AGRICULTURE STUDENTS’ COMPUTER SKILLS AND ELECTRONIC EXAMS

The purpose of this study was to determine if a statistical relationship existed between academic achievement and exam delivery method for students enrolled in the AgEE 62-Computer Applications in Agriculture course during spring semester 1999. Significant, positive, moderate associations resulted between academic achievement and exam delivery method; agriculture students (n = 45) who took the quiz using the paper-and-pencil method scored significantly higher than did students who took the quiz in an electronic version only. A significant, moderate relationship existed between academic achievement and learning style for the quiz; field-independent students achieved significantly higher quiz scores than did field-dependent learners. Independent learners had significantly more computer enjoyment than did dependent learners. Field-independent learners had significantly lower levels of computer anxiety after the midterm than did field-dependent learners. AgEE 62 students agreed that taking computer skills exams electronically was not as easy as taking the exams in a more traditional paper-and-pencil fashion. Early identification of field-dependent learners allows the instructor, teaching assistants, and/or cooperative learning teams an opportunity to provide additional assistance for students who find learning computer skills an academic challenge. Theoretical Framework Computer usage in secondary and postAnxiety caused by computer malfunctions, destroyed data, lost files, and program errors have beleaguered most university students at some point during their academic careers. These anxious moments may be heightened during times of extreme pressure such as staying up all night to finish a term paper before a pre-determined deadline. It is fair to assume that such “computer anxious” times may be super-sensitized during moments when newly learned computer skills are tested without paper and pencil, under time constraints. The very nature of testing students’ computer skills in an authentic situation lends itself to evaluations of those skills in a paperless environment. Antecedents to implementing this novel evaluation method are questions about the relationships between students’ computer anxiety levels, attitudes toward computers, learning styles, and relevant demographic variables. Do relationships between these variables exist for agriculture students in a Computer Applications