first week of class and then again during the final week of class. Students were recruited by a graduate student not responsible for teaching or evaluating students in either section of the course.
Survey Instrument
The instrument used in this study was designed by the researchers. The pre-course questionnaire consisted of two parts; part one was a 16-item Likerttype scale questionnaire designed to obtain information about the student perceptions toward agriculture and life science with responses ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree" and part two requested students to report demographic information about themselves. The post-course questionnaire consisted only of the 16-item Likert-type scale items. A participant-determined code was used to match pre- and post- course responses.
Evidence of face and content validity was acquired by a panel of experts consisting of university agriculture teacher educators and agricultural systems professors. Internal consistency for the scale items was measured at alpha = 0.65 using Cronbach's alpha as a post- hoc estimate of the reliability of the instrument (Gay et al., 2006).
Analysis
Data were analyzed using SPSS, a data statistical software program. The descriptive statistics calculated were percentages and frequencies. These were helpful in determining the extent to which participants' views and attitudes changed from the beginning to the conclusion of the science course. The Wilcoxon signed-ranks test was used to measure the significance of pre and post survey responses. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test is a non-parametric test used to test the difference in ranks of two related groups where the independent variable is of nominal strength and the dependent variable is of ordinal strength (Gay and Airasian, 2000).
Results and Discussion Demographic Characteristics
One hundred eighteen questionnaires total from both semesters were successfully matched by precourse and post-course questionnaire participantselected codes (43%). Of those completing both the pre- course and post-course questionnaires, 57 (48.3%) were males and 60 (50.8%) were female, with one student declining to respond. Students ranged from 18 to 51 years of age with the majority (70.3%) in the 18-21 year-old group, 19.4% in the 22-25 year-old group, 5.9% in the 26-30 year-old group, and 4% in the 31-51 year-old group. Nearly half (48.3%) of respondents reported their class status as freshman, while 26.3% were sophomores, 18.6% reported junior status, and 5.9% held senior status. More than 40 different majors were reported with "Undecided" as the most common response (19.5%). Student majors represented six of the seven colleges on campus, including the College of Agriculture. No majors were reported from the College of Natural Resources.
Nearly three-fourths of participants (74.6%) reported being raised in a town or city with a population of more than 1,500. Reported population for these respondents ranged from 1,500 to more than one million. Eighteen respondents (15.3%) reported being raised on a farm, ranch, or dairy, and 11 students (9.3%) reported begin raised in rural area (population less than 500) but not on a farm, ranch, or dairy. Nearly 90% (89.8%) of respondents indicated their ethnic background was best described as "White, European American, Non-Hispanic," while 2.5% reported "Asian or Asian American," 1.7% reported "Black, African American, Non-Hispanic," 2.5% reported "Hispanic or Latino American," and 0.8% reported "American Indian or Alaskan Native." Survey Analysis
Response frequencies to pre and post course survey questions are provided in Table 1.
Data from the scale section of the questionnaire was of ordinal strength and thus was analyzed with a non-parametric test to determine significant differences between pre and post participant responses (Gay and Airasian, 2000). As a result, the Wilcoxon signed- ranks test was utilized. Table 2 shows each survey question with its corresponding T-score and level of significance.
There were statistically significant differences between the ratings (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) of pretest responses compared to post test responses on eight of the sixteen survey questions. The posttest ranks for question three, "An understanding of life science is important for a functioning society" were higher than the pretest ranks, T(118) = -4.91, P = .00. The posttest ranks at the end of the course, the students agreed with the statement significantly more than they did at the beginning of the course. Questions eight, nine, ten, and eleven each evaluated life science and its connection to other disciplines. Responses to these questions were each significantly different between pre and post questionnaires, question eight, T(118) = 4.55, P = .00, question nine, T(118) = -3.57, P = .00, question ten, T(118) = 4.42, P = .00, and question eleven, T(118) = -5.14, p = .00. Participant responses to questions 13 and 14 were both statistically significant as well, T(118) = -3.11, P = .00, and T(118) = -3.07, P = .00. These questions both address the importance of agriculture in their personal lives and to society. Finally, question 16, "I will be able to apply what I will learn (have learned) in this class in my future," was also statistically significant, T(118) = -1.99, P = .05. The participants indicated that they would be able to use the information from the course in their lives.
Table 1. Pre and Post Survey Question Response Frequencies of Undergraduate Students Enrolled in a General Education Life Science Course
Table 1. Pre and Post Survey Question Response Frequencies of Undergraduate Students Enrolled in a General Education Life Science Course
Summary
The results of this study demonstrate positive changes in student perceptions toward agriculture and life science through course instruction. Responses to questions 12 and 15 were not found to be statistically significant. However, the trend from pretest to posttest responses does not dispute the overall shift in attitude of students from the beginning to ending of the course. Students from a wide range of ages, majors, and geographic upbringings indicated that understanding life science and agriculture is important for a functioning society and to them personally at significantly higher rates on a posttest questionnaire response than they did prior to the course being taught. Analysis of the study suggests that students gained a greater understanding of life science and its relationship with other science disciplines as indicated by pre and post survey questionnaire results. Additionally, the students in this course had a positive change in their attitudes towards agriculture and the need for it in their personal lives, as well as for society as a whole. The course was instrumental in increasing student agricultural literacy and the student's perception on the importance of agriculture in society.
Previous research suggested that using contextual teaching methods often results in increased student learning and achievement (Berns and Erikson, 2001; Chang and Mao, 1999; Parnell, 1999). Positive changes in student attitudes regarding learning science and agriculture while being taught contextually were observed in this study. Future studies might include measuring changes in undergraduate student achievement when life science is taught contextually. This might be accomplished by comparing achievement scores of students taught contextually with students who are not taught contextually.
Using empirical evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching methods can provide a rationale for making modifications to improve instruction. This study provides an example of specific teaching practices that improve student attitude toward agriculture. Based on the results of this study, future instructional plans can be altered in ways that might improve student attitude. Assessment of teaching practices is an ideal way of improving teaching effectiveness as measured by changes in student perceptions and attitudes toward subject content. Evaluating the attitudes and comprehension of students can provide a means for determining if students are actually "gettingit."
Table 2. Survey Questions and Wilcoxon Signed-ranks Test scores
Literature Cited
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Clay L. Rasmussen1, Brian K. Warnick2, and Rhonda L. Miller3
Utah State University
Logan, UT 84322
1 2300 Old Main Hill; Doctoral Candidate, Curriculum and Instruction, Department of Secondary Education
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Systems Technology and Education
3 Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Systems Technology and Education
Copyright North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Mar 2008
(c) 2008 NACTA Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: NACTA Journal
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