Date of Graduation

5-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Agricultural & Extension Education (MS)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology

Advisor/Mentor

Donald M. Johnson

Committee Member

Donna L. Graham

Second Committee Member

Vinson R. Carter

Third Committee Member

George Wm. Wardlow

Keywords

Agricultural Mechanization, Cognitive Achievement, Critical Reflection, Experiential Learning, Short Term Memory

Abstract

Experiential learning continues to play a vital role in agricultural education and mechanization laboratories (Shoulders & Myers, 2013). An essential component of experiential learning is critical reflection. Critical reflection helps students process and construct meaning from laboratory experiences. A study conducted by Shoulders and Myers (2013) revealed that only 15.4% of the agricultural educators the researchers interviewed incorporated reflective practices laboratory experiences. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of critical reflection on students’ achievement following five agricultural mechanization laboratory activities. The results from this study revealed that critical reflection had a consistently positive effect on immediate cognitive achievement but not delayed cognitive achievement among the participants of this study; however, the results for delayed cognitive achievement were mixed. Recommendations include further research into effective practices for helping students increase long term learning from laboratory instructions.

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