Abstract:
New teaching techniques are the products of a wide
spectrum of research. The final test of all teaching
techniques, however derived, is their application to
a given classroom situation. The purpose of this study
is to determine whether the "principle approach", a
relatively new teaching method in agriculture, has been
accepted by Oregon agriculture teachers for instruction
of their basic agriculture classes.
Questionnaires were sent to all 117 teachers of
agriculture in Oregon. Teachers teaching basic agriculture
classes were compared in class presentation methods
and course content areas. Comparison was also made
between teachers having attended a curriculum workshop
introducing teachers to the "principle approach" and
teachers having no formal training in this area.
Over 50 percent of the teachers having bad training
in the "principle approach" teach all subject areas by
this method. However, certain subject areas appear to
have adopted the "principle approach" more readily than
other areas. Participation and success in the use of
the "principle approach" increases with training in this
area.
As a result of this study, it is recommended that
workshops be set up to train teachers in the presentation
of the "principle approach" for instruction of
basic agriculture.
