What are the chances of this teaching technique being successful? The chances are quite slim, but why is this so? It is because the teacher is trying to tell the group how to perform a meticulous psychomotor operation. The teacher’s technical knowledge is accurate and the teacher may, in fact, be a very articulate spokesperson. Nevertheless, the technique is wrong for the situation.

As teaching situations vary, teachers must vary their teaching techniques. In this book, two broad classifications of teaching techniques are presented: group teaching techniques in this chapter and individualized teaching techniques in Chapter 7.

THE ROLE OF GROUP TEACHING TECHNIQUES

Group teaching techniques are those techniques that are appropriate for providing instruction to a group of students in the same setting. For example, a class can learn much about controlling plant diseases by being engaged in a well-guided class discussion where notes are taken from information developed on the board or on overhead transparencies. Students can also learn very effectively from taking a well-planned and conducted class field trip. Group teaching occurs in the classroom, laboratory, field, and workplace. For example, many demonstrations given to the whole group are essential to successful performance in the agricultural instruction laboratory.

Much of agricultural instruction is presented to groups of students all studying the same topic with the same or similar learning outcomes being sought. Such instruction and the appropriate teaching techniques for group settings are essential.

THE NEED FOR GROUP TECHNIQUES

One of the justifications for group instruction and the teaching techniques appropriate for such instruction is that the time available to the teacher and the students is limited. Therefore teachers must teach students in groups whenever the students have common needs and the knowledge, skills, or attitudes being taught are teachable in a group setting. Take the case of learning how to establish a record keeping system. Every student will need this information, and it is easily taught by presenting a good case example on the overhead projector, chalkboard, or computer-projected image. Students follow the example illustrated and develop the system on their own work sheets.

Furthermore, all students in the class usually need some common factual information. If you were teaching a unit of instruction on estimating timber yields, and none of the students had ever cruised timber, they would all need to learn the basic procedure to be followed.

Another factor that makes the use of group teaching techniques not only desirable but also necessary is the lack of sufficient learning resources. When teachers lack sufficient student references, self-paced modules, or computer stations, for example, they find it necessary to use group teaching techniques to help students learn efficiently the information they need to know.

OPERATIONALIZING THE DATA-GATHERING STEP IN PROBLEM SOLVING

Another key role of group teaching techniques and individualized techniques is to provide students with the factual information needed to solve the problem presented to the class. Once a teacher has decided that group instruction is best for the situation, the particular group teaching technique that is most appropriate is used to help students gain the information and understanding needed to solve the problem at hand.

Once students have gained the basic information, teachers often find it helpful to use a group setting to aid the class in developing tentative solutions based on the factual information that has been presented. Group techniques are also helpful to gather tentative solutions and draw final conclusions to problems that students are studying, using the individual techniques discussed in Chapter 7.

USING INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA IN TEACHING

Before presenting specific techniques of teaching, it is important to point out that teachers need to develop the ability to select and use instructional media effectively with all techniques of instruction. Instructional media consists of any type of visual or audio material that can be used to enhance learning.

People use all of their senses to learn, and they generally learn more when they make use of more than one sense at a time. Thus, for example, students should be encouraged to listen as well as see material.

Another reason for using media to supplement any technique of teaching is that such media adds variety, and a variety of approaches to learning is beneficial. The use of media also provides learners with more vivid frames of reference against which to apply the instruction being received. Table 6-1 presents some examples of media and their possible uses. Media can supplement any of the teaching techniques.

Table 6-1: Examples of media that can be used with various teaching techniques

THE BASIC GROUP TEACHING TECHNIQUES USED IN TEACHING AGRICULTURE

There are seven basic group teaching techniques that work well in helping students develop the competencies they need in order to successfully enter the labor market. These group techniques are

1. Lecture
2. Discussion
3. Demonstrations
4. Field Trips
5. Role-play
6. Resource People
7. Cooperative Learning

Each technique of teaching in a group setting is presented. Once the reader has studied each technique, he or she will be able to use the technique effectively in group instruction.

LECTURE

Recall the teaching situation with which the chapter started: the teacher telling the class show to make a splice graft. For that particular teaching assignment, lecturing was not the appropriate teaching technique to use. However, there are teaching situations for which the lecture works very well.

Lecturing is a good group teaching technique for disseminating factual information. It is also useful when the material being taught is not readily available in a form other than through telling the class. For example, the history of the local FFA chapter may not be written in a form that can be distributed to the class, so a lecture format is chosen to deliver the content.

Sometimes teachers choose to lecture because they need to organize and present a segment of content in a particular way; oftentimes this method is chosen because the teacher has discovered that it makes the most sense to their students. For example, prior to earning the Greenhand degree, or preliminary FFA degree, students often must pass a “greenhand” examination that tests students’ knowledge of national, state, and local FFA history and events. The teacher might choose the lecture technique to sequentially present much of the important content of the FFA unit of instruction, before offering students the exam. Lecturing is acceptable when that which is taught is only needed for short-term retention. It is also used for providing oral directions, suggestions, and introductory comments.

In teaching agriculture, lecturing has acquired a bad name. This is probably because it has been overused and often abused. Under such circumstances any teaching technique would be undesirable.

Nevertheless, there are several potential problems with lecturing. Teachers need to be familiar with these problems and learn to resolve them.

Problems with Lecturing

So often teachers think of lecturing as talking and seem to conclude that they do not need to plan for that. Nothing could be more false. Teachers will use “lecturing” to fill time as opposed to “planning a lecture.” No teaching technique can be expected to work very well if the teacher is inadequately prepared.

When teachers do plan a lecture, it is often disorganized. There may not be a logical sequence to the organization. Sometimes there is no good flow between the parts of the lecture. It is also not uncommon to find that in planning a lecture teachers fail to plan for interim summaries and fail to develop clear conclusions.

Another difficulty with lecturing as a teaching technique is that lecturers often lack animation. They allow their stage presence to be lifeless, stale, and boring. Teachers also fail to use clear illustrations—illustrations that help learners create mental images that provide important frames of reference. Not only are there too few verbal illustrations but teachers also fail to incorporate sufficient visual, as well as other, media to help make their instruction as clear as possible.

Perhaps the most deadly problem with lecturing is the monotonous monologue. Nothing is quite so boring as an uninterrupted monologue.

Each of these problems can and must be overcome through good planning and good delivery.

Planning a Lecture

When planning a lecture to be used to solve a problem or part thereof, it is necessary to develop a clear and complete outline of the content, key points, or concepts that need to be taught. This means that teachers must have a thorough knowledge of areas in which lecturing is the teaching technique to be used.

This outline should be in written form and have a definite pattern of organization and flow that enhances clarity. There are a number of possible approaches to the organization of the outline. Some examples are

• Chronological
• Spatial
• Cause to effect/vice versa
• Problems and solutions (problems, possible solutions to each, conclusions for each)
• Topical

Whatever the pattern, the segments of the outline must fit together with clarity and fluency.

The plan must include marginal notes (directions to self) that instruct the teacher on how to best get a key point across to the learners. Perhaps the note reminds the teacher to show a transparency, put key notes on the writing surface, or relate an example.

Finally, the teacher needs to plan a summary to the lecture. This should be “drawing together,” and concluding with a restatement of the major points that have been made. Consider Case 6-1, a sample daily plan of a brief lecture on the history of the FFA.

Analysis of Case. 6-1. In analyzing Case 6-1, first look at what was recorded in the teacher’s plan. The key content for this interest approach is a story (written in the right column). The directions to self are the commands in bold before and after the story (written in the left column). These directions are sequenced so that they flow with the story.

The final phase of planning the lecture is to plan for leading through the class drawing conclusions at the end of the story about the purpose of the FFA. Teachers must remember that the lecture needs to be designed in a logical way to lead students through the study of a particular problem area. The teacher then needs to plan some bridging comments that link what was taught today with what was taught yesterday and with what will be taught tomorrow.

Presenting Good Lectures

Proper planning is the foundation for success in using the lecture. However, the plan has to be implemented effectively for the final positive and appropriate result to be archived.

A good way to grasp many of the salient points of presenting a good lecture is to consider the characteristics of good lecturers. Table 6-2 presents these characteristics. Teachers should seriously consider their own characteristics of speech and delivery and compare them to those listed in Table 6-2. The point is that it is not advisable to make heavy use of a teaching technique if it draws attention to one’s weaknesses rather than allowing one to build on strengths.

Furthermore, as teachers consider giving lectures, they need to organize the notes and supporting materials such as visuals or props, so that everything is in proper sequence. The majority of agriculture teachers’ lectures will greatly improve if they give illustrated lectures. An illustrated lecture is more than teacher talk. It is teacher talk supplemented with such things as key notes on the writing surface, transparencies, slides, charts, diagrams, specimens, PowerPoint, and other aids that help the teacher effectively teach the concepts under consideration.

Another key part of improving the presentation of a lecture is to make use of interim summary techniques. At critical points in the lecture, pause to point out the “big ideas” that have been presented thus far in the lesson. For example, during a lecture on “Managing Your Time,” stop after presenting the topic “using calendars effectively” and indicate that, so far you have learned about “prioritizing projects” and “using calendars effectively.” Remind them of the key points from each topic and then indicate that you are now moving into “establishing organization techniques.” At the end of the lecture, be sure to develop very clear and specific conclusions. These should be recorded on the writing surface and in student notes.

Table 6-2: Characteristics of good lecturers

DISCUSSION

Types of Discussion

Class Discussion. A major type of discussion is what is generally referred to as class discussion. This is a situation in which the teacher poses well-thought-out (prepared beforehand) leading questions to the class and the students offer answers. This dialogue continues in a purposeful vein until the major points to be developed have been brought out and clearly explained. The teacher serves as the facilitator of the discussion.

Brainstorming. Another way of promoting group discussion is through brainstorming. Brainstorming is a procedure whereby the whole group or several small groups within the class are given a topic, question, or problem and asked to come up with as many ideas, answers, and solutions as possible. When using brainstorming one is not interested in quality as much as quantity. It is important that the teacher not squelch participation or creativity by passing judgment on student responses. Instead, the teacher includes all responses that are morally worthy of consideration. The idea is to generate as many possibilities as the group can. Once the possibilities have been developed then they are evaluated and pared down as is appropriate. Brainstorming might well be used to

1. Develop a list of traits of good speakers
2. Develop a list of advantages of a given tillage system
3. Identify possible plants to include in a greenhouse-cropping schedule
4. Suggest causes of a lawn problem
5. List types of habitats needed for the wildlife in a given region
6. Propose solutions to a given engine problem

Buzz Groups. Class discussion can also be facilitated using buzz groups. Buzz groups are small groups of three to seven students within the class. The buzz groups are asked to discuss a given problem or topic and come up with the best possible solutions or answers. Unlike brainstorming, in which quantity was the goal, buzz groups are more focused, purposeful, and businesslike. Buzz groups may rely on their combined current level of knowledge and experience in shaping their suggested answers, or they may use additional sources of information and data, such as references, magazines, and the like. The whole group might brainstorm to come up with proposed solutions to a stream contamination problem. The class could then be divided into buzz groups to think of the best possible solution, which they would then present and defend.

Once the buzz groups have finished their discussions, which are supervised and guided by the teacher, then each small group reports its conclusions back to the total group, where the teacher directs the drawing of group conclusions. Each buzz group may have worked on the same assignment, or each buzz group may have received a unique assignment.

Teachers who wish to use discussion must remember that there are times when students will not discuss. Table 6-3 lists possible reasons why students will not discuss a topic.

Table 6-3: Reasons students will not discuss a topic. Source: Adapted from a handout prepared by the Department of Agricultural Education at South Dakota State University.

Pair-Share. Class discussion can be conducted with large or small class sizes using Pair-Share. The individual student is asked to discuss (on paper) a given problem or topic and come up with his or her own idea or opinion. Then each student pairs up with a second student so the two can hear each other’s ideas or opinions. They discuss their responses and try to determine best solutions. Additional sources of information and data such as references, magazines, and the like may be used in Pair-Share.

Pair-Share provides a quick and easy way to add variability to a class situation of any size. Because a writing component is used, quiet, reflective time is built into the technique, so it can be used as a transition or a bridge between an active discussion and a reflective conclusion to the class.

The Importance of Questioning to Good Discussion

A fundamental element for the success of a good discussion is the effective use of questioning. Of course, questioning is a fundamental skill of teaching and is also used to varying degrees with most teaching techniques. Questioning is complicated but can be mastered. Without good questioning, learning is apt to be superficial and transitory. With good questioning, learning becomes deep, insightful, and permanent. One measure of the success of the superior teacher is the manner in which questions are used in the conduct of instruction. Teachers can improve questioning. A prerequisite is an understanding of the function of questions. Dr. Richard H. Wilson, in a handout titled “On Questions and Questioning,” offers the following suggestions:

1. Stimulate learning by questions to reveal the need to know, explore the benefit or advantage of knowing, provoke desire to know, promote the acceptance of knowledge offered, or evoke willingness to work to seek knowledge.
2. Direct learning by questions to guide the search for knowledge, identify what needs to be known, consider most likely sources of knowledge, weigh relative worth of available knowledge, relate new knowledge to that previously known, secure information possessed by specific individuals, seek recall of specific facts, cause participation in discussion, check accuracy of study in relation to knowledge needed, provoke deduction by logical analysis, focus attention, or rebuff inattention.
3. Evaluate learning by questions to gauge capacity or readiness to assimilate new knowledge, test recognition of knowledge needed, evaluate understanding of new conceptions, reveal grasp of new knowledge in relation to previous study, measure new knowledge gained, test comprehension of relationships, or appraise the growth in perception of generalization, broad conclusions, or general principles.

Questioning and questions are to be used in several ways. The teacher can ask the students questions either as a group or as specifically identified students. The students are then forced to think, reason, judge, and respond. When the questions asked them adhere to the guidelines on questioning presented in Table 6-4, students are able to make meaningful contributions to the solution of good problems. In addition, they develop lasting abilities in the whole area of thinking and responding, and of using previous information and experience to help solve new and different problems.

Table 6-4: Do's and don'ts of questioning

Another way for students to be involved in class is for them to ask the teacher questions. Thus, if the teacher is presenting some new information, explaining a new concept, or illustrating a key point, students should be given sincere opportunity to stop the teacher and raise a question (students will not respond if the teacher simply says, “Are there any questions” and quickly moves on). A student might seek clarification, want to know why something works the way it does, or see if an example has the same meaning as the teacher means. Obviously, this question asking by the student can become a good dialogue or conversation among those who want to know. The alert teacher sees students ask questions without words when students frown or appear perplexed and confused. These nonverbal questions also need to be pursued, brought out verbally, and answered.

However, the masterful agriculture teacher does not always give specific answers to the questions raised by students. Rather, the master teacher will often refer the question back to the class members and purposely guide them to the correct answer. Such teachers may also answer a student’s question with a series of small leading questions that cause the students to discover for themselves the answer to the original question. Such procedures are not used because the teacher does not know the answer but because the teacher wants to encourage and even demand total class participation and improved reasoning ability. Teachers who operate in this fashion feel that students must practice reasoning if they are to be able to reason well.

Teachers need to remember that students asking questions of other students can also gain student involvement in a discussion. In fact, this communication among fellow learners is a highly desirable outcome of class discussions. Of course, such discussions must be focused and directed by the teacher.

Planning a Discussion

Before the specifics of planning a discussion are presented, one needs to ask the question, “What are some factors I should consider in deciding whether to use a discussion?” Familiarization with such factors helps the teacher automatically carry into the planning session pertinent information that helps make the planning more meaningful.

The first question teachers of agriculture need to ask is, “Why am I using discussion rather than some other technique?” Teachers should use one technique over another for some particular reason even if the reason is nothing more than to provide variety. Oftentimes, choice of technique is based on instructional intent or learning outcome, that is, “What do I want to accomplish in terms of learning by using this particular technique?” If one wishes to present completely new information, discussion is not a good technique to use because it is difficult for students to contribute to meaningful discussion if they have little or no knowledge in an area. However, if the problem is, “How can we stop erosion in the ditch located south of the school?” and the students are familiar with the ditch in question and have some previous experiences with controlling erosion, then it is quite reasonable to engage the class in some discussion in order to resolve the problem.

Another factor to consider is the amount of time available. Discussion takes more time than many other techniques. If one is extremely pressed for time, a decision to use some other teaching technique may be appropriate.

At least one other factor is very important in deciding whether to plan to use discussion for a given problem; that is, teacher background and experience. If the teacher is not very knowledgeable in an area, it is difficult to direct a meaningful discussion. If the problem is, “Which irrigation system should we use?” and the teacher knows very little about irrigation systems, the discussion that would result would probably be superficial and little more than a pooling of ignorance.

Once you have decided to use discussion, some planning needs to be recorded on paper. The following categories of information should be reflected in the plan.

1. Sequence. The general order in which the discussion will proceed should be reflected on paper. By giving thought to sequence, the discussion is more apt to be logical and, thereby, clearer and easier for the students to follow. There is nothing quite so frustrating as a rambling discussion that appears to lead nowhere. With proper planning, this can be avoided.
2. Important subject matter or key points to be brought out. The purpose of most discussions is to help students discover definite ideas, options, pieces of information, concepts, or, in the final analysis, solutions to the problems. Unless the teacher records on paper the key points that must be made clear through the discussion, important information is likely to be omitted.
3. Leading questions. Teachers need to write down some leading questions. These are questions that cause students to think of the sought-after response. Questioning is a very difficult teaching skill, and the more inexperienced the teacher is, the more necessary it becomes to write down leading questions.
4. Directions to the teacher. As with any kind of good planning, teachers must include directions to themselves. Leading questions are one type of direction. Other directions might include writing down beside a particular key point the following direction: “Tell about Hawthorne example.” This direction reminds the teacher to share an example that helps clarify a point, thereby enriching the instruction. Other types of directions to the teacher include: (a) Show Transparency A-12, (b) Put cycle on board, (c) Explain meiosis, or (d) Show cross-section slide.

Thus, by writing down directions to self, leading questions, and key points (content) that must be brought out, all in a sequential order, the teacher is able to conduct a better discussion. Study Case 6-2 to see if you can identify the parts previously presented.

Analysis of Case 6-2. Notice that the plan has sequence and purpose. The teacher started by gaining interest with the two slides. Then the students provided reasons for their choices. The teacher’s plan includes all desired reasons (anticipates responses from students plus the list needed for full grasp of the content) so that any reasons omitted by the class could be added by the teacher. The same was true for explanations of how mulch controls weeds, for example. Also notice that the teacher provided directions to self:

• Show slides
• Write on board
• Remind students
• Ask class

Procedures to Follow in Conducting a Discussion

There are some general procedures teachers should follow when conducting a discussion that are so integral to conducting the discussion that the teacher should not have to write them down. One might call these requisite skills for conducting a good discussion.

If a discussion is to be meaningful, the teacher needs to be sure the students understand the task at hand. The teacher has to write the problem or topic on the board or otherwise make it clear to the students what it is they are discussing and why. Without creating such a mental set, a discussion is apt to lack good focus and a sense of purpose.

Another element that is fundamental to the success of the discussion is the effective use of questioning, previously discussed.

Teachers who use discussion effectively stop at the end of the discussion and take time to develop clear and concise concluding points. If this procedure is omitted, the quality of the discussion and the problem solution itself will be substantially diminished. After students have presented their divergent viewpoints in arriving at answers to the teacher’s leading questions, a time of pulling together and sorting out the most important points is mandatory for students to achieve success in understanding. Students can help with this sorting out and conclusion-drawing process. The major concluding points should be summarized on the writing surface or in some other manner and the students should write them in their agriculture notebooks. This development of concluding points also serves as an excellent summary of what has been learned.

DEMONSTRATIONS

In agricultural instruction the psychomotor domain of learning is developed through hands-on application of key concepts. In every instructional area of agriculture there are psychomotor skills that need to be practiced if students are to successfully solve their problems. Consider the abilities for the various instructional areas listed in Table 6-5. For each example with which you are familiar, think about how you would teach students the given ability (see Case 6-3 for teaching the ability to use a torque wrench).

In many of these examples in Table 6-5, talking about it will not produce the ability. Students need to see and practice a step-by-step procedure that they must follow to accomplish a given task.

Demonstrations are best suited for teaching students how to do certain tasks. One must realize that demonstrations must usually be accompanied by

• Explanations (and perhaps some discussion)
• Illustrations (media)
• Practice on the part of the students (hands-on)

Demonstrations are used to show students how to accomplish a given process or task.

Teachers must remember, however, that demonstrations do not automatically work in all situations or for all students. They can be confusing, poorly organized, and frustrating if they are presented improperly or when students are not prepared for them. However, demonstrations, when properly used, can be a very effective teaching technique.

Table 6-5: Abilities to be taught in the various instructional programs in agriculture

Requisites of a Successful Demonstration

Before a demonstration can be a successful group teaching technique, the teacher must meet several requisites. First, teachers must determine what they wish to accomplish. What one wishes to accomplish must correspond with what is possible. In other words, the teaching objective must be able to be demonstrated (shown step by step); it has to be of the appropriate scope (i.e., small enough to fit into the classroom or simple enough to be accomplished in the allotted time) and at an appropriate achievement level for the students. If the scope is too large, the students will become confused and frustrated and will give up. Likewise, if the skill to be demonstrated is one for which students do not possess the prerequisite skills necessary to understand the demonstration, it is doomed to failure.

Second, given that the demonstration is clearly outlined, of the appropriate scope, and written at the appropriate level of readiness for the class, then the next important requisite the teacher must meet is to properly plan the demonstration. All demonstrations that are to be formally presented to the class need to be planned in advance. Granted, there are teachable moments in the laboratory where spontaneous individualized instruction is given in the form of a private demonstration. Otherwise planning is essential.

A third requisite of a good demonstration is to carefully select and assemble the necessary items. One could argue that this is a part of planning and preparing for class. Without this a teacher is asking for trouble. Nothing sabotages a demonstration quite so well as for teachers to reach a crucial point in the demonstration only to discover they do not have a certain tool that is needed. This disrupts the instructional process.

Finally the teacher must rehearse each important demonstration. By following this practice teachers can be sure that everything is operating properly and that they have the skill and prowess needed to masterfully show their students the process they must learn. The teacher who makes sure these requisites are always met need only plan and execute demonstrations when this is the best technique for the problem being taught.

Planning a Demonstration

The first thing a teacher must do in planning a demonstration is to be sure to select a demonstration of the appropriate scope. That is, select a phase of a process or an operation that can be comprehended and remembered by the students with reasonable effort. One cannot very well demonstrate how to overhaul an engine but one can break that block of instruction down into a number of manageable tasks. An agricultural mechanics teacher can demonstrate how to gap a spark plug, grind a valve, bore a cylinder, or time an engine. Likewise, a horticulture teacher cannot demonstrate how to grow a crop of poinsettias, but he or she can demonstrate how to prepare the soil, pot the rooted cuttings, or apply the proper drench.

When the teacher has selected a task of appropriate scope to demonstrate to the class, it is important to write down the basic steps to follow in order to accomplish the task. These steps should take the class through the process in a logical order and at a pace that is comfortable for the students. Teachers must be sure not to omit steps, take shortcuts, or go off on tangents. The primary reason for writing down the steps is for the teacher to be sure he or she has been complete and logical.

Once the steps have been listed, the teacher needs to decide what key information is needed for each step. There are reasons why a step is important, safety precautions one must take, and basic theory to remember to explain. Agriculture teachers refer to this supporting information as key points. Teachers need to not only present the steps but also to elaborate on the steps, why the steps work, principles of science to remember, points of safety to follow, and special techniques (tricks of the trade) to develop.

As the steps and key points are developed, the teacher must decide how best to present each point. By this we do not mean how to show them, but how to be sure the students understand the process and supporting information. Sometimes teachers list the steps on the writing surface, on a handout, or on an overhead transparency. Another dimension of this part of the planning involves deciding if a story, an example, or an analogy can be used to clarify certain key points. The teacher’s options for assisting students in learning the key information in a demonstration range from simply telling them, to providing the information written out in detail, or in any other logical manner.

Once the steps and key points are recorded, the teacher should review the process and prepare a list of materials, tools, and aids that will be needed to give the demonstration. By developing this list of materials, oversights can be avoided the first time the demonstration is presented and in succeeding times.

It is also necessary that teachers develop an effective interest approach for demonstrations. The chief aim of the interest approach is to create a “felt need to know” (see Chapter 4) and to create mental set. Many teachers will want this to be the first activity they attend to in planning demonstrations, but it is presented last in this sequence to make a point. The point is that sometimes teachers have difficulty thinking of an interest approach they believe will be effective. When this occurs, a teacher should go ahead and plan the content and delivery then return to the interest approach. Oftentimes, a teacher has many more good ideas on gaining the students’ interest after working through the subject matter. The interest approach for a demonstration may be asking one or two students to come forward and show the class “how to do it.” If they cannot, they then have a felt need to know the necessary information for them to be successful. A teacher could also use a problem the students have encountered (or will encounter) in lab as a way of gaining interest. Yet another possibility is to demonstrate the required skill with great finesse, thereby intriguing the students who wish to be able to perform just as skillfully. When using demonstrations, as with all instruction, students must be motivated to learn. The preceding points regarding planning a good demonstration can be summarized through a sample plan for giving a demonstration shown in Case 6-3.

Procedures to Follow in Giving a Demonstration

After a teacher has the demonstration planned, the next step is to successfully give the demonstration. There are a number of basic procedures that a teacher must follow in order to successfully demonstrate a manipulative skill.

The first procedure is to assemble the materials, tools, and equipment that will be needed. For example, if one is going to demonstrate how to weld a stringer bead, it is necessary to have the demonstration welder ready, as well as the proper electrodes, gloves, apron, helmet, pliers, chipping hammer, prepared metal to be welded, and safety glasses for all students who will watch the demonstration. Unless all this paraphernalia is ready to go and available at the point in the demonstration when it is needed, the demonstration will become fragmented, unclear, and frustrating for students as the teacher has to interrupt the flow of the demonstration to go back and get supplies and tools that were not assembled in advance for the demonstration.

Prior to demonstrating the skill to be learned the teacher needs to be sure to create a felt need on the part of the students so that they are motivated and have the proper mental set for learning the skill. Teachers need only refer to their plan to remind themselves of how they have decided to go about generating this interest.

The second procedure is to give the students an overview of the demonstration they are about to view. It is here that the teacher can point out important steps, techniques, or operations to which the students should pay particular attention. Likewise, a verbal overview of the process aids in clarifying the procedure and provides for built-in repetition.

Third, teachers present the demonstration in a step-by-step fashion. Students must be able to clearly discern the components of the process and special manipulative techniques that are needed to carry out the procedure. As each step is presented, it needs to be clearly labeled with words, with board work, on an overhead transparency, or in some other acceptable way. This delineation of crucial steps is vital to effective learning. Following such a practice substantially reduces misunderstandings and omitted steps. As these steps are presented the teacher also needs to explain:

• How each step is performed
• Why it is needed
• What it accomplishes
• What important safety points need to be understood and remembered

The reader will recall that these are referred to as key points in the plan the teacher is following as the demonstration is given.

Sometimes a given step may need to be shown more than once to help students see intricacies or hard-to-conceive procedures. Then, once the process or skill has been demonstrated and explained, it is often helpful to repeat the demonstration. This repetition of the process can add familiarity and clarity, and help to tie the entire procedure together clearly because less explaining and redemonstrating of the technique will be needed. The students are now ready to try it for themselves. Whenever conditions permit, the teacher should have all students practice under the teacher’s supervision. This provides important repetition and helps students gain at least a small measure of confidence by being able to see for themselves that they can perform the skill, even if it is at a less-than-masterful level, on their first attempt. If this is not possible, and students will actually use the skill that has been demonstrated at varying times in the next several days or weeks, then students will usually need refresher demonstrations as they are ready to try the new skill or process the first time. Following is a summary of procedures to follow in giving a demonstration:

1. Assemble materials
2. Develop a felt need on the part of students to learn the skill
3. Give an overview of the process to be demonstrated
4. Present each step
5. Repeat difficult-to-understand steps
6. Repeat the entire process
7. Have students practice

Pitfalls to Avoid

Too many agriculture teachers believe that the only way to teach a manipulative skill is to give a demonstration. As mentioned previously, this teaching technique is not always the best one to choose. There are a number of common pitfalls agriculture teachers need to be aware of and make every effort to avoid when giving a demonstration.

One pitfall is not having mastery of the skill to be demonstrated. Agriculture teachers have to teach a wide array of skills and procedures, even in highly specialized programs. It is difficult, if not impossible, to have complete mastery, including smooth techniques, for every skill that must be taught. However, it is imperative that teachers practice skills in which they are “rusty” to be able to give a credible demonstration. There is nothing to be gained by teachers who give a demonstration knowing that they have not practiced the demonstration with particular emphasis on technique.

Another problem to avoid is situations where students cannot see or hear the demonstration. The larger the group, the more difficult but also more important this task becomes. If students cannot clearly see and hear the details of the demonstration they then become confused, bored, and frustrated. Teachers usually need to be in front of the group with students arranged in a semicircular fashion. With large classes, twenty to thirty students, and demonstrations involving minute detail, such as planting impatiens seeds in a horticulture class, the teacher may find it best to give the demonstration several times to groups of a more manageable size. However, if this option is used, the teacher must be sure the groups who are waiting to have the demonstration, or those who have already seen it, must have other meaningful work to do. Otherwise pandemonium results. A real help in ensuring that everyone can see well is the use of a videotape recorder with a zoom lens. More about this possibility will be presented later in this chapter.

A fundamental problem with demonstrations is that students see a mirror image of the process when the teacher faces the group and demonstrates a skill. Teachers must be aware of the inversion of right and left directions. In order to solve this problem, teachers can use a demonstration table with a large mirror mounted above it. Students then observe the demonstration through the mirror to obtain the appropriate perspective of the visual image. Another solution involves teachers standing with their back to the class and holding their hands above their head as they demonstrate. This allows the students to view the demonstration from the same perspective as they will operate when they practice the skill. Of course, there are instances where these ideas are not workable, such as demonstrating a skill on a tractor engine that is mounted in the tractor.

Another common problem that teachers have with demonstrations is that they are sometimes so familiar with the process that they omit or fail to mention certain steps and fail to adequately explain some steps. When this happens students are at a real loss. The students do not know that the teacher failed to mention a certain step or that the teacher did not explain a key point. All the students know is that the demonstration does not make sense and that they do not understand how to perform the skill in question. The best way to avoid this problem is for the teacher to plan the demonstration in advance and then follow the steps and key points to give a complete demonstration.

One final potential pitfall in giving demonstrations is the failure of the teacher to get feedback from the students. It does little good to whiz through a demonstration assuming all is going well, only to discover at the conclusion of the demonstration that the students are confused. To prevent this problem, teachers need to pause to ask specific questions of students to be sure they understand. Another recommended practice is for the teacher to have students explain a given step as it is redemonstrated. Best of all, have at least one student try the skill once the demonstration has been given. In this way teachers can secure specific student feedback that helps them determine whether their instruction has been successful.

Providing for Student Practice

If an agriculture teacher gave a demonstration to the class and then moved on to the next item on the instructional agenda, then the instruction would be poor indeed. A vital part of the demonstration as a group teaching technique is that it merely sets the stage for real learning. Crucial to the success of demonstrations is providing time for student practice. The reason for the demonstration is to help students learn enough so they can practice the skill until it has been mastered.

A management decision for the teacher is deciding when students can practice what has been demonstrated. As was mentioned previously, the ideal situation would be one in which all the students could practice the skill under the teacher’s supervision as soon as the demonstration was concluded. However, because of facilities, equipment, tools, and supplies limitations, this is often not possible. Once it has been determined that all students cannot immediately practice a skill, a rotation procedure needs to be established to ensure that over a given period of time all students get to practice the skill. The specifics of setting up such rotation schedules are presented in Chapter 9.

When students practice skills that have been demonstrated, they need structure. Teachers need to remember that directed learning is more effective than undirected learning (see Chapter 2). Furthermore, students learn better when there is organization and structure (see Chapter 2). These are important principles of learning that apply to the development of manipulative skills just as much as to stereotyped classroom learning. This structure can be provided in the form of computer-aided instruction, assignment sheets, task sheets, project plans, or through teaching assistants, volunteers, and resource people. The key is that the learner has to know specifically what is to be done, when and where it is to be done, what procedures are to be followed, and what the final product should look like.

Given that the student has been provided with this structure, it is essential that the teacher guide this practice through good supervision. The teacher needs to observe the students as they practice the skill. Encouragement must be offered, errors must be corrected, and further explanations must be given. Without this guidance the process of learning loses efficiency and appeal. Students fail to realize why their work is acceptable or unacceptable. In general, the outcomes are far below what can be expected when there is prudent teacher guidance of student practice following a class demonstration.

FIELD TRIPS

Field trips as a group teaching technique are fundamental to successful teaching in agriculture. Because of the uniqueness of agricultural subject matter, it is imperative for teachers of agriculture to take their students into the field to observe and participate in real-world situations. Every school cannot operate a commercial farm, greenhouse, or park. However, some career and technical centers have labs that come nearer to simulating actual industry conditions than others. In the case of production agriculture, horticulture, natural resources, and forestry to name a few, it is essential that good use be made of real-world settings through well-planned field trips.

Another value of field trips is that they provide variety and a change of pace; they get both the teacher and the students out of the routine of the class and laboratory and into a new environment. Field trips also offer tremendous enrichment through sensual stimulation; that is, students get to use eyes, ears, noses, and hands as they go about the task of learning. An agricultural instruction program without field trips is sterile indeed.

When teachers take their classes on field trips they are able to provide concrete frames of reference. For example, if the class is studying different types of wetlands, students who go on a field trip and study various types of actual wetlands no longer have to wonder exactly what the teacher means when referring to a certain term or concept. The students and teacher now have the same frame of reference and are able to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts being studied.

Situations for Which Field Trips Can Be Used

There are literally hundreds of specific teaching-learning situations for which field trips as a group teaching technique are useful. However, these specific ideas that agriculture teachers have for using field trips can be characterized into three general categories.

One good use for field trips is to create interest at the beginning of a unit of instruction. Oftentimes, when students can see a group of problems first-hand, they are more interested in learning how to solve such problems. For example, a horticulture teacher could take a class to a new home that is to be completely landscaped as a class project. This initial field trip to the site would generate interest. Additionally, the students would discover the specific problems to be solved. All the students would then have a common frame of reference and a high degree of readiness for learning.

If a teacher was beginning a unit on establishing a wildlife habitat, a field trip to a site where such a project is to be initiated provides a perfect way of creating interest and a felt need to know. For someone beginning a unit of instruction dealing with laying out hiking trails, a field trip to a nature study area where such a trail needed to be planned would provide a fine introduction to and backdrop for the study that was to follow.

Field trips need not be limited to introducing a unit. They can be used very effectively for gathering factual information to use in solving problems. Horticulture students learning how to plan and construct a patio might well use a field trip to a ready-mix concrete plant to study types of concrete, aggregate, prepared mixes, costs, and delivery limitations in order to more accurately learn how to order and use concrete. Many useful field trips are made to agribusiness firms where students learn specific marketing facts firsthand. For example, students in agribusiness classes can visit grain elevators to learn how to test grain moisture content; study marketing procedures; learn how to use the futures market; and learn how grain is received, processed, and shipped.

Another category of uses for field trips is in concluding a unit of instruction. Once students have answered a group of related questions in class, developed a list of approved practices for success, and prepared individual plans of practice when appropriate, they can take a field trip to a site where these approved practices are routinely used. Take the case of a class that has completed the unit of instruction on caring for your reptiles. An excellent way to conclude such a unit would be to take a field trip to a zoo where the class could study in a firsthand way how a reptile management program is operated. This is an effective way to gain closure and to help reinforce the relevance of the instruction being offered in the agricultural education classroom.

Planning a Field Trip

Too often teachers decide to take field trips at the last minute, and too often they also do far too little specific planning for a field trip. Whenever this happens the resulting quality of the educational experience is predictable. With the fiscal restraints faced by local boards of education, it will be difficult to have haphazardly planned field trips approved.

The first step in planning a field trip is to establish the goals for the trip. The teacher must decide why a field trip is necessary as the teaching technique rather than some other technique. Specific objectives (learning outcomes) that need to be achieved via the field trip should be developed. The field trip should contribute to the quality of learning outcomes in ways other techniques could not. For example the educational value of a field trip to the elementary school to present an agricultural literacy program cannot be replaced by any of the other group teaching techniques.

Once necessity for the field trip is established, the second step in planning the trip is to select an appropriate site. Factors to consider in making this decision include

• Quality of the experience to be seen or participated in
• Willingness of the host to have the class visit
• Distance
• Cost

Once those two steps, establishing goals and locating the preferred site, have been determined the teacher must secure approval from the appropriate administrator to schedule the trip. Be sure to work ahead. In some schools, a field trip may have to be approved at a school board meeting one month or more ahead of the trip, and in some cases, the item needs to be on the board meeting agenda one week or more before the meeting.

Once the trip is approved, the teacher has to make specific arrangements with the host at the field trip site. These specific arrangements include selecting a date and time; outlining specifically what the teacher and students need to see or do in accordance with the objectives of the trip; inquiring about parking the bus or other vehicle; and deciding who will explain, direct, and demonstrate. The two parties also need to agree on the order in which the events of the field trip will proceed, what the students may actually do (participation), and at what time the field trip will be summarized and by whom. As a part of making these arrangements with the cooperators, the teacher is also able to make a “dry run” to determine the best transportation routing and to develop a reasonable time schedule.

Finally, the agriculture teacher should thoroughly prepare students for the field trip. The teacher should work with students to develop a list of questions to be answered by the field trip experience—students will be responsible for the answers to those questions when they return from the field trip. The students need to understand specifically what objectives are to be accomplished (what is to be learned) from the field trip, rules of conduct, exact dates, times and places of departure and return, eating arrangements, amount of money to bring, and type of clothing to wear. Parental permission will be needed. This process varies, and each teacher must conform to the practices required by the local board of education. In cases where field trips require absence from other classes, students will need to make arrangements with other teachers to make up missed work. A follow-up debriefing, summary paper, discussion, or other assignment is necessary to reinforce the learning that took place on the field trip.

Field trips that are planned as outlined here have a high probability of success. When they are not planned in this manner, they may become outings that do little more than provide a change of pace.

Conducting a Field Trip

Once a field trip has been well planned, it needs to be conducted with expertise. In addition to the logistical arrangements made as a part of planning the field trip, the agriculture teacher needs to be sure the bus is scheduled, the driver is ready (with a map to the destination), and everyone involved is prepared and ready to leave the school at the agreed-on time of departure. The teacher may make a last-minute phone call to be sure the people at the location to be visited are expecting the class.

Another essential dimension of conducting an educational field trip is to be sure students’ behavior is well managed. Students quite naturally get excited about such an activity but their excitement should not be allowed to exceed reasonable limits. The best way to manage student behavior on field trips is to make it very clear from the start that taking a field trip as a class or going on a field trip as an individual student in the class is not a right; rather it is an opportunity or a privilege. Those who abuse this privilege will have it revoked. If a given student cannot behave appropriately on the bus or at the site, that student should be denied the opportunity to take additional field trips. It is to the teacher’s benefit to have precisely this understanding with the appropriate school administrator and with students and their parents in advance. Do not make threats, make promises. If a student cannot behave appropriately and has been given a reasonable chance to correct inappropriate behavior, that student should be denied field trip privileges in the future. The same logic holds for the class. If a sizeable cadre (15 to 20 percent) of the class cannot behave sensibly, field trips should cease. A teacher should not hesitate to have a bus stopped en route and returned to the school if students cannot conduct themselves appropriately. Once students have observed such action, the task of managing behavior on field trips becomes simple for the agriculture teacher.

It is essential that teachers know and reinforce all policies and procedures of the school in conducting a field trip. For example, schools have strict policies about students driving to school functions. In most school systems students are forbidden to drive themselves on field trips or other class-related functions. The teacher must reinforce this policy.

Sometimes agriculture teachers take sizeable numbers of students on all-day or even overnight field trips, for example, career development events, extension-sponsored programs, or FFA conventions. Whenever this is the case, the teacher should solicit additional help from other adults, such as parents, FFA alumni, school counselors, or young farmers. This ensures adequate supervision for students who are on a trip for quite some time.

When a teacher maintains appropriate student behavior while on the field trip, learning can take place. If there is appropriate behavior, the teacher’s efforts should be directed to student learning on the scene. It is the teacher’s job to be sure students notice crucial operations, skills, practices, facilities, equipment, duties of workers, and the like. The teacher needs to raise questions with the students—questions that stimulate probing and keen analysis. The teacher may also give a demonstration, for example, on how to dehorn a calf, grade roses, or collect a water sample from a stream. Many times the teacher will arrange for the host to present such demonstrations. Even then it is the agriculture teacher’s responsibility to make sure key points are explained or clarified.

Another responsibility of the teacher is to be sure the students express appreciation to the host(s) for taking time to help them become better prepared for their future careers. It would also be appropriate to share such appreciation with the proper school authorities. In fact, the teacher as well as the students should show such courtesy. The host should be thanked verbally on site and also be sent a letter of appreciation following the field trip.

Summarizing What Was Learned from a Field Trip

Too many field trips end when the class boards the bus to return to the school building. It is essential that the teacher develop with the class a list of conclusions to be drawn from a field trip. Major key points need to be summarized. This should happen as soon after the field trip as possible. Sometimes it can be done at the site of the field trip. Other times such summarizing can be accomplished en route back to the school. However, quite often the best place for helping students clearly pull together what they have learned is back in the classroom.

Another vital activity is to have students develop plans for applying what they learned from the field trip whenever possible. Students should make plans to prune their own shade trees, vaccinate their livestock, maintain their machinery, establish a wildlife habitat, or whatever else is an appropriate application as a result of a given field trip. This application of learning is just as important following a field trip as with any other teaching technique.

ROLE-PLAY

In teaching the course of study for most agricultural instruction programs, teachers find that role-playing is a basic group teaching technique that has a number of uses. Role-playing, as the name indicates, involves having class participants (students or the teacher), and sometimes guests as well, play or portray a given role. The playing of the role and the subsequent analysis of the episode provide the information or concept development that is sought.

Types of Problems for Which Role-Playing Is Suited

There are three general classifications of problems for which role-playing is best suited. When one seeks to teach concepts and skills related to human relations, role-playing is often quite useful. As basic ways of getting along with others are introduced, it is helpful to demonstrate what is meant. One might show the class how to greet others; offer suggestions to people; or start a conversation the correct way, the incorrect way, or somewhere in between.

The development of leadership skills is another area that lends itself to the effective use of role-playing. Role-plays can be used to show how to make a speech, present a motion, give an award, escort someone to the platform, chair a meeting, or any of a whole host of other leadership abilities.

When teaching agriculture students basic sales abilities, role-playing is effective. Students need an opportunity to practice abilities, such as approaching a customer, making suggestions to a customer, registering a sale, and making change. Practicing such abilities in the security of a classroom or laboratory setting under the expert guidance of an agriculture teacher before attempting such tasks in the real world provides students with that extra edge they need to compete effectively in society. This assumes, of course, that the agriculture teacher has worked with class members to the extent that they understand role-playing as well as the need to be supportive of their classmates even if they are not good actors. Role-playing cannot flourish as a method of teaching in a classroom where students tease one another, laugh at one another’s mistakes, and ridicule some students for whatever reasons. Thus, it is important for the teacher to work with students by providing clear expectations, written agreements, operational guidelines, praise, or other means to help them learn to respect the dignity of each individual. This is important for role-playing and other forms of student participation to be plausible techniques for learning. It is also important to teach students in their relationships to others throughout life.

Role-playing is also a good way to approximate real-life situations in a secure environment. Students are often self-conscious about speaking in front of others, developing mastery of social graces, properly using a telephone, introducing strangers, learning proper hygiene and professional grooming, and other important skills as well. By being able to practice such abilities in a caring climate, much structured learning can take place.

Planning a Role-Play

Before a role-play can be planned, the teacher must select subject matter that is suited to this technique. One cannot very well role-play the events of a four-stroke cycle, the nitrogen cycle, classifications of soil, or how to start geraniums from cuttings. Even if it were attempted, there are other teaching techniques that are much more appropriate to teach such content. As indicated previously, most role-plays deal with human relations, leadership, and sales skills.

Once the area of the role-play has been identified, the teacher then needs to decide on the specific objectives to be accomplished through the use of role-playing. If this is not done, the role-playing can turn into a chaotic “dog and pony show” or a dysfunctional dialogue of little educational value.

The next step is to design the role to be played that will accomplish the preestablished objectives or solve the problem being taught. For example, if a teacher wants to teach the class how to properly introduce strangers, the teacher will need to decide on the specifics of this role. Perhaps the class has learned that when one introduces an older person to a younger person the older person is introduced first. A good role-play could have a student play the role of someone who is making introductions while two other students play the roles of the older and younger strangers to be introduced. Thus, the role-play has been designed; there is an objective, there is a role to be played, and characters are identified.

The next step in the planning process is to decide on which students should actively participate (all students in the class participate in some way, but active participants are those who are before the class). There is no preferred way for deciding who plays roles. It depends on the students’ personalities, time to get ready, their individual needs for such experiences, and many other considerations as well.

Once the persons who will conduct the role-play have been identified, they usually need to be prepared to play their respective roles. Granted, there will be times when the teacher decides impromptu performance is best, but this is generally not the case. Role-players need to at least be briefed on what the role-play is, what educational objectives the teacher wishes to accomplish, and how the role-play will be handled. Sometimes it is advisable to have scripts, but most often that requires more time and effort than either teachers or students are able to give. In some cases, it is possible to find prewritten role-plays that can be adapted to fit the objectives you are seeking to accomplish. For example the role-play, “They are not like us!” is an interactive exercise that helps students understand stereotypes and biases.^[1] Other ideas can be found in books such as, “Role-Plays,” from the School Mediation Association in Watertown, Massachusetts.

A final aspect of planning for using a role-play as a teaching technique is to plan an analysis and summary of the activity and to identify important key points. This planning should consist of a few lead questions. These could be given to the class in advance or raised verbally at the conclusion of the role-play. The teacher also needs to develop a list of the key points that must be made. Of course, the teacher will need to decide how to get the key points across and will probably use lecture-discussion plus the appropriate visuals.

Conducting a Role-Play

If a role-play is to be used effectively, the teacher must satisfactorily prepare the class for it. The students need to know why the role-play is being used, what they need to look for, and what their role is once the role-play is concluded.

Next the teacher or a student introduces the role-play, and the players act out their roles. The teacher may provide coaching from time to time in order to keep it going. A role-play can be created to be as short as five minutes or designed to be as long as thirty minutes (this allows ample time to introduce the role-play at the beginning of the class period and summarize the role-play at the end of the class period). An example of such a role-play might be, “Not in My Backyard,”^[2] where students play the role of the mayor, township trustees, concerned citizens advocates, farmers, and real estate agents during the citing of a large-scale agriculture production facility. Once the role-play is completed the teacher terminates the action and secures the class’s attention so that a productive analysis of the role-play can be made.

Analyzing the Learning from a Role-Play

Perhaps the most important phase of a role-play as a way of learning is the thorough analysis that follows. The opportunity for reaching the highest cognitive levels of thinking exists when role-play is properly conducted. The first step in a good analysis is to lead the class in focusing on what happened. Be sure everyone has seen the same thing. A videotape of important role-plays provides opportunities for playback that could be very helpful in this regard. Once the major events that transpired have been identified, a detailed discussion of these events is needed. Through this discussion the teacher ensures that key points are discussed and recorded in the students’ notebooks. The teacher may also want to further illustrate the concepts being developed by using analogies, reminding students of real events the class may have witnessed previously, or reenacting a given ability themselves.

Finally, the teacher guides the class in a summary. Here the teacher can use students to help summarize the important learnings that were gleaned from the role-play.

RESOURCE PEOPLE

When to Use a Resource Person

When an agriculture teacher seeks to provide factual information to a group of students to aid them in solving a problem, he or she may choose to provide that information through an expert individual who can be invited to the class to serve as a resource person. Instead of the teacher directly providing the needed information, the teacher uses a resource person as the source of information needed by the students.

Even the best teachers cannot be expert in all phases of the course of study they teach. However, they can know their limits and they can know the full array of resources, including people, available in the community. The job of the teacher, then, is to wisely draw on the needed resources, including individuals, at the appropriate time.

Resource people also ought to be used to introduce students to key individuals in their communities whom they will need to know and rely on as they make decisions in the future. Without full knowledge of competent people whom students can and should contact for help after they have graduated from high school, students will not be able to be as independent as they need to be.

Teachers may also decide to use certain resource people in order to add relevance to what is being advocated or taught. The agriculture teacher may have complete command of the subject matter, practices, or process being studied but may discover that students need the boost an outside resource person can add to convince students that what they are learning is important, useful, and current.

The Role of a Resource Person

The basic role of a resource person is to serve as a consultant to the agriculture teacher. The resource person must be more than a guest speaker in order to be optimally effective. The teacher needs to work with the resource person in advance to be sure the resource person is specifically briefed regarding “where the class is” and what the students need to learn. For example, the resource person who is helping with a unit of instruction on filing income taxes should know current information needed for IRS purposes and what information the teacher has already provided. In essence, the teacher and the resource person team up to provide the best possible learning outcomes in the time available.

The resource person may address a specific problem and help the class find the best solution. For example, the resource person may teach the class how to use several methods of calculating depreciation. In such a role the resource person would be handling the entire problem solution (even though the resource person is in charge of the class at that time, the teacher is always present in the room). However, the resource person might also be used in other ways to accomplish different objectives.

For example, an agriculture teacher might use the resource person to supplement what the class is learning. This additional information could provide additional factual information, such as explaining to students how to make use of highly specialized tax forms or how to average income. It could also be adding new insight, presenting a different perspective, or adding richness to the study of the problem. This richness could come from citing actual examples of tax audits on clients with poor records versus good records and the outcomes of such audits.

The resource person could also be used to clarify. When studying a complex problem, such as animal diseases, students are often able to gain a clearer understanding when a well-selected resource person contributes to the class’s deliberations.

A resource person might also be used to endorse a process or practice. When a naturalist who has used a new practice attests to its value, the students are more apt to seriously consider using the practice than if only ‘the agriculture teacher has encouraged adoption of the practice. When a potential employer of students indicates he or she wants workers who do things the way they have been taught, the teaching of the agriculture teacher has been very effectively reinforced.

The Teacher’s Role When Using a Resource Person

The most gross error committed by agriculture teachers in making use of resource people is that they want to invite them in, introduce them, and then sit back with their brain in neutral. Such practice of using a resource person is unsound and indefensible. In using a resource person, teachers must follow the same phases of preparation as when they use any other teaching technique.

Just as if the teacher were going to teach the problem himself or herself, the teacher must decide what objectives must be met by the resource person and these objectives must be clearly communicated to the resource person. Teachers must also be sure the prospective resource person understands the context in which the unit is taught, the instruction that preceded it, and the specific points that need to be discussed when the resource person is in class. One way to accomplish this is to guide the students, in class, prior to the resource person’s visit, in developing a list of questions for students to ask during the visit. Unless this is done, there is no way the effectiveness of the resource person can be maximized.

The teacher must contact the resource person to set a specific time for the meeting with the class. At this time the agriculture teacher also communicates the types of information discussed in the previous sessions.

Once the resource person is at the school and introduced to the class, it is the responsibility of the agriculture teacher to be sure the resource person focuses on the previously agreed-on objectives. Furthermore, the teacher needs to promote the raising of questions. The teacher may also politely interrupt the resource person to ensure that information the resource person is presenting is clear to the students. Another role of the teacher involves helping the resource person focus specifically on the situations that exist in the supervised experience programs of the students in the class.

The teacher should devise ways to cause students to apply what the resource person has taught whenever this is appropriate. This does not necessarily have to be done while the resource person is present. For example, the following day students could be asked to write a one-paragraph summary of the major discussions. The point is that the agriculture teacher specifically causes the students to look at what they have learned from a resource person and to devise ways of applying it whenever possible. Such instruction provides an excellent way of summarizing the presentation. Otherwise, the resource person is in and out of the class, and little permanent change occurs in the students as a result of his or her presence.

Of course, teachers of agriculture need to be sure their classes are courteous to resource people. The teacher and students should be on time and ready to learn; students should engage in behavior appropriate for learning; and everyone should respond to the resource person’s requests for discussion or examples. Also the students, or a class representative, should send a note of thanks to the resource person the next day (not a week or a month later).

COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Cooperative learning^[3] provides an opportunity to transition classrooms and learners into active learning modes. Some goals of cooperative learning include empowering students to assume greater responsibility for their own learning, and developing important group processing and social skills among the community of learners in the classroom.

Cooperative learning is a learner-centered instructional process in which intentionally selected groups of three to five students work together on a well-defined learning task for the primary purpose of mastering content. Cognitively, cooperative learning is designed to assist with time-on-task, to reinforce information processing, and to provide critical thinking and reflective thought.

There are numerous cooperative learning tools. One example is the traveling file. The teacher prepares traveling files by developing one question related to the current unit of instruction for each traveling file (a total of five questions if there are five cooperative learning teams). The traveling file is a manilla folder. The tabs of the folders are labeled “Learning Team l,” “Learning Team 2,” and so on until all teams have a traveling folder labeled for their use. On the front of the folder is a list of all the teams, so each team can be checked off as the traveling file “travels” (is circulated) between teams.

The teacher prepares one traveling file for each cooperative learning team (enough for about three to five students per team). During class the teacher distributes one traveling file to each cooperative learning team. Each team chooses a recorder. They discuss the question, and as they discuss, the recorder, with the team’s assistance, prepares a short written response and includes the response in the traveling file. After ten to twelve minutes (depending on the nature of the question in the traveling file) of discussion and writing time, students check off their team name from the front of the traveling file, and pass the traveling file to the next cooperative learning team, so that each team gets a new file and a new question. The new team now responds to the question in the file that just “traveled” to them. Additional resources may be used for the students to research questions before recording their responses in the traveling folder. After teams have responded to the question in two or three traveling files, the teacher reads and discusses the questions and responses in the traveling files as a class. The teacher will lead the students to compare and contrast responses, and to ultimately draw conclusions about the questions.

This and other cooperative learning techniques are appropriately used for reviewing for an exam, gathering data for a project, concluding a unit of instruction, establishing a felt need to know more information, teambuilding, icebreaking, or researching a topic.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN SELECTING GROUP TEACHING TECHNIQUES

Because there are a number of possible teaching techniques to use when the agriculture teacher uses a group forum, the teacher must decide which specific technique will benefit any given period of instruction. Following are some factors that need to be considered in making such a decision.

Nature of the Subject Matter

One way of considering the nature of the subject matter in determining which group teaching technique to use involves assessing the domains of learning (cognitive, psychomotor, affective) to which the subject matter is directed. For example, if we are teaching subject matter in the cognitive domain, such as the parts of a plant, certain teaching techniques will be plausible whereas others will not. In the case of teaching the parts of a plant, a field trip or role-play is probably not the best choice of technique. However, lecture, discussion, or using a resource person could readily be used to teach the factual information (subject matter) that is needed by the students to solve a problem.

If the teacher is teaching students how to mix a soilless medium or how to prepare Petri dishes for experiments, both of which are psychomotor abilities, a demonstration would probably be in order. Certainly, the demonstration could be given by a resource person or on a field trip, but the technique being used would be the demotration. The demonstration would probably be supplemented with some lecture and discussion (and of course, practice!).

In the case of teaching in the affective domain, demonstrations would probably be of little value but a role-play might be a very appropriate choice. Using a good resource person or taking an appropriate field trip could further certain affective abilities.

At any rate, as teachers reflect on what is being taught, certain techniques are logical choices. Likewise, other techniques clearly are not plausible.

Objectives to Be Achieved

By the time teachers develop specific behavioral objectives that will be somewhat analogous to the questions to be answered, they already know the domain of learning in which they are operating. Furthermore, they are clear as to the specifics that must be covered.

These specifics, or key points, will further guide teachers in the selection of an appropriate teaching technique. If we want students to identify specific ornamental shrubs, the students should be shown these shrubs (field trip or illustrated lecture) and provided with key information to help them remember the shrubs (lecture, discussion, or resource person).

However, if we want students to be able to design a nature trail for their school laboratory, then group techniques may not be appropriate beyond a given point. Rather a decision would need to be made to use one or more of the individualized teaching techniques presented in Chapter 7.

Nature of the Learners

If teachers only considered the first two factors that were presented (nature of the subject matter and objectives) and failed to consider the nature of the students in the class, many poor decisions on technique would be made. The background experiences of the students greatly influence what technique is best. If a class has a rich background of experience in forestry and the teacher is teaching control of forest insects, it is reasonable to plan to use considerable discussion. However, if the class is studying meiosis and no one has studied meiosis previously, little could be gained from class discussion.

Another student factor involves how vocal the group is. If students are shy and do not wish to verbalize much, this could affect the teacher’s choice of techniques. Attention span of the students would also influence the choice of technique. If the class has an attention span of only five minutes, using more of a variety of techniques would be in order. Another example of the nature of the learners influencing the choice of technique would be whether they are trustworthy. Teachers who have students they cannot trust will probably take fewer field trips. If the students are “hams” (born actors), more role-playing is in order. And so it goes. Teachers’ decisions of which techniques to use must be made with the students in their class in mind.

Resource Material Available

If transportation is unavailable, field trips are out. But the teacher, with the help of the advisory committee, FFA alumni members, and others, must work to gain the right to use this teaching technique. If there are no appropriate resource people available, this technique will not be used much. However, appropriate people can be identified with the help of community leaders. In the case of lectures, discussions, role-plays, and demonstrations, they cannot be enriched with supportive media if such media are not available. But here again this must only be a short-term limitation, for successful agriculture teachers must also be successful program builders.

Amount of Time Available

Time is a practical constraint. If there is not enough time to take what would be a very valuable field trip, then that technique ceases to be a viable possibility. If a teacher waits too long to engage a resource person, that technique is no longer a real possibility. If it takes more time to conduct a good role-play and analyze it than the teacher has, another technique has to be selected. Thus, teachers must plan ahead, anticipate, and use time efficiently; otherwise, they will be dependent on so few teaching techniques that the results will be unacceptable.

The Teacher’s Preference

Perhaps of all the factors affecting the choice of the teaching technique to use, the most persuasive one is teacher preference. If a teacher feels uncomfortable using role-plays, he or she will probably elect not to consider a role-play as a suitable technique. Hopefully, teachers will learn to master the ability of planning and use of the various techniques so that their students are not hampered by teachers’ reluctance to master at least the basic techniques. Likewise, teachers who wish not to be hassled with setting up field trips use very few field trips, yet such teachers must resist the temptation to abandon a good technique just because it requires extra effort on the part of the teacher. So, in a real sense, the wishes of individual teachers greatly influence their decisions as to what group teaching techniques they will use to help their class solve a problem as a group. Likewise, teachers’ determination to be master teachers is a desire that is so potent it can become the controlling desire for excellence in teaching.

SUMMARY

There are a number of group techniques from which agriculture teachers can select to provide meaningful instruction for their students. Teachers need to use a variety of techniques, each of which must be appropriate for the situation in which it is used, so that instruction given in the group setting is dynamic and interesting to students.

Teachers need to be sure that technique does not supplant purpose. The real goal is to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that they must have in order to enter the agriculture industry or postsecondary education and compete successfully. To reach that end, students must be able to use problem solving in future life situations. Thus, the agriculture teacher must use the teaching techniques presented in this chapter in a problem-solving fashion.

It must be emphasized that none of the teaching techniques discussed herein will be very effective unless the teacher observes the principles of learning presented in Chapter 2 and unless the teacher plans for the instruction that the technique is capable of providing.

FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. Visit an agriculture department. Make note of each teaching technique used. What purposes were addressed? What outcomes were experienced? What changes in the use of the technique are desirable?
2. You are to teach students how to calibrate a sprayer. What method(s) will you use, and what are is your reasons for selecting the method or methods you selected?
3. Outline the procedure a teacher should follow in order to give an effective demonstration.
4. List five techniques you could use to generate a high-quality discussion.
5. Your superintendent has issued a memorandum indicating that field trips can no longer be approved unless they are essential to the promotion of the learning outcomes specified in the teacher’s course of study and are shown to be educationally sound. How would you go about justifying your need to have selected field trips approved?