Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to describe an educational agronomy curriculum developed for an introductory crop production course at a land-grant university. The iFARM (Interactive Fundamental Agricultural Resource Modules) modules were created to display a similar teaching platform for an introductory agronomy course, which is offered in both the Fall and Spring semesters. The Spring course is often limited to inside labs due to inclement weather. The iFARM modules were a set of 13 agronomy-related modules developed to provide educators an alternative form of instruction to enhance students’ experiences. Five semesters of 226 individuals consisting of primarily freshman or sophomore males from the College of Agriculture completed a questionnaire at the end of the course. Of the 226 students, 79% reported the modules were useful for their learning; while 21% thought that the modules did not contribute to their learning in the course. When comparing students’ perceptions of the learning experiences using post-test scores for the Fall and Spring semesters average post-test scores, there was a noticeable difference which could be attributed to the modifications in instruction from the Fall semester to the Spring semester (d = 0.83, large effect size). The study concluded that students experienced an overall positive learning experience while using the iFARM modules and the modules were somewhat effective in teaching the participants new material.
Key Words:
iFARM, teaching platform
 6 Davis NACTA Journal Dec 2012.pdf | [ ] | 413 kB |
