Standard 2 Aspect B

Standard 2b: Program completers engage in professional practice in educational settings and show that they have the skills and abilities to do so in a variety of additional settings and community/cultural contexts. For example, candidates must have broad and general knowledge of the impact of culture and language on learning, yet they cannot, within the context of any given program, experience working with the entire diversity of student identities, or in all types of school environments. 

Candidate preparation includes first-hand professional experience accompanied by reflection that prepares candidates to engage effectively in different contexts they may encounter throughout their careers.

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Data Sources & Analysis

Data Source 1

Employer Survey

Description of Data Source:
Approximately every five years, the Agriculture Specialist Program administers a survey to the School Site Administrator of each of our program completers to determine their perceptions of how well the program prepared their teacher for their duties as an agriculture teacher. Employers rate the completers’ level of preparedness on a scale of 1 (not prepared) to 5 (very well prepared) in six Core Agriculture areas, including animal science, plant science, agriculture mechanics, ornamental horticulture, agricultural economics/business, and natural resources/forestry, and 11 Agricultural Education Competencies that relate to specific instructional areas unique to agriculture education.

Perspective Captured from Data Source: Employers of Program Completers

Rationale for using Data Source:
The Agriculture Specialist Employer Survey provides the program with administrators’ perceptions of how well the program prepared their teacher with content and pedagogy necessary to carry out their role as agriculture teachers.

Specific Elements of Data Source:
Two items from the Agricultural Education Competencies

• Working with students of diverse cultures
• Working effectively with the local community

Definition of Success for Each Element:
Overall mean scores of 3.00 or greater which would indicate that Employers perceive their new teacher to be at least “Adequately Prepared” to teach the Agricultural Education Competencies included in the instrument. 

Displays of Analyzed Data:

• Agricultural Education Graduate Employer Follow Up Survey Spring 2012
• Agricultural Education Graduate Employer Follow Up Survey Spring 2021

Table 1. Summary of adminstrators' perception of new teachers' level of preparedness

Link to Full Dataset: 2021 Ag Ed Graduate Survey Data

Interpretation of Data:
Because the program only captured data from the graduate survey in 2012 and 2021, we only have two cycles of data to analyze. Employers indicated that their new teachers were at least “Adequately Prepared” (M = 3.00 or better) in all technical/competencies areas, including their ability to work with their local community (M = 3.84) and a diverse student population (M = 4.05). These competencies will be continually examined and efforts made to improve the curricula in these areas to ensure that new teachers are able to effectively work with their local community and serve a diverse student population. 

Data Source 2

Fresno Assessment of Student Teachers (FAST) Teaching Sample Project (TSP) Learning Outcomes

Description of Data Source:
The Teaching Sample Project is one of two tasks in the Fresno Assessment of Student Teachers (FAST) that collectively measure the pedagogical competence of teacher candidates and interns for Preliminary Teaching Credentials in California, and as information useful for determining program quality and effectiveness. To complete the TSP, candidates are required: (a) to identify the context of their classroom (i.e. students and classroom environment), (b) to plan and teach a series of at least five cohesive lessons (a unit of study) with a focus on content knowledge and literacy, (c) to assess students’ learning before, during, and after the unit, (d) to document their teaching and their students’ learning, and (e) reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching. The assessment is scored using specific, task-focused rubrics. All coaches in the Ag Specialist program are calibrated to score the assessment.

Perspective Captured from Data Source: University Coach

Rationale for using Data Source:
The Learning Outcomes section of the TSP requires candidates to provide a description of the unit that includes how it meets the state-adopted standards for subject matter content knowledge and literacy skills. They are to describe how these standards will be addressed in the unit and provide a rationale for why the unit is appropriate for the students enrolled in the class. The rationale should address the appropriateness for the students in the class in terms of: 1) development of content knowledge and literacy skills, 2) connections to past learning and experience, 3) relevance to the students in the class, and 4) importance for future learning. 

Specific Elements of Data Source:
Teaching Sample Project rubric for Learning Outcomes (TPE 3.1, 3.2, 3.3) 

Overall score for Two Areas:

• Learning Outcomes and Standards
• Appropriateness for Students

Definition of Success for Each Element:
The university coaches encourage candidates to strive for a score of four on the scoring rubric and would like to see scores of 2.5 or better. Candidates must score a two or better on the scoring rubric to show they meet the expectation for the site visitation project. To score a two, the rubric calls for candidates to effectively implement instruction consistent with subject-specific pedagogy.

Displays of Analyzed Data:
Table 2: FAST Teaching Sample Project (TSP) Learning Outcomes Mean Scores

Teaching Sample Project Data Summary Fall 2018 - Spring 2020

Link to Full Dataset:  FAST TSP F18 Sp20 Ag Students Summary and Data

Interpretation of Data:
The university coaches encourage candidates to strive for a score of four on the scoring rubric and would like to see scores of 2.5 or better. Candidates must score a two or better on the scoring rubric to show they meet the expectation for the learning outcomes section of the project. For the semesters listed in the table above the students all scored a two or better on this section of the TSP. Although they failed to reach the goal of a score of 2.5, all students passed this section of the TSP.

Still, scores were just above the passing point, meaning there is room for improvement. Moving forward, program faculty will work to better understand where, specifically students struggled and will look for ways to embed further attention to assessment within existing coursework.

Data Source 3

Student Teacher Placements

Description of Data Source: 
Candidates complete two semesters of student teaching. They are placed in two different schools to provide a variety of experiences with different mentor teachers, different students, and diverse communities. Field placement assignments are made by the agricultural education faculty to match candidates with schools and mentor teachers that will provide the most meaningful experiences for the candidate. Candidate preferences are considered; however, placement decisions are the responsibility of the program faculty.

Perspective Captured from Data Source: Program faculty

Rationale for using Data Source: 
As a program, we believe that one of the best ways to prepare our completers to support their culturally and linguistically diverse students is by providing them with opportunities to work with a range of learners throughout their field placement experiences

Specific Elements of Data Source: Schools and districts in which candidates are placed

Definition of Success for Each Element: 
Programmatically, our goal is for our candidates to have experience in diverse contexts that serve learners from a range of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Displays of Analyzed Data:
Table 3: Demographics of Schools Where Candidates Have Been Placed

Interpretation of Data:
All candidates were placed at two different schools for their student teaching experience and all candidates except two successfully completed both semesters of student teaching. As highlighted in Table 3, the districts in which Agriculture Specialist candidates have been placed in recent semesters are home to learners from a range of racial and ethnic backgrounds other than white. Given the overall demographics of our region, it is not surprising that the vast majority of learners identify as Hispanic/Latinx. It is also worth noting that, in most districts where candidates are placed, the percentage of students classified as English Learner is well over 10%, providing candidates the opportunity to also develop expertise in supporting students who are Emergent Bilingual. 

Next Steps:
The findings above demonstrate that our candidates do have opportunities to develop knowledge of culturally responsive educational practices, and, according to their employers, they are prepared to do so. We believe that one of the reasons they are able to do so successfully is because of the range of contexts in which they are placed for their field experience.

However, looking at the results of the Learning Outcomes portion of the FAST Teaching Sample Project, which includes the section that evaluates how appropriate the instruction is for the students in the classroom, suggests that candidates may need additional support to ensure they have the knowledge to provide learning opportunities that are culturally relevant. Moving forward, this is an area the program will work to improve.

Aspect C →