Abstract:
This study was designed to determine if previous equine experience and level of interest significantly affected performance in an introductory equine science class. A total of 156 students over two semesters were questioned about their level of horses experience (1 to 10 scale). In a follow-up survey at the end of the semester, students were asked about their cumulative GPA to date (on a 4.0 scale), degree major, and were asked to judge their effort put into the class (on a scale of 1 to 10) and if they believed that previous experience helped or would have helped them perform better in the class (on a scale of 1 to 10). Students in one semester were also asked about their future goals with horses and their reasons for taking the course. Data were analyzed to determine if correlations existed between variables and their performance in the class (final grade). A one-way ANOVA was also performed to determine if there was a difference in performance based on if the student's major, future goals or his/her reasons for taking the course. The student's overall GPA had a significant impact on final grade (P<0.001) and that previous equine experience had no impact on final grade (P = 0.590). However, students with previous experience did not appear to have to work as hard in the class (P<0.001). Students in the Department of Animal Science performed better than students outside of the College of Agriculture and Life Science, but students in other College of Agriculture and Life Science majors performed equally well. Students looking for a future with horses performed better than students with no future interest in horses and those students who took the course for a major requirement or general interest in horses performed better than students who simply took the course to meet general education program requirements. These findings of student experience, motivation and performance are of interest to help better prepare both students and faculty for the course expectations.
Keywords:
equine science, previous equine experience
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