A student teacher in a secondary school was assigned to teach a horticulture class the essentials of grafting. Review her description of the experience.

Why was this a successful teaching experience? What principles of teaching and learning provide the rationale for the teaching strategies the student teacher used? What principles of teaching and learning explain the behavior of students, which differs considerably from what the student teacher expected?

In this chapter principles of teaching and learning are presented and explained. Teachers of agricultural science and those preparing to be teachers need to be aware of two important ideas that are fundamental to effective instruction. First, there is a direct connection between what teachers do in planning, delivering, and evaluating instruction and what students learn, regardless of whether the students are youth or adults. Second, the teacher is the person primarily responsible for the learning activities that take place in the classroom, laboratory, and supervised experience that, in the final analysis, determine the educational value of learning activities.

BASIS FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING

Principles pertaining to the psychology of learning serve as the basis for effective teaching. Principles that are basic to teaching and learning are only effective if they are applied in practice. Table 2-1, at the end of the chapter, summarizes the principles of teaching and learning and lists the teacher behaviors and practices that can be used to put the principles into practice.

It is essential that teachers possess expert competence in the science, technology, and skills of the specialized areas of agriculture they teach. However, knowledge and skill in subject matter, although essential, is not sufficient if optimum learning outcomes are to be achieved. It is equally important that teachers know about, understand, and be able to use some basic principles of teaching and learning. Knowledge of the basic principles of the psychology of learning enables the teacher to be creative in the development of teaching techniques and instructional media, to understand why certain instructional strategies and techniques do or do not work, and to diagnose teaching situations such that appropriate instructional strategies can be selected to achieve the desired learning outcomes. Teachers who understand the factors basic to effective teaching and learning are able to plan, deliver, and evaluate instruction that results in the acquisition of high levels of competence by those who are taught.

Principles of teaching and learning provide the foundation for all phases of the instructional process. Certain principles provide the rationale for the organization and structure of subject matter; other principles are fundamental to the motivation of students, to the appropriate use of reward and reinforcement, and to the selection of teaching techniques. A major expectation of instruction in agriculture is the application and transfer of learning. Some principles of the psychology of learning are basic to instructional processes that result in the application and transfer of learning from the classroom and laboratory to the real world.

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE OF SUBJECT MATTER

Effective teaching involves more than what the teacher does in the classroom and the laboratory. Teaching that is creative, interesting, and challenging to students and results in students achieving a high level of mastery begins with a course of study that makes sense to students. The subject matter should pertain directly to the educational objectives of the course. The content of the course needs to be subdivided into instructional units that indicate clearly the usefulness of what is to be learned, and the course content must be sequenced such that one can see and understand the logic underlying the organization of subject matter.

To learn effectively, students must see clearly how what is being taught contributes directly to the accomplishment of their goals—how what is being taught is and will be useful to them now and in the immediate future. They must be aware of the logic that undergirds the organization and sequence of the instructional units that comprise the course.

It is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that students understand what learning outcomes are to be achieved, what subject matter will be taught, how the subject matter will be useful, what the planned sequence of instructional units and activities is, and why the course is organized and sequenced as it is. To implement this strategy, at the beginning of the course the teacher should share the course of study with the students. By doing so, students are given a preview of what to expect and why. Openness with students about what is going on and why continues almost daily throughout the course. The effective teacher goes to great lengths to make sure that what is being taught and why it is being taught is clear to students. If students are to achieve and be enthusiastic about instruction, it is important that they not have their energy and attention diverted by their attempts to make sense out of the subject matter, how it is organized, and what they are expected to learn.

Meaning

Students find meaning in subject matter when it is evident how the subject matter can be used. The course of study illustrates and communicates the usefulness of subject matter to students when units of instruction are stated in action terms—tasks and activities to be performed. For example, an instructional unit titled “Landscaping a Residential Site” more directly and clearly denotes the application and use of subject matter than does an instructional unit titled “Principles of Landscape Design” even though the subject matter taught in the two units is the same. “Feeding my Sow and Litter” more clearly conveys the usefulness and application of subject matter to meaningful tasks than does “Swine Nutrition”; “Conducting and Participating in FFA Meetings” is more likely to attract and hold the attention of students than an instructional unit titled “Parliamentary Procedure.”

Sequencing

The sequencing of instructional units within a course contributes directly to students’ understanding the organization and structure of subject matter. As persons highly knowledgeable in the subject matter being taught, teachers tend to organize and sequence instructional units logically. Certain instructional units precede or follow other topics because of the inherent logic of the subject matter. The arrangement of chapters in textbooks in agriculture illustrates the experts’ logical organization of subject matter. Teachers need to be aware that the inherent logic of subject matter is most evident and sensible to those who are experts in the area such that the interrelationships among elements of the subject matter are clear.

Students, who obviously are not experts in the subject matter they are about to be taught, do not automatically see or even care about an expert’s logical organization of subject matter. Instead, students approach subject matter from a psychological organization and structure. Students are most interested in studying the various phases or topics of a particular subject in an order that corresponds to what is going on in the world around them. For example, high school students learning how to select and buy breeding swine do not first have to study the history and origin of the breeds of swine. In fact, insisting that students memorize the history and origin of the breeds of swine as a prerequisite to the action-oriented instructional unit on selecting and buying breeding animals will almost surely dampen students’ interest and enthusiasm for the topic. Likewise, students who are being taught how to participate in FFA meetings do not first have to become experts on the history of FFA and how the organization is organized at the local, state, and national levels. These topics can be taught later, when students see some psychological sense to their acquiring that knowledge.

The contrast of the psychological organization of subject matter (from the perspective of the student) and the logical organization of subject matter (from the perspective of the expert) is aptly illustrated by one author’s experience in teaching a production agriculture course to ninth-grade students. The course of study for the first few weeks included a series of instructional units about orientation to the school and to the study of agriculture, requirements for and planning supervised agricultural experience programs, and orientation to and becoming a member of FFA. After a few days of instruction, one student asked this sobering question: “When are we going to study agriculture?” In planning the course of study, teachers must remember that what is taught and the order in which it is taught needs to make psychological sense to students. It is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that students understand the organization, structure, and sequence of the subject matter they are expected to learn.

Providing Structure. Teachers have numerous opportunities to make clear the meaning, organization, and structure of subject matter during the actual teaching of each instructional unit. The first requirement is that students be aware of and accept enthusiastically rather than passively the learning outcomes to be achieved. It is essential that students know about and understand the instructional objectives being sought if they are to perceive the instruction as meaningful. Teachers can use a number of specific strategies and techniques (what teachers do) to ensure that the organization, structure, and meaning of subject matter is clear to students.

These teacher behaviors are labeled “use of structuring comments” and “cognitive clarity of a teacher’s presentation.” ^[1]

Teachers provide structure to subject matter when they make it clear to students how the various topics or instructional units of the course fit together. Making it clear when one topic ends and another begins, as well as making evident the interrelatedness of topics, enables students to see and understand the organization and meaning of subject matter. Teachers use structuring comments when they review at the start or the end of a lesson; review, clarify, and emphasize major points during the discussion and study; provide structuring comments before asking questions; and make evident the connections between what is being studied in agriculture and what students are studying in other courses in school. Expert teachers spend considerable time making sure that students understand why certain subject matter is taught and how the subject matter fits with what has already been learned and with what is to be studied in subsequent units of the course. Basically, the strategy of the successful teacher is one of letting students in on what is going on.

Clarity. Clarity of teachers’ presentations and of their responses to students’ comments and questions contributes to student achievement. Teachers who demonstrate clarity in their teaching explain and demonstrate concepts in a manner that can be understood by students, make points easy to understand, and answer questions in an intelligent and complete manner. Students of teachers who exhibit clarity in their teaching do not have to spend a great deal of time attempting to figure out what is going on. If they do not understand, they know that a question will result in an easy-to-understand explanation of the concepts being taught and how the concepts relate to the world that is real to students.

The sequence of courses within an agricultural education program as well as the sequence of instructional units within a particular course are major determinants of the extent to which this principle is put into practice. But regardless of how well sequenced the instruction is in terms of the readiness of students for new learning, individual differences of students make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for all students to have the desirable prerequisite knowledge and experience for each unit of instruction.

Teachers whose behaviors exhibit that this principle is basic to their teaching go to great lengths to learn about their students—their interests, aspirations, and aptitudes; their previous instruction in and experience related to the subject matter; the expectations of their parents; and their opportunities to participate in laboratory and supervised experiences that accompany classroom instruction. Such a concern for students and their degree of readiness for new learning requires teachers to know students individually and to be familiar with their home situations and workplaces in addition to what they do and how they perform in school.

Students demonstrate their readiness for instruction through the interest and enthusiasm they show when a new instructional unit is introduced, by the questions they ask, their level of achievement, and how they act in the classroom and laboratory. Perceptive teachers attend to the comments and actions of students that indicate they lack the knowledge, skill, or experience essential to achieve the instructional objectives for a particular course or unit of instruction. When it is evident that students lack the prerequisite knowledge, skill, or experience, the teacher must provide or arrange for remedial instruction to make it possible for students to achieve.

MOTIVATION

Motivation is “that which gives direction and intensity to behavior.”^[2] Motivation to learn in school is that which influences students to consider certain subjects and learning activities as interesting and challenging and that which determines the level of intensity and persistence with which students participate in and accomplish learning activities. Motivation to learn in agricultural education is partly a function of the personality and other attributes of students. But motivation to learn is also a function of the quality and variety of learning experiences that are under the direct control of the teacher and the school.

Students demonstrate their motivation for school in general, for particular courses, and for certain educational activities by their interest, by the intensity with which they enter into learning activities, and by their perseverance in completing tasks they undertake. Teachers gauge the motivation of students by the relative degree of interest they display for the course and the activities provided them.

Teachers who design courses and direct educational activities that motivate students in a positive manner must be aware of and sensitive to their interests, wants, and aspirations. When those to be taught are high school students, knowledge of the psychology of adolescence is essential. Regardless of the ages of the persons to be taught, the successful teacher systematically makes an effort to become knowledgeable about the relevant attributes and circumstances of students and their environments that impact directly on the students’ motivations for instruction in agriculture and for school in general. Specifically, the teacher will determine and pay attention to students’ academic aptitudes and academic achievements in school; their educational and occupational aspirations and plans; the types of nonschool activities in which they participate; the groups with whom they associate; special or unusual talents and experiences they have; the nature of the environment in which they live and work; and the values they, their families, and their friends hold for school in general and, more specifically, for the study of agriculture. Teachers should especially pay attention to the reasons students enroll in courses in agriculture and the types of activities, level of achievement, and degree of recognition that motivates students.

Enthusiasm. In addition to skill as a teacher, the enthusiasm of the teacher is an attribute that is considered a major contributing factor to the motivation of students. It is easier for the teacher to learn the subject matter to be taught and teaching skills than it is to learn to be enthusiastic. Complete involvement in teaching, dedication, commitment, and sincere concern for students and their achievements are attributes that students use to describe teachers who model enthusiasm. Teacher enthusiasm is a behavior that research substantiates as being positively associated with the achievement of students.^[3]A teacher’s movements, gestures, and voice inflections are factors that students associate with a teacher’s enthusiasm. Motivation is enhanced by teachers who are stimulating rather than boring, and alert and active rather than apathetic and lackadaisical.

Interest. Students tend to exhibit greater interest when there is activity, love of nature, curiosity, creativeness, gregariousness, desire for approval, altruism, self-advancement, competition, or ownership. Interest of students in a subject tends to be related to their knowledge or skill related to the topic. Interest can be increased in a subject by suggesting links between the new subject and one that the students know and understand. Interest can be created or strengthened by developing suspense, using the novel or unexpected, and using humor. Acceptance by students of group goals, a sense of progress toward goals, and challenging thought about a topic can enhance interest. Individuals can become “caught up” in expressions of interest by the group (class).

Novel learning experiences stimulate students. Talking about their experiences gets students actively involved, which, in turn, motivates them. The use of actual objects and specimens attracts the attention of students, gets them involved, and creates a high level of interest. Learning activities in which students are actors rather than passive observers or participants are stimulating. Students’ involvement in the teaching-learning process can be an effective means of motivation. It is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that student involvement is meaningful and motivating and that it contributes positively both to the instructional process and to the outcomes achieved.

When students are actively and appropriately involved in formulating learning goals and in planning, conducting, and evaluating learning activities, they hold a degree of ownership in the teaching-learning process and, consequently, are motivated to ensure that goals are achieved and activities completed successfully. Students have to be taught how to participate in setting goals and in selecting, carrying out, and evaluating various phases of the teaching-learning process. Active student involvement in goal setting and in planning and evaluating learning activities does not relieve the teacher of major responsibility for ensuring that instruction is adequately planned, delivered, and evaluated. In fact, it is more difficult to teach students about and appropriately involve them in planning for and conducting teaching-learning activities than it is to resort to a teacher-dominated stance for goal setting, planning, and evaluating instruction.

Teacher’s “use of student ideas”^[4] describes a group of teacher behaviors that correlate positively with student achievement. Teachers use students’ ideas when they repeat what students have said, acknowledge the contributions of students during discussion, modify or rephrase the comments of students, apply a student’s idea in the analysis and solution to problems, compare one student’s idea to the ideas expressed by others, and summarize what has been said by individuals or the group. Students are motivated and in turn achieve at higher levels when teachers indicate by words and actions that they accept students’ feelings and ideas when they offer praise and encouragement.

When students acquire new knowledge and skill they are motivated. Nothing motivates like success. Teachers who demonstrate this principle of teaching and learning ensure that students are engaged in learning activities where success is possible, provide the instruction and supervision needed to enable students to achieve, and make certain that a student’s success is made evident and recognized.

This principle of teaching and learning, which is closely associated with the preceding principle, emphasizes that challenge is a motivating force when a student sees that success is possible. In implementing this principle, a major concern of the teacher is the realization that what is within the range of challenge for some students is impossible for others to attain and perhaps unchallenging or even boring to other students. It is essential that teachers pay particular attention to individual differences of students when applying this principle. Its application requires the use of subject matter and instructional materials at several levels of difficulty, as well as a variety of learning activities. Effective teachers select and sequence subject matter and develop learning activities that are challenging in that students believe success, although not certain or automatic, is possible and likely to be attained.

REWARD AND REINFORCEMENT

If students are to continue to show interest in learning and strive to achieve the learning outcomes sought, they must be given feedback concerning their learning progress. Providing feedback involves both diagnosing the strengths and weaknesses of a student’s learning behavior and furnishing additional instruction and supervised practice if needed.

Master teachers use a variety of techniques to provide feedback to students. Tests and examinations are probably the most frequently used techniques. When tests are used in a manner that contributes to learning most effectively, students not only get immediate feedback concerning their performance but also are given the opportunity to participate in additional instructional activities that are designed to develop the knowledge and skill that had not been achieved at a satisfactory level of performance. Using tests as diagnostic devices rather than exclusively for evaluation and grading purposes is an effective way for students to be apprised of their learning progress.

Questioning during classroom discussion affords teachers the opportunity to assess students’ knowledge and understanding and, when warranted, can be accompanied immediately by remedial and supplemental instruction. In laboratory situations in which the development of psychomotor skills is the learning outcome sought, the use of this principle requires that teachers observe and diagnose the student’s performance of the skill and then demonstrate or model the practices and skills that must be improved. It is important in providing feedback to students that the teacher communicate not only what is incorrect or being performed improperly but also make sure students understand what is correct and what skills and practices are being performed correctly. When incorrect responses and improper performance are detected, reinstruction should be provided as expeditiously as possible.

The gamut of techniques for diagnosing student achievement and performance and simultaneously providing supplemental instruction is determined in large measure by the teacher’s innovativeness and creativity. Teachers can provide feedback and supplemental instruction to students through written comments on student notebooks, papers, and other written projects. Some teachers use audio, video, and electronic records to communicate their appraisal of a student’s work and to offer suggestions for additional learning activities. Small-group discussions in which the teacher is involved and individual instruction and supervision in the home and at the place of work offer excellent opportunities for teachers to help students become aware of their learning progress.

Successful teachers teach students how to evaluate their own learning progress. In the final analysis, self-evaluation is the goal to be achieved if students are to continue learning throughout life.

A fundamental principle of the psychology of learning is that behaviors that are rewarded are likely to be learned and retained. If achievement in acquiring facts, deriving principles and applying them to the solution of problems, or analyzing and evaluating information is recognized and rewarded, students are likely to retain this cognitive knowledge and skill to a greater extent than if the learning outcomes achieved are not rewarded. When the behaviors to be learned are psychomotor skills, the behaviors are more likely to recur and be retained if the correct performance of the skills is rewarded. Providing reinforcement when actions students deliberately take demonstrate desirable attitudes is an effective strategy when the learning outcomes desired are attitudes.^[6]

In providing reinforcement when desirable learning outcomes are observed, teachers need to take special care to ensure that the reinforcement offered is actually viewed by students as a reward. Again, this illustrates the necessity for teachers to know students individually. This is especially true in the case of high school students because under varying circumstances and at different times students place varying degrees of value on teachers’ actions and comments that are designed to reward the acquisition and demonstration of competence. What some high school students view as rewarding may not be viewed as rewarding by other students. Generally, recognition by teachers and peers for behavior that demonstrates a high level of mastery is considered by most learners to be rewarding; therefore, reinforcing the learning that has occurred.

Criticism, the opposite of reward, should be used cautiously. The research is consistent in showing a negative relationship between a teacher’s use of criticism and student achievement.^[7] However, the fact that the use of criticism is frequently accompanied by a lack of achievement should not be used to justify teaching practices that avoid or minimize the importance and necessity for teachers to inform students when their work is inaccurate or incomplete. Effective teaching demands that teachers provide feedback to students not only when students are right but also when they are wrong. When students’ responses and performances are right, feedback not only recognizes achievement but also serves to make sure students know and understand what they have accomplished correctly. When students’ responses and performances are wrong, feedback not only communicates the fact of inaccuracy or incompleteness but also provides instruction and suggestions such that students may through further study and instruction achieve an acceptable level of mastery.

Sometimes teachers accept or ignore incorrect responses in the classroom or improper performance in the laboratory. This practice should be avoided. Instead, the teacher should make it clear that the observed achievement or performance is not satisfactory, then provide additional instruction to correct the deficiencies observed. In effect, the acceptance of mediocre and inferior achievement reinforces not only an unacceptable level of achievement but also the learning behaviors that resulted in less than acceptable mastery. When achievement and performance are substandard, teachers must accomplish two important tasks immediately. First, students must be made aware that achievement and performance are not acceptable and be informed why their work is so judged. Second, and of even greater importance, students must be retaught or given the opportunity for reinstruction such that acceptable levels of competence can be attained.

The desirability of providing immediate feedback to students cannot be overemphasized. To have maximum effectiveness, reward should closely follow and be clearly connected to the desired behavior. During classroom and laboratory instruction, reinforcement can be quickly conveyed by a teacher’s comments with the teacher making sure that the student understands what behaviors and level of performance are being reinforced. When reinforcing a student’s performance, the expert teacher does not assume that the student is automatically aware of the behavior that resulted in the mastery of knowledge or the acquisition of skills. If maximum payoff is to be realized from the use of this principle of teaching and learning, students must not only know that they have demonstrated a satisfactory level of achievement or performance but they must also be aware of what they did right to achieve the level of mastery they have demonstrated.

TECHNIQUES OF TEACHING

If students are to achieve optimum levels of competence, it is essential that the teacher direct the teaching-learning process. Teacher direction means that the teacher assumes responsibility for (1) making sure that students know and understand what is to be taught and what learning outcomes are expected, (2) selecting and using skillfully and efficiently appropriate teaching techniques, (3) supervising the learning activities in which students participate, (4) designing and securing the appropriate instructional media and materials, (5) directing the application of knowledge and skills learned, and (6) evaluating the effectiveness of instruction. Directed learning ensures that both the teacher and the students know what is going on and why.

Teachers who are most expert in directing learning use task-oriented and businesslike behaviors and provide students opportunity to learn criterion material.^[10] The extent to which a teacher is task oriented, achievement oriented, and businesslike determines the extent to which teaching-learning activities are structured and directed. The teacher’s use of task-oriented and businesslike behaviors is correlated positively with student achievement. Teachers who are task and achievement oriented place high priority on students learning. Task-oriented teachers encourage students to work hard, provide opportunities for independent study, and supervise the learning activities of students.

Investigations of the relationship between teacher behavior and student achievement consistently reveal that higher levels of competence are achieved when students are provided ample opportunity to learn the knowledge and skills that are specified in the instructional objectives. Time spent on learning tasks that pertain specifically and directly to the learning outcomes sought is an important factor contributing to student achievement.

Learning occurs when students through their own activity have changes in behavior. That which is to be learned must be processed by students such that it is meaningful and understandable. The clear and simple message of this principle is that “students learn” and “teachers teach.” If students are to learn, they must have a clear notion of what it is they are supposed to know and be able to do. They must make serious efforts to achieve the expected outcomes. Through their own activity, study, and practice that is directed and supervised by the teacher, they acquire, retain, and use knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The job of the teacher is to structure and direct the teaching-learning process (principle 10) such that students are provided opportunities for inquiring into that which is to be learned. Teachers have an array of techniques and strategies from which to choose in facilitating students becoming actively involved such that their behavior—whether thinking, doing, or feeling—is changed. For both the learner and the teacher, learning is an active rather than passive process.

Variability. The “teacher’s use of variety or variability”^[12] is positively correlated with student achievement. Research has consistently demonstrated that the achievement of students is higher when teachers use a variety of instructional materials and teaching procedures. A wide variety of written, electronic, audio, and video instructional materials are needed. It is essential that instructional materials be available that can be used by students with varying interests and aptitudes. If opportunities are provided students to participate in an inquiry mode of learning, teachers must have available and use appropriate audio, visual, and electronic media.

Variety in teaching requires that teachers use several diagnostic and evaluative devices for providing feedback to students. Written tests can be used to assess competence in the analysis of problem situations, problem solving, and the generation and application of general principles in addition to the acquisition of facts and the recall of information. Performance tests, oral tests, and the assessment of actual performance in the laboratory and in supervised practice provide variety in assessment techniques, which allows students with different interests, aptitudes, and levels of competence to demonstrate achievement.

Using variety in teaching requires that a broad range of activities and tasks be provided so students can be involved actively in the acquisition and application of knowledge and in the development, practice, and use of skills. Students vary greatly not only in their interests and motivation for learning but also in the prerequisite knowledge and skill they possess and in their learning styles. Some students learn best when they work independently, whereas others learn most effectively in group activities. Teachers who demonstrate variability in teaching provide opportunities for both individual and group learning activities, supervise students’ learning tasks to the extent necessary to ensure that students learn, allow students to participate in a broad range of learning tasks, and select teaching techniques that are best suited to accomplish effectively and efficiently the specific learning outcomes sought for each instructional unit.

When selecting teaching techniques for a particular lesson or unit of instruction, the teacher needs to consider two important factors. First is the nature of the learning outcomes to be achieved. For example, consideration has to be given to whether students are to acquire facts and information, problemsolving skills, psychomotor skills, or personal development skills such as leading or participating in group discussions. Second, the teacher must consider whether students possess the necessary study and inquiry skills to enable them to participate actively and productively in the particular learning tasks that will be used.

The specific learning outcomes to be attained must be considered when decisions are made concerning what teaching techniques to use. If a primary focus of the lesson is the acquisition of certain facts, teaching techniques are selected that either present the facts in as clear and understandable fashion as possible or assist students in locating and recording the information expeditiously. If the primary learning outcomes are to develop problem-solving abilities, to create a positive attitude toward inquiry, or to make reading more discriminating, group discussion techniques are most likely to be effective. Research indicates that group discussion is effective in achieving mastery of subject matter content; developing positive attitudes toward concepts taught; solving problems that require group commitment for implementation; and developing skills related to listening, speaking, and leadership.^[13] If the development of psychomotor skills is the learning outcome sought, teaching techniques are required that emphasize demonstrations and modeling accompanied by supervised practice.

Problem-Oriented Teaching. Problem-oriented teaching places high priority on students inquiring into subject matter. With problem-oriented teaching strategies, teachers pay close attention to the study and learning skills possessed by students that are essential to their involvement in learning tasks. Students have to be taught how to participate in learning activities that are basic to a problem-oriented approach to teaching. To participate successfully in learning tasks that require students to inquire into subject matter, students need competence in setting goals, defining problems and questions, locating pertinent knowledge and information, developing alternative answers and solutions, evaluating the validity of data and information, and assessing the consequences of alternative solutions. Teachers who use problem-oriented teaching techniques successfully find it necessary to teach skills of systematic inquiry if students are to be actively and productively involved in learning tasks.

The teacher’s use of questions is important with a problem-oriented approach to teaching. Research indicates that teachers should use both lower-cognitive-level “what” and “where” questions and higher-cognitive-level “why” and “how” questions. There is some evidence to indicate that probing—encouraging students to elaborate on their answers—contributes positively to higher achievement.^[14] The use of questions is one strategy teachers use to structure and direct the learning process. Research indicates that in teacherdirected instruction learning is organized around questions posed by the teacher, the teacher asking direct and narrow questions that have definite answers, the teacher immediately providing feedback indicating whether answers are right or wrong, the teacher asking additional questions after correct answers are given, and the teacher making sure that the correct answer is given after incorrect answers are given.^[15]

Often practice is associated only with psychomotor skills. Obviously, practice is of prime importance when the learning outcome to be achieved is the development of new psychomotor skills or the further refinement of present skills. However, practice is also applicable to cognitive and attitudinal skills as well. If the teaching techniques a teacher uses emphasize the memorization of facts, students practice memorizing and many become highly proficient at it. If the teaching techniques a teacher uses emphasize a problem-oriented approach to teaching and learning, students, through practice, develop skills that enable them to participate actively in learning tasks that encourage, if not demand, that they inquire into, rather than be instructed in, the subject matter. The importance of this principle to effective teaching and learning cannot be emphasized too strongly. The teaching techniques a teacher uses invariably are accompanied by students practicing certain learning behaviors, cognitive skills, psychomotor skills, and attitudes. It is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure that the behaviors and skills students practice contribute to high levels of achievement and performance, to an intensified motivation to continue learning, to positive attitudes toward learning, and to the ability to apply and use constructively what is being learned.

Practice in itself is not enough. Sheer repetition does not ensure that the hoped for learning outcomes will be achieved. Students can practice error as well as success. It is imperative that practice be supervised by the teacher such that reward and reinforcement (principles 7, 8, and 9), including modeling and reinstruction, can be used to ensure that practice leads to desirable learning outcomes. Practice without appropriate feedback, whether reinforcement or reinstruction, is a poor way to attempt to learn.

Supervised practice contributes optimally to the attainment of learning outcomes when students practice in situations that resemble as closely as possible the actual situations in which they are to apply and use the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are being learned. The educational experiences provided students for practicing cognitive, psychomotor, and attitudinal skills must be perceived by students as sensible, meaningful, and functional.

If supervised practice is to make sense to students, teachers must deal with real situations, problems, and current and accurate data and information in the classroom. For certain learning outcomes it is essential that supervised practice be provided in laboratories that are equipped with facilities that are up-to-date and operate properly. Supervised practice in the community and the world of work is basic to agricultural education programs. This principle of teaching and learning provides the rationale for supervised practice in the classroom, the laboratory, and the FFA and through supervised experience.

TRANSFER OF LEARNING

The desired outcomes of effective teaching involve more than students answering questions correctly and keeping legible notes with correctly spelled words and grammatically correct sentences. The major learning outcomes sought are that students acquire new knowledge and skill; that they understand the concepts and principles that are basic to the knowledge and skill they acquire; and that they use this knowledge, skill, and understanding not only to facilitate further learning but also in achieving useful and productive occupational and personal lives.

Teaching for transfer of learning requires teachers to emphasize the usefulness of what is being taught to the immediate and long-term needs and interests of students. Descriptions of the principles previously presented in this chapter pertaining to organization and structure of subject matter, motivation, reward and reinforcement, and techniques of teaching provide the rationale for teaching strategies and techniques that result in students being equipped to apply and use the knowledge, skill, and understanding that has been acquired.

In the final analysis, transfer of learning comes down to students understanding what has been taught, preferably through experiences that provide opportunities for supervised practice and application. Teachers who effectively teach for transfer make it clear to students what new knowledge, concepts, principles, and skills have been learned and point out to students through examples and supervised practice how, when, and where the new learning can be applied and used. Teaching that explicitly makes direct connections between classroom and laboratory instruction and real-world situations is essential for teaching students to transfer learning.

An important element in teaching for transfer is stated in the principle that transfer is “more likely to take place when what is to be transferred is a generalization, a general rule, or a formula.” This requires that students’ answers to questions and solutions to problems go beyond recording facts, figures, and statements from a reference. It is the responsibility of the teacher to guide students in understanding “why” certain answers or solutions are correct. Understanding “why” means that underlying concepts and principles are made explicit and their meaning understood. This is a major ingredient of “directed learning” (principle 10). In addition to directing learning activities that lead to students deriving or becoming aware of concepts and principles, the effective teacher provides examples and situations that demonstrate to students how and when the concepts and principles apply to other settings and situations.

While observing an experienced high school teacher of agriculture, one of the authors noted the following example of transfer of learning. During the class period the teacher administered a test. As students worked on the test, the observer noted that one student seated nearby, before writing an answer to a single question, proceeded to read each question and write brief notes in the margin beside each question. The observer, curious about what the student had written, approached the student’s desk and quietly asked how he was doing. In doing so, the observer noted that in the margin next to one question the student had written “candy bar rule.” Later in discussion with the teacher, the observer asked why the student would write “candy bar rule” by one of the questions on the test. “Oh, that’s easy to explain,” the teacher replied, “for problems of that type we learned that the calculations involved follow the general rule ‘if five candy bars cost         , then one candy bar costs        ‘.” The student recognized a situation where the general candy bar rule applied, thus immediate transfer of learning.

SUMMARY

Principles of teaching and learning provide the rationale for strategies and techniques teachers use to plan, deliver, and evaluate instruction in and about agriculture. The principles described in this chapter are substantiated by research in the psychology of learning. Using these principles as the basis for formulating and selecting strategies and techniques for planning, delivering, and evaluating instruction contributes to students acquiring and using appropriate knowledge, skill, and understanding—learning outcomes sought from effective teaching.

FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. Analyze the teaching episode presented at the beginning of this chapter.
   1.  What techniques did the teacher use to motivate students?
   2. In what learning activities did students engage?
   3. What techniques did the teacher use to elicit responses from students?
   4. What type of questions did the teacher ask?
   5. What learning outcomes were achieved?
   6. What principles of teaching and learning were demonstrated?
   7. How do you explain why the actual behavior of students during the class session was substantially different from what the student teacher expected?
2. Examine a lesson plan or a unit of instruction. Identify the principles of teaching and learning used in the lesson.
3. Observe a videotape of a high school class, an elementary class, or a college class. Identify the techniques used by the teacher to apply principles of teaching and learning. Tie specific techniques to specific principles.

Table 2-1: How teachers put into practice the principles of teaching and learning