Reflection is a useful tool which improves teaching approaches; however, many first-year teachers do not appear to reflect upon their instructional plans (McAlpine & Weston, 2000). Prior research has indicated preservice teachers are not utilizing the acquired reflective approaches learned throughout the teacher preparation program (Hatton…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the amount of preparation Iowa inservice secondary agricultural education teachers received in agricultural mechanics at the university level. Secondary School Based Agricultural Education instructors attending the Iowa Association of Agricultural Educators' summer conference were given a…

Since 2009, the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) has been rapidly implemented as a policy tool for strengthening teacher professionalization across the United States. However, its national assimilation has become a target for both praise and critique among teacher educators. In this article, we examine such diverse perspectives.…

Leaders in the business community often talk about the "skills gap," the gap between the skills needed for good jobs in the economy and the skills that prospective employees possess. Though there is debate as to whether or not such a gap actually exists, the idea of the "skills gap" can be a helpful way to frame instances where…

Secondary agricultural education teachers were surveyed to examine if a relationship existed between the physical attributes of agricultural mechanics laboratories and agricultural education teachers' enjoyment of teaching agricultural mechanics. Teachers also indicated their competence to teach courses other than agricultural mechanics within the…

Self-adequacy during the student teaching experience is high on the list of concerns expressed by student teachers (Fritz & Miller, 2003; Ng, Nicholas, & Williams, 2010). That factor, in combination with others, determines student teachers' goals and sparks their motivation to engage in effective instructional planning (Baylor &…

Problem: Within the higher education community there is discourse regarding teacher dispositions and the assessment of dispositions. Murray (2007) and Damon (2007) posited that additional scholarship and research were needed to provide a meaningful construct of dispositions. With this lack of consensus, teacher education programs need to explore…

Agricultural mechanics coursework has historically been considered an important and necessary construct of the secondary agricultural education curriculum (Burris, Robinson, & Terry, 2005). With expectations of offering secondary agricultural mechanics coursework apparent, it is vital that agricultural education teachers be prepared to address…

Over the last decade, online distance education has become a common mode of study in most states in the USA, where it is known as virtual schooling (VS), but many people have misconceptions about it. Pre-service teachers' personal histories as students and their preconceptions, misconceptions, and concerns influence pre-service teacher training…

This study describes the evaluation of a model science teacher education program developed with support from the National Science Foundation from 1970 to 1980. This program, named the Undergraduate Preservice Science Teacher Education Program (UPSTEP) was designed to develop science teachers who have a research-based rationale for teaching…

Reports on results of a survey completed by Iowa teachers who had recently graduated from a large midwestern university. Most believed that a computer-specific course in preservice teaching programs was essential, especially one on developing strategies to integrate computers into all disciplines. Respondents considered their preservice computer…

These proceedings contain 48 presentations and 15 poster abstracts. Papers include "Computer Tasks Required in Selected Undergraduate Agriculture Courses" (Johnson, Ferguson, Vokinnns, Lester); "College of Agriculture Faculty Perceptions of Electronic Technologies in Teaching" (Dooley, Murphy); "Steering Through Turbulent…