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The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the amount of preparation Iowa inservice secondary agricultural education teachers received in agricultural mechanics at the university level. Secondary School Based Agricultural Education instructors attending the Iowa Association of Agricultural Educators' summer conference were given a paper-based survey instrument to report their perceptions of the agricultural mechanics skills and training they had received at the postsecondary level. Agricultural education teachers indicated that safety, welding, and construction were among the skills with highest concentration of instruction received at the postsecondary level. The areas in which teachers received the least amount of preparation were surveying, technology, and tractor skills. The overall lack of instruction in agricultural mechanics at the postsecondary level may lead to inexperienced and underprepared teachers. We recommended weekend or summer training be offered for inservice teachers who did not receive or received very little training at the postsecondary level. It is also recommended postsecondary institutions organize consistent ways in which agricultural mechanics courses are offered so that preservice agriculture teachers receive appropriate training prior to entering the profession.

Learning is inherently a social act occurring through individualized interpretation and negotiations with diverse others. The ability to work with others within the learning environment and beyond is an essential skill. Student-centered teaching methods that emphasize active learning in a team setting have garnered much support across higher education. Recently, AGEDS 450 at Iowa State University was redesigned to further emphasize teamwork. Team-Based Learning (TBL) was incorporated within the capstone framework to promote higher levels of student collaboration, particularly for farm management decisions. TBL promotes higher order thinking and the application of course content in a real-world situation. For AGEDS 450, an actual farm serves as the applied learning laboratory where students make all decisions concerning its management and operation. This descriptive study sought to explore the collaboration networks of students enrolled in the fall 2015 (n = 61) and spring 2016 (n = 60) AGEDS 450. Social network analysis was utilized to construct and analyze student collaboration networks. Data were collected at the beginning and end of a 16-week semester in order to track development and/or growth of the collaboration network. The collaboration networks developed into cohesive structures encompassing all students within the course. With the increased interest in fostering teamwork in preparing students for careers, these results provide justification for the continued utilization of TBL. Further analysis of the TBL method is warranted with particular attention to long-term outcomes and skill attainment. It is recommended that TBL be implemented in other courses within colleges of agriculture to further examine its utility.

Student engagement is an important consideration across all levels of education. The adoption of student-centered teaching methods is an effective way to increase student engagement. Student engagement is at risk when instructor expectations and student participation in purposeful engagement activities are not aligned. Traditionally, student engagement is measured at the institutional level, which proves less than useful to instructors who wish to gauge engagement in specific courses in higher education. In this study, we sought to determine classroom level engagement in a capstone farm management course recently converted to the team-based learning format by comparing student perceptions regarding participation in engagement-specific activities with the instructors' perceived importance of those same activities. The Classroom-Level Survey of Student Engagement (CLASSE) was utilized to collect student participation and instructor importance data. Data were examined utilizing a 2x2 quadrant analysis. Congruence between student participation frequency and instructor importance was found between 73.7% of the educational activities, while discrepancies were found on 26.3% of educational activities. Overall, students who completed the team-based learning-structured farm management course were physically and psychologically engaged in the learning environment. It is recommended that team-based learning be implemented in other courses within agricultural education to examine its utility in other contexts.

While shown to be less effective than active learning strategies, traditional methods of content delivery in post-secondary classrooms are the most prominent. Flipped classrooms, an example of an active learning approach, have been shown to be effective in long-term student outcomes. Team-Based Learning (TBL), a specific application of the flipped approach, has been linked to an increase in student performance, engagement, and satisfaction. TBL emphasizes the application of content knowledge through structured problem solving and decision making activities. The capstone farm management course at Iowa State University was recently restructured to implement TBL. This course revision sought to emphasize the development of skills necessary for success in an evolving workforce. The purpose of this study was to examine student perceptions concerning their attitudes and beliefs about learning, their motivation to learn, and their professional development through critical thinking. Pretest and posttest measures were compared and showed statistically significant increases across all three areas. These results offer valuable insight for the adoption of student-centered teaching methods, specifically TBL. Further examination of this teaching method compared to traditional teaching methods is warranted and recommended.

Student teaching is a critical component of the preservice teacher preparation program which has a major role in preparing novices to teach. This capstone experience has been frequently examined and the subject of numerous reform measures. Clinical experiences for preservice teachers have recently seen new recommendations for increased supervisor observational visits to meet accreditation standards. In this study, we sought to determine Iowa State University student teachers' perceptions of a hybridized supervision approach which included an electronic supervision component. Student teachers participated in one of two focus group sessions held during the final on-campus student teacher professional development session. A researcher not involved with the supervision or grading of the student teachers facilitated the interviews. Interviews were later transcribed and analyzed. Three major themes emerged: Benefits to Student Teachers, Improving the e-Supervision Process, and Benefits to the Teacher Education Program. We conclude that e-supervision has the potential to improve the quality of the student teacher experience and the teacher education program. Recommendations for implementation and further research are provided.

Agricultural mechanics holds an important place in agricultural education programs. Teacher efficacy in regards to teaching agricultural mechanics is also important. We used a questionnaire to survey agricultural education teachers in Iowa regarding agricultural mechanics. Spearman Rho correlations were used to determine the magnitude of the relationship between teachers' perceived competency to teach agricultural mechanics skills and the adequacy of tools and equipment available to teach agricultural mechanics skills in school-based agricultural education (SBAE) programs. Correlations between tool adequacy and perceived competency to teach agricultural mechanics skills were identified as statistically significant (p < 0.05) in all 54 content areas addressed within the instrument. The results of the present study aligned with prior research regarding perceived competency and available teaching resources. The possibility exists that a lack of competency in a given skill area may result from, or may result in, a lack of adequate tools and equipment available to teach within that particular skill area. Perhaps the converse is instead true. We recommend that program stakeholders work to ensure that teachers are competent, and have access to adequate tools and equipment necessary, to teach agricultural mechanics.

Teachers are constantly being evaluated based upon their ability to provide the best education for their students. These evaluations are done at a macro level, where teachers must meet state and national mandates that deem them highly qualified, and at a micro level, where teachers must display proficiency as effective teachers through teacher education standards. Specific to preservice teachers, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) aligns standards based upon what preservice teachers should know and be able to do. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency in which student teacher blog posts in an electronic community of practice related to the InTASC standards, as well as determine the average level of student teacher critical thinking displayed in the blog posts related to those standards. Student teachers most frequently blogged about the Professional Learning and Ethical Practices standard as compared to the other nine InTASC standards. It was found that for blog posts discussing InTASC standards, overall critical thinking was displayed at knowledge, comprehension, or application levels. It is recommended that future studies utilize open coding in order to gain a broader insight of the student teachers' discussions.

Technology is becoming increasingly popular in higher education in the way students are asked to communicate and collaborate. The student teaching experience is an integral part of developing critical thinking skills in pre-service teachers. During this experience, it is important that student teachers practice the theory they have been taught in their preparatory programs. This study determined the frequency in which student teachers at Iowa State University posted blogs in an electronic community of practice at each level of critical thinking, the relationship between the number of blogs posted by each student teacher and student teachers' average level of critical thinking displayed in those blog posts. The Florida Taxonomy of Cognitive Behavior was used to code student teacher blog posts. Six levels of critical thinking, according to Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, were present. Of the student teachers' blog posts (n = 942), 89.5% (f = 843) were at lower-order levels of critical thinking, consistent with prior research. The results did not indicate a significant relationship between the number of posts per student teacher (N = 21) and student teachers' average level of critical thinking. Teacher preparation programs should focus on modeling critical thinking in order for student teachers to incorporate and practice problem-solving, evaluating, creating, and many other critical thinking skills during the student teaching experience.

Self-adequacy during the student teaching experience is high on the list of concerns expressed by student teachers (Fritz & Miller, 2003; Ng, Nicholas, & Williams, 2010). That factor, in combination with others, determines student teachers' goals and sparks their motivation to engage in effective instructional planning (Baylor & Kitsantas, 2005). The purpose of this study was to determine student teachers' perceptions of the use of the tuning protocol, a formalized process of reflective practice and peer review (Allen & McDonald, 1993; Easton, 2009), to revise lesson plans. When open coding was used to analyze student teachers' perceptions, four themes emerged: benefits, drawbacks, structure of the tuning protocol, and recommendations for future use. The majority of student teachers were satisfied with the outcomes of the tuning protocol review process and planned to use it in their professional careers. Recommendations for use of the tuning protocol in various stages of the teacher education program are presented.

Flipped learning is an innovative approach to teaching at the post-secondary level. Traditional methods of initial delivery of curricular content occur before a face-to-face class session. Students must prepare before attending class, as the majority of face-to-face class sessions are utilized for applying curricular content to complex problems. A specific application of flipped learning, Team-Based Learning holds students accountable for the pre-class preparation via an individual test, as well as to their peers via a team test. Students engage and discuss curricular content on the team test as well as application exercises, which are rigorously designed activities aimed at increasing cognitive skills of the students. This study sought to determine students' perceptions of a recently adopted, atypical teaching approach, known as Team-Based Learning in the Iowa State University capstone farm management course (AgEdS 450). Post-course quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Overall student perceptions were positive and supported the adoption of a student-centered course design. It is recommended that dedicated training workshops be developed for faculty members within Colleges of Agriculture that focus on student-centered instruction. Further examination of Team-Based Learning in other courses within Colleges of Agriculture, and Agricultural Education courses specifically, is recommended.

The traditional student teaching experience includes a complex, triadic relationship between student teacher, cooperating teacher, and the university supervisor. Studies seeking to understand this experience from the perspectives of the student teacher and cooperating teacher are commonly found in the literature; yet research specific to the university supervisor has been considered meager at best. Building upon Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior, we sought to reveal the university supervisor's voice regarding the relevance of traditionally required student teaching skills and activities commonly included in the capstone student teaching experience. A descriptive census study consisting of university supervisors (N = 62) from the North Central Region of the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) was implemented. A document analysis of agricultural education student teaching handbooks from the North Central AAAE region provided the foundation for a researcher-developed, expert-panel validated instrument consisting of student teaching skills and activities organized into eight constructs. University supervisors considered seven of the eight constructs as very relevant for inclusion in the capstone student teaching experience. We conclude that university supervisors in the North Central Region of AAAE perceive activities and skills commonly required of student teachers as important to the capstone student teaching experience. Future activities should be aligned with those included in national performance-based, subject-specific assessments commonly being adopted by teacher preparation programs. Future research should seek to determine alignment of best practices in SBAE national standards-based assessments.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which cooperating teachers deem required student teaching skills and activities relevant to the agricultural education student teaching experience. The population for this descriptive study consisted of individuals who served as cooperating teachers in Iowa and South Dakota during the last 5 years (N = 70). The study focused on activities in eight constructs: evaluation of student performance, teaching, FFA, planning instruction, Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE), teaching profession, school-community relations, and adult education. Cooperating teachers surveyed in this study believed that seven of the eight constructs were very relevant to the student teaching experience. They thought the eighth construct, adult education, was irrelevant. This study serves as a feedback loop to university agricultural education student teaching coordinators. Since cooperating teachers exert a powerful influence on practices adopted by student teachers, it is critical that training for cooperating teachers emphasizes the importance of skills and activities required during the capstone student teaching experience. Agricultural education programs nationwide can use these results as guidelines when reviewing expectations for student teaching and cooperating teachers.

The purpose of this descriptive survey study was to determine the extent to which student teachers deem traditional student teaching skills and activities relevant as part of the capstone student teaching experience. The study population consisted of all (N = 140) fall 2012 and spring 2013 agricultural education student teachers in the North Central Region of the American Association for Agricultural Education (NC-AAAE). The findings shed light on student teachers' perspectives regarding the relevance of student teaching activities. Student teachers considered the activities associated with the eight constructs in this study relevant or very relevant. Future research should determine if all teacher preparation programs require similar student teaching experiences. Little is known about how student teaching experiences are reviewed and how recommendations are handled at each teacher preparation institution. This study provides feedback to university agricultural education student teaching coordinators regarding the skills and activities student teachers believe are relevant to their capstone student teaching experience.

Preparing teachers to teach agricultural mechanics is a difficult task since many topic areas are included in the curriculum. This study examines the effect of the number of college courses taken on a teacher's perceived competence to teach agricultural mechanics. Agricultural education teachers in Iowa ranked themselves according to their perceived, individual competence in 54 skill areas associated with agricultural mechanics curricula. Respondents also indicated the number of agricultural mechanics courses they completed in their teacher preparation program. Teachers who completed one or no courses had low to slight perceived level of competence while teachers who took two or more courses identified a moderate level of perceived competence in agricultural mechanics. Teachers indicating six or more classes completed exhibited a high-perceived competence. A positive correlation was identified between courses completed and perceived competence as the more courses taken the higher the self-perceived competence level of the teacher. To develop the competence of pre-service agricultural education teacher candidates it is recommended to examine the current agricultural mechanics curricula in teacher preparation programs. It is further recommended that professional development be offered in areas identified by agricultural education teachers as having low perceived competence.

Current research demonstrates a need to explore the effects of specific course designs or directed activities on higher education students' critical thinking abilities. Specifically, such research on the effect of an experiential learning-based capstone course is limited. All students (N = 54) enrolled in a capstone farm management course completed a critical thinking assessment test through a pretest-posttest design, and 25 of the paired tests were analyzed using t tests. Although there were no statistically significant increases for overall critical thinking scores, there was a significant increase in one subskill: Summarize a pattern of results in a graph. The capstone course in this study may emphasize only certain subskills of critical thinking development while negating to address others. The key implication for instructors of similar capstone courses is to be intentional in targeting development of the wide array of specific skills shown to affect overall critical thinking abilities.

Secondary agricultural education teachers were surveyed to examine if a relationship existed between the physical attributes of agricultural mechanics laboratories and agricultural education teachers' enjoyment of teaching agricultural mechanics. Teachers also indicated their competence to teach courses other than agricultural mechanics within the agricultural education curriculum, perceived importance of Iowa agricultural education curricula, and training an agricultural mechanics Career Development Event (CDE) team. Responses were collected from 103 Iowa agricultural education teachers. It was found that shop size and the age of the shop did not have a correlation between agricultural education teachers' enjoyment of teaching agricultural mechanics, competence in other courses, importance of agricultural mechanics, or training a team to compete in the state CDE. Teachers' enjoyment of teaching agricultural mechanics was positively correlated to the size of the budget for consumables and equipment for their agricultural mechanics laboratory. Researchers recommend that further research be conducted to identify factors which motivate agricultural education teachers who teach agricultural mechanics within secondary agricultural education programs.

Student teaching is an important capstone experience in which preservice teacher candidates begin to learn the skills they need to become effective teachers. During this experience, candidates develop concerns for themselves as well as for their students. As preservice teachers encounter challenges and obstacles, it is important for them to communicate these concerns. Preservice teachers from Iowa State University participated in a Twitter-based electronic community of practice to express their teaching concerns. This study was designed to identify preservice teachers' concerns and determine if they aligned with Moir's (1990/2011) phases of first-year teaching. By understanding preservice teachers' concerns in real time, teacher educators can better address the candidates' self-adequacy concerns throughout the teacher preparation program. We recommend that preservice teachers express their concerns during student teaching through an electronic community of practice so teacher educators can address concerns in a timely manner.

Due to an ever changing world where technology seemingly provides endless answers, today's higher education students must master a new skill set reflecting an emphasis on critical thinking, problem solving, and communications. The purpose of this study was to establish a departmental benchmark for critical thinking abilities of students majoring in agricultural education and studies. Seventy-five senior-level undergraduates completed a Critical Thinking Assessment Test (CAT) during the spring 2013 semester. A one-sample t-test utilizing national norm data and a step-wise regression model analyzing predictors of critical thinking ability were used to address research objectives. The only critical thinking skill area where participants' mean scores were statistically higher than the national norm mean score was in the ability to summarize a pattern of results from a graph without making inappropriate inferences. Further, step-wise regression for total critical thinking score revealed ACT score was the only significant predictor of overall critical thinking ability.

Agricultural mechanics coursework has historically been considered an important and necessary construct of the secondary agricultural education curriculum (Burris, Robinson, & Terry, 2005). With expectations of offering secondary agricultural mechanics coursework apparent, it is vital that agricultural education teachers be prepared to address these curriculum needs. Recent evidence (Burris, McLaughlin, McCulloch, Brashears, & Fraze, 2010) indicated that many agricultural education teachers (particularly early-career teachers) felt less comfortable teaching agricultural mechanics than other agricultural content areas. Hubert and Leising (2000) indicated, on average, potential agriculture education teachers are only required to enroll in two (2) three-credit hour courses to meet certification requirements. The purpose of this study was to describe potential relationships between the quantity of agricultural mechanics training and skills received at the secondary and at the post-secondary levels. Correlations were calculated to determine the magnitude of these relationships. Statistically significant, positive correlations were found in each of the skill areas. The researchers recommend that agricultural mechanics coursework be increased and enhanced at teacher preparation institutions. Also, the modernization of secondary and post-secondary agricultural mechanics facilities and curricula to reflect increases in available technologies should be considered as a method to enhance students' interests in the content area.