Assessment of the Learning and Attitude Modification of Technology Education Students Who Complete an Instructional Unit on Agriculture and Biotechnology

Abstract

This study examined the effect of introducing a two-week instructional unit on agriculture and biotechnology issues to a group of 30 Virginia high school technology education students. This study measured the student's knowledge about and attitudes towards agriculture and biotechnology before and after studying the unit. Further, the researcher selected four of the students for structured interviews that focused on learning in the six facets of understanding as defined by the book Understanding by Design (1998). The instructional unit was taught using education materials produced by the TECH-know project (2003). The students were tested on content material immediately before and after studying the teaching of the unit. The students were also given a 45-item pre-and-post survey regarding their attitudes towards agriculture and biotechnology. Videotapes and transcripts of the interviews were later evaluated by three raters who used the six facets of understanding as a rubric for judging the intangible understandings that the students gained from studying the unit and doing a related research project.

The study found indications of learning in all six areas of understanding as defined by Wiggins & McTighe (1998). There was particularly strong evidence that the students gained perspective about issues and that they gained understanding about how knowledge related to agriculture and biotechnology could be applied. The study also found that there was a statistically significant gain in student knowledge about agriculture and biotechnology based on the pre-test and post-test of the information presented in the instructional unit. In addition, there was a statistically significant change in student attitudes towards agriculture and biotechnology in three of 45 items of the attitude survey.

Overall, the two-week instructional unit and research project produced learning about agriculture and biotechnology and increased the levels of understanding for selected students in the sample group. Further study is recommended to determine if these effects can be demonstrated with a larger population.