Learning Activities Utilized and Readiness for the Student Teaching Internship

Agricultural education has traditionally provided rich learning experiences for secondary school students; however, less attention has been paid to the learning experiences preservice agricultural education teachers utilize and provide secondary school students during the student teaching internship. This study sought to describe the learning activities preservice teachers utilize during instruction and assess preservice teachers’ self-perception of preparedness in technical content knowledge and teaching methods after completing their student teaching internship. A majority of the preservice teachers used student-centered activities with the greatest frequency, and did not rely on one category of learning activities a majority of the time. This finding is encouraging since variety is a characteristic of effective teaching, and the types of learning activities utilized support the philosophical beliefs of agricultural education. On the other hand, preservice teachers identified agricultural mechanics, biotechnology, wildlife and fisheries management, and veterinary science as technical content areas in which they possessed less than appropriate content knowledge. A majority of the preservice teachers also perceived themselves as not prepared in instructional methods for wildlife and fisheries management and veterinary sciences. We recommend these technical content areas and pedagogical deficiencies be considered high priorities when developing in-service professional development for new teachers in Florida.