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   Advancements in Agricultural Development 
  Volume 4, Issue 1, 2023 
  agdevresearch.org 

 

1. Casey Gilbert, Agriculture Teacher, Lanier College Career Academy, 2723 Tumbling Creek Rd., Gainesville, GA 30504, 

casey.gilbert@hallco.org,  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6602-6575  
2. R. G. (Tre) Easterly, Assistant Professor, University of Florida, 307C Rolfs Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611, tre.easterly@ufl.edu, 

 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2807-512X  
3. J.C. Bunch, Associate Professor, University of Florida, 307A Rolfs Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611, bunchj@ufl.edu,  

 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349  
4. Sebastian Galindo, Associate Professor, University of Florida, 113C Bryant Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611,  sgalindo@ufl.edu, 

 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4061-773X  
5. Jason Dossett, Graduate Assistant, University of Florida, 310 Rolfs Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611, j.dossett@ufl.edu,  

 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7159-7372  
 

 
5 

Characteristics of Effective Instruction and Student 
Engagement: A Case Study of Two Exemplary Florida 

Agriculture Teachers 
 

C. Gilbert1, R. G. Easterly2, J. C. Bunch3, S. Galindo4, J. Dossett5 

 
 

Article History 
Received: October 17, 2022 
Accepted: January 6, 2023 
Published: January 18, 2023 
 
 
Keywords 
qualitative observation; effective 
teaching practices; Student Content 
Engagement Model 
  

Abstract 
Student disengagement has been an ongoing problem for educators in 
the United States. Engaging students is critical to ensuring students see 
the value of their education. The purpose of this exemplar case study was 
to understand how effective teaching impacts student engagement of 
high school agriculture students in Florida. Two Florida agriculture 
teachers, identified as exemplary agriculture teachers, and 22 students 
served as participants. Three methods of data collection were involved in 
this study: teacher interviews, student focus groups, and teacher 
observations. The top five characteristics of effective teaching described 
by Rosenshine and Furst (1971) were used as a priori themes for the data 
analysis. These characteristics were clarity, variety, enthusiasm, business 
and/or task-oriented behaviors, and student opportunity to learn 
criterion material. The teachers used all five of the characteristics to 
engage students. Students reported high levels of engagement and 
positive feelings about class. Further studies should be conducted to 
replicate the study with a larger group of exemplary agriculture teachers. 
The study recommends that teacher educators considering teaching pre-
service teachers how to demonstrate the characteristics of effective 
instruction to impact engagement. We recommend agriculture teachers 
consider reflecting on their use of the characteristics of effective 
instruction. 



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Introduction and Problem Statement 
 
The purpose of agricultural education has been to prepare students to be agriculturally literate 
citizens and members of a skilled agricultural workforce (Roberts & Ball, 2009). To meet these 
goals, students must be engaged in their classes. Student engagement has experienced a 
downward trend, particularly as students get older (Benner et al., 2019). This disengagement is 
particularly acute for high school students in low-income or rural areas (Washor & Majkowski, 
2014). Disengagement in school is associated with feelings of hopelessness (Hodges, 2018) and 
a lack of preparation for lifelong learning (Washor & Mojkowski, 2014). 
 
Engaging students in agricultural education classes is critical to meet the demand for 
agricultural careers (Kuhn, 2020). Around 60,000 agriculture and other related job positions are 
expected to come open over the next five years (Fernandez et al., 2020; Kuhn, 2020). 
Agriculture education focuses on giving students opportunities to prepare and apply the 
knowledge and skills they learn in the classroom through their participation in FFA activities and 
supervised agriculture experience projects (DiBenedetto et al., 2015). Agriculture education 
readies students for productive and satisfying careers in agriculture, food, fiber, and natural 
resource systems (National FFA Organization, 2019). Student engagement is necessary for 
students to capitalize on their learning in agriculture education. Students have multiple 
opportunities to be engaged, whether it is through FFA, SAE, or the classroom. Engagement 
begins the process of developing skills students need to enter a job out of high school or to 
pursue higher education in an agricultural field.  
 

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework 
 
Student content engagement (SCE) model was the theoretical framework for the study. Student 
content engagement is considered a critical component for learning (McLaughlin et al., 2005). 
McLaughlin et al. (2005) proposed the student content engagement model. McLaughlin et al. 
(2005) defined content as all stimuli that the student confronts during the instructional time. 
They defined engagement as the cognitive interplay between the student and the material 
being learned. There are three categories of influences of learning: the student, the 
instructional material, and the engagement of the two. For SCE to happen, four components 
must exist: subject matter content level, occasion for processing, physiological readiness, and 
motivation (McLaughlin et al., 2005). 
 
According to Baines and Stanley (2003), high school students viewed school as dull and 
irrelevant and called for a renewed emphasis on student engagement. Carlson et al. (2011) 
found evidence of a lack of cognitive engagement in high school students. Students claimed 
their teachers did not use effective teaching practices. The researchers also saw weak 
emotional connections that factored in from the school culture (Carlson et al., 2011). Quin et al. 
(2017) found students who perceived their teachers having demonstrated quality instruction 
were more likely to have higher behavioral and emotional engagement. There have been calls 
for further research into teacher behaviors and student engagement. Carlson et al. (2011) 



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suggested more research should be done to determine the factors that promote and 
discourage engagement. Quin et al. (2017) advocated for more research into how quality 
teaching influences student engagement.  
 
Aspects of agricultural education seem to encourage engagement. De Lay and Swan (2014) 
found students struggled with teacher-centered approaches but thrived in student-centered 
approaches in the agricultural education program. Friedel and Anderson II (2017) found 
students in the agricultural education programs showed higher degrees of behavioral and 
emotional engagement compared to other students surveyed in nationally. However, there was 
no significant difference between levels of cognitive engagement of the high school agriculture 
students and the high school students nationally. Friedel and Anderson II (2017) found a 
positive relationship between specific teaching practices and increased student engagement. 
Van Uden et al. (2014) found that interpersonal teacher behavior was a significant factor for 
student engagement. Estepp and Roberts (2013) reported behaviors such as discussions, 
projects, collaborations, and questioning, and varying teaching methods led to student 
engagement. Estepp and Roberts (2013) suggested further research into the relationships of 
teacher behavior to student achievement. De Lay and Swan (2014) argued agriculture teachers 
must pay attention to how their students view their academic core classes so their classes do 
not follow the same path to apathy. De Lay and Swan argued agricultural education programs 
need to be looked at holistically to review how to best serve their learners. 
 

Purpose 
 
The purpose of this exemplar case study was to understand how effective teaching leads to 
engagement of high school agriculture students in Florida. The field of agricultural education 
must understand learning and teaching environments to promote best teaching practices that 
will contribute to providing solutions to the challenges facing agricultural education and society 
(Edgar et al., 2016). The following research questions were used in this study:  
1. What are the characteristics of effective teaching seen in the experiences of exemplary high 

school agriculture teachers' moments in the classroom? 
2. What are high school agriculture students’ perceptions of engagement when the 

characteristics of effective teaching are used? 
 

Methods 
 
In this study, the exemplary agriculture teachers were teachers that were deemed highly likely 
to use Rosenshine and Furst’s (1971) five effective teacher characteristics of clarity, variability, 
enthusiasm, task-orientation, and opportunity to learn criterion material.  
 
University agriculture education faculty and the state agricultural education coordinator each 
identified 20 exemplary agriculture teachers. Teachers appearing on multiple lists were then 
compiled for a final list. Two teachers were selected from the final list who exemplified the 
case. Qualitative observations and interviews were conducted. Three data collection techniques 



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occurred: (a) teacher observations, (b) student focus groups, and (c) teacher interviews. 
Teachers followed their planned activities and approach for the day of teaching in the 
classroom. Teacher interview guides were developed by the researchers. For the teacher 
interviews, data were collected through semi-structured, one-on-one interviews conducted in 
person. The questions asked related to exemplary agriculture teachers’ moments of 
engagement and disengagement, as well as their use of the characteristics of effective 
instruction during those moments. During the teacher observations, the researcher observed 
the teachers with a teacher observation rubric from the University of Florida education 
department. This rubric evaluated teacher performance based on Rosenshine and Furst’s 
(1971) five effective teaching characteristics. The researcher observed two class periods taught 
by each of the teachers during the two days of the visits. 
 
Five to twelve students from each of the two exemplary agriculture teachers were asked about 
their perceptions of the teachers’ use of the characteristics of effective instruction and how 
they impacted their engagement in the class. The interview guides for the students were 
developed using McLaughlin et al.’s (2005) SEC. The student focus group questions focused on 
the four components of the SCE Model, (a) motivation, (b) physiological readiness, (c) subject 
matter content level, and (d) occasion for processing.  
 
A deductive approach was used to analyze the data. Deductive coding was used because pre-
determined codes were determined a priori (Medelyan, 2020). Teacher observation guides, 
along with any extra notes, were scanned electronically. The teacher interviews and student 
focus groups were transcribed verbatim. The qualitative data analysis computer software NVivo 
was used for coding. Using pre-determined codes based on Rosenshine and Furst’s (1971) 
characteristics of effective instruction, data from the teacher interviews, teacher observations 
and student focus groups were coded.  
 
The four components of qualitative rigor were addressed. These four components were 
identified and posited by Lincoln and Guba (1985). The four components are credibility, 
transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Credibility refers to ensuring that the findings 
and interpretations will be credible. Triangulation was in place in this study to establish 
credibility. The study used three different data collection methods. Using multiple methods of 
data collection can ensure a deeper understanding about the data (Cohen & Crabtree, 2006). 
Qualitative researchers use triangulation as way to provide an account that is rich, strong, well-
developed, and all encompassing (Cohen & Crabtree, 2006). Transferability involves exhibiting 
that the findings can be applied in other contexts. In order to address transferability, the 
researcher in this study provided detailed thick descriptions in order to fully describe each 
exemplary case of teaching (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Dependability is the idea that the findings 
are consistent and replicable (Cohen & Crabtree, 2006). To address dependability in this study, 
an external qualitative researcher overlooked the process and the products of the study (Cohen 
& Crabtree, 2006). Confirmability is how much the findings are neutral and reflect the 
respondents and not the researchers (Cohen & Crabtree, 2006). The technique employed to 
establish confirmability in this study was a reflective journal kept by the researcher (Guba, 
1981). 



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Findings 
 
Students reported high levels of engagement and positive feelings about class. They also had 
positive perceptions of the displays of the Rosenshine and Furst’s (1971) characteristics of 
effective instruction by their teachers. Students in each of the four focus groups agreed they 
were engaged in classes with Mr. Berry and Ms. Riley. One of Mr. Berry’s students said, “I 
would say we're all highly engaged because we want to be here.” Some of Ms. Riley’s students 
had similar responses. One of her students said, “[I am] more engaged in this class, honestly, 
this is my favorite class.” There were five a priori themes and one emergent theme.  
 
Theme #1- Use of Clarity and Student Engagement 
Mr. Berry and Ms. Riley’s students’ responses showed positive perceptions of their use of 
clarity in the classroom. One of Mr. Berry’s students said:  

When the topics were hard, he kind of broke them down for us and he would take more 
complex ideas and break them up into simpler ideas, so that we were all able to learn 
because we're all different and we all learn on different levels. But when it was broken 
up, we can all learn the same but at our own pace.  

 
One of his students mentioned, “He's very good at explaining in different ways.” Another 
student stated, “[some] people don't understand it. But for those people, he will explain 
everything and draw stuff out and I feel like it makes it easier.” Ms. Riley’s students also had 
similar responses. Students believed her use of clarity “[made] it doable” and “[they] 
understand so [they are] not left behind.” These responses showed Mr. Berry and Ms. Riley’s 
use of clarity helped their students understand the concepts and motivated them to engage.  
 
Mr. Berry also used his experience as a teacher reading students’ body language to gauge his 
speed in presenting the material clearly to his students. As he lectured, he moved around the 
room and made eye contact with students.  
 
Mr. Berry and Ms. Riley also spoke about the importance of clarifying instructions to their 
students. Ms. Riley said she tries to make sure that “instructions [are] fantastic, and very clear.” 
She went on to discuss how important clear directions are with students. She said:  

I'll try to have [instructions] written and try to repeat them several times and I'll even 
read the paper with them. Because kids are horrible about reading instructions…I try to 
make sure that, explicit instructions are there. I read it, they repeated it.  

 
Theme #2- Use of Variety and Student Engagement 
The second theme found in this study was the use of variety and student engagement. Mr. 
Berry and Ms. Riley’s students’ responses show positive perceptions of their use of variety in 
the classroom. One of Ms. Riley’s students said: 

Yeah, like we'll do a Quizlet, or do a worksheet, or do website, vocabulary. It's like a 
whole bunch of stuff about the topic and then we'll switch to the next topic and a whole 
bunch of different stuff that we didn't do before. It's just a variety every time.  



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When asked what makes Ms. Riley’s class not boring, one student responded, “the amount of 
activity we'll be doing.” A student also stated that variety made the class fun. That student said, 
“she tries to make it fun for us, [by] mix[ing] it up.” Another student said, “I thought [the class] 
would be boring” but found to the course to be enjoyable. Mr. Berry’s students felt the same 
way. One student alluded that they saw more variety in their agriculture class with Mr. Berry 
than they did in academic subject classes. That student said, “Ag isn't like English class or like 
the Spanish class or like science class. They throw notes at you and there like okay figure it out.” 
Another student added that it was more than just bookwork in Mr. Berry’s class. That student 
said, “He doesn't read straight from the textbook.” These responses showed that Mr. Berry and 
Ms. Riley’s use of variety helped decrease monotony for their students and motivated the 
students to engage.  
 
Variety was present in both teachers’ high engagement lessons. According to Ms. Riley, “I think 
that's the key is changing it up. Trying to involve everyone, but also trying to keep it interesting 
enough to where they're not bored.” She mentioned several types of activities she utilizes. She 
said, “I try to incorporate different activities, videos, games, and such that kind of helps it be 
more engaging to the students and instead of bookwork all the time.” Mr. Berry spoke about 
the variety in his high engagement lesson on parliamentary procedure. He said:  

I would say yes [when asked about his use of variety]. Because they took notes, then 
they verbally responded. I lectured, which meant I verbally explain the content and then 
showed they're understanding of the content by their verbal demonstration. 

 
Mr. Berry believed in incorporating variety in his teaching. Mr. Berry said he likes to “mix things 
up.” He also said he has been “trying to use more videos and social media and ways to 
incorporate more technology and trying to engage them that way.” 
 
Theme #3- Use of Enthusiasm and Student Engagement 
The third theme found in this study was the use of enthusiasm and student engagement. Mr. 
Berry and Ms. Riley’s students’ responses showed positive perceptions of their use of 
enthusiasm in the classroom. One of Ms. Riley’s students said, “her attitude just helps a lot.” 
Another student added, “[she is] very outgoing…outgoing and interactive.” One of Ms. Riley’s 
students spoke about how her attitude helped show them she cared about them and their 
learning. That student said, “her attitude and that if you're going to care about this then I'll 
show you I care. I'm going to make sure you learn stuff.” Students also detailed how her 
attitude has helped the classroom environment. One student said, “[she] make[s] sure we're all 
happy. If we're like upset, she'll come and talk to us and stuff and, yeah, she's, make sure 
everyone's [ok].” Mr. Berry’s students also had positive responses about his use of enthusiasm. 
One of his students said, “When we come into class, he's always real nice he's always got a 
smile on his face and he's in a great mood every time we come in.” One student talked about 
how Mr. Berry’s enthusiasm pushes them to learn. That student said “. . .he pushes everybody 
because he knows we all have potential.” Another student said, “And like the way he acts and 
his personality, it gets you excited to learn and be in a classroom with him.” These responses 



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showed that Mr. Berry and Ms. Riley’s use of enthusiasm helped positively shape students' 
attitudes and perceptions of the class and motivate their students to engage.  
 
Enthusiasm was found to be displayed in both Mr. Berry and Ms. Riley’s lessons with 
engagement. In Ms. Riley’s interview, it was clear that enthusiasm was present in the lesson as 
well. When asked about her moments displaying enthusiasm during this lesson, she alluded to 
being very enthusiastic. Ms. Riley said: 

I'm 34 years old, and we've always had pigs, so [I am] super passionate about show pig 
industry and so anytime I can talk about that, whether it's just showing pigs or talking 
about our family operation, the phases of production, I don't know, I feel like I don't 
have to make myself be passionate, it just kind of comes with the job. Just because 
that's the topic that I really enjoy.  

 
She talked about the importance of being enthusiastic when she teaches. She said, “[I] try to 
put myself in their shoes. So, if I feel like I'm not enjoying it, then probably teenagers not going 
to be enjoying it. So just kind of like keeping that that mindset.” When Mr. Berry spoke about 
his lesson on parliamentary procedure he stated he felt he had good engagement from his 
students, enthusiasm was seen. He spoke about how teaching this topic gets him excited 
because he loves the National FFA contest associated with the topic. He said, “And then we 
move forward with the Parli. Pro. Just because of when it comes to FFA that that's kind of the 
contest that gets me excited.” He said that parliamentary procedure “gets me excited” and that 
he is “passionate about that.” He also spoke about the importance of being enthusiastic as a 
teacher. He said: 

Enthusiasm is important because with anything that we teach or in coaching. If you're 
not enthused about that [the students are] not going to be. Because if you're not, why 
should they be? And I really think that's very important.  

 
Theme #4- Use of Businesslike and/or Task-Oriented Behaviors and Student Engagement 
The fourth theme found in this study was the Use of businesslike and/or on-task behaviors and 
student engagement. Mr. Berry and Ms. Riley’s students’ responses showed positive 
perceptions of their use of businesslike and/or task-oriented behaviors in the classroom. One 
student spoke about how they know when they come in that Ms. Riley takes her job seriously. 
That student said, “like how she [carries] herself and how she cares about her job. How she 
takes it serious.” Another student added that Ms. Riley keeps them on top of what is going on 
in her class and that gets them to look forward to their next class. One student added on to this 
saying, “she tells us what we need, goes over what we are going to do today, tells us what's in 
the future to get it done. Making sure our submissions are on schedule and stuff.” It was clear 
from student focus groups that students were impacted positively by the businesslike/task-
oriented behaviors used by Ms. Riley. Mr. Berry’s students also had positive responses towards 
his uses of businesslike and/or task-oriented behaviors in the classroom. One student 
mentioned how these behaviors keep them accountable. They said: 

He keeps us accountable with it because he has a bell ringer on the board every day 
when we come into class, we're supposed to write it down and he keeps us accountable 
by doing bell ringer quizzes throughout the year.  



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When asked what contributes to the effort the students put in, one student responded, 
“expectation.” Mr. Berry’s students all knew the expectations. Students alluded that the way 
Mr. Berry runs class keeps them at ease. One student said, “And especially as Mr. Berry he 
doesn't purposely make it stressful on us, because he reminds us, weekly, that we're only in 
high school once and that we shouldn't be stressed out.” These responses show that Mr. Berry 
and Ms. Riley’s use of businesslike and/or task-oriented behaviors helped keep students on 
track, provided order for students, and motivated their students to engage.  
 
Theme #5- Use of Student Opportunity to Learn Criterion Material and Student Engagement 
Mr. Berry and Ms. Riley’s students’ responses showed positive perceptions of their use of 
behaviors to promote student opportunity to learn criterion material in the classroom. One of 
Ms. Riley’s students said, “[she tries] to explain everything step by step and gives us an 
opportunity to learn it, instead of just trying to make us do it.” One student spoke about how 
Ms. Riley provides feedback to help them know where they are at in comprehending the 
material. That student said, “[we can] share it with her and see if it was up to what we needed 
to be able to understand at the time.” Mr. Berry’s students also responded positively to the 
behaviors used by him to promote student opportunity to learn criterion material. One of his 
students added how Mr. Berry works to better their learning experience. That student said, 
“then he'll post like extra links and stuff like that just to better our learning experience.” A 
student also spoke about Mr. Berry’s willingness to help them learn the material. They said, “If 
we need help, he'll come and help us.” Additionally, a student spoke about Mr. Berry’s use of 
his personal experiences to add value to what they were learning. That student said, “He's able 
to like interject his own personal background into the class, which helps us absorb more 
information than if we were just studying a textbook.” One student added that, “I've been able 
to open my mind up to other aspects of agriculture that I'm not around at home.” Another 
student said, “I [have] learned something new every year from this class.” These responses 
show that Mr. Berry and Ms. Riley’s use of behaviors used to promote student opportunity to 
learn criterion material helped their students learn material and motivate the students to 
engage.  
 
Theme #6- Teachers Facing Challenges in Engagement 
The final theme found in this study was an emergent theme that teachers are facing challenges 
in engaging students. Ms. Riley said: 

Over the last 10 years of teaching, that's probably [been] the biggest challenge is to try 
to keep them engaged and just to try to get them motivated. And I don't really have the 
answer to that. I'm still trying to figure out how to motivate kids. 

  
She added, “sometimes it's hard for me to comprehend these students who don't want to try.” 
She voiced more frustrations about getting students engaged as they got into high school. She 
said: 

I mean, I can think of a class right now, where there's a handful of students who just 
about every day, they're going to come in, put their head down. And so you really have 



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to just beg them or sit there and kind of do it with them to get them to do anything. 
And, unfortunately, that's just how it is sometimes. 

 
Mr. Berry talked about his challenges with engagement in his classroom. He said that his 
challenges came from being consistent and diverse in interest approaches and other tactics to 
engage students. He said, “so you know just being consistent, and being diverse is important, I 
think that is the hardest thing. And then staying up with whatever is new, you know, whatever 
that may be.” Mr. Berry said that as an agriculture teacher there are certain times of year that 
they are busier. He said this impacts how he goes about incorporating interest approaches and 
other tactics to engage students. He said:  

It's hard sometimes to, depending on the time of the year, to have the energy to do a 
good job of interest approaches and those kind of things. Instead of just saying here, 
"this is what you need to know, deal with it and go.”  

 
Mr. Berry also added that he has seen a change in students. He said “As we move forward in 
history, we've got a group of kids that are not connected with the real world and have no 
earthly idea what's going on outside of their smartphone. I call them the YouTube generation.” 
He says that this generation of students is much more into learning with technology. He said, 
“They all got Chromebooks now, so that's good, that's a great asset but you know trying to 
always have them focused on what's going on because there's so many other things. It's hard to 
compete with that Chromebook.” Ms. Riley also stated that she feels students are much more 
into learning with technology. She said, “They like less of interaction with the teacher and more 
of independent stuff, and I think that's coming from the technological side of virtual learning.” 
 

Conclusions, Discussion, and Recommendations 
 
The teachers in this study demonstrated characteristics of effective instruction. Their students 
noted the instances of effective instruction and reported that it impacted their engagement in 
the classroom. Each characteristic of Rosenshine and Furst’s (1971) characteristics of effective 
instruction was evident in the observations, teacher interviews, and student interviews. Clarity 
in the classroom was found to be displayed in student instructions and explaining content to 
students. Variety was demonstrated by the teachers using varied instructional materials and 
several teaching methods and student assignments. Enthusiasm was displayed by pleasant 
moods, positive interactions with students, and authentic displays of enjoyment of the subject. 
The use of businesslike and/or task-oriented behaviors was displayed by keeping the class 
orderly and on-task, holding students accountable with their work and behavior, and the use of 
bell-ringers. The use of student’s opportunity to learn was demonstrated by challenging and 
encouraging students to learn, giving students real life examples to connect material to, 
communicating the end goals of the lesson, focusing on important material, and not moving 
ahead until most students have mastered the material. 
 
Mr. Berry and Ms. Riley demonstrate characteristics of effective instruction in the agricultural 
education classroom. Specific examples of effective instruction were highlighted by students 



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who mentioned “. . .he pushes everybody because he knows we all have potential.” Another 
student said, “And like the way he acts and his personality, it gets you excited to learn and be in 
a classroom with him.” Another student said of Ms. Riley, “I've been able to open my mind up 
to other aspects of agriculture that I'm not around at home.” Also, Mr. Berry and Ms. Riley 
noted teaching about topics they were knowledgeable about and had passion for, which helped 
them express these characteristics. Agriculture teachers should be encouraged to explore their 
passions within agricultural education to enhance their enthusiasm for the subject area. They 
could also find ways to bring in characteristics of effective instruction for topics in agricultural 
education. Teachers are encouraged to develop intentionality in delivering clear directions, 
explaining concepts clearly, using a variety of instructional techniques, and giving students clear 
tasks related to the content. 
 
These findings hold several recommendations for future research. Future studies could be 
conducted with larger groups of exemplary teachers and their students. This study was limited 
to two teachers and their students from the same high school agriculture program. Future 
research could have exemplary teachers from diverse agriculture programs participate. This 
study was done at a rural high school agriculture program in Florida. Results could potentially 
vary if done at urban, rural, and suburban high school agriculture programs.  
 
This study has several recommendations for pre-service teacher educators. First, pre-service 
teachers could be taught how to demonstrate Rosenshine and Furst’s (1971) characteristics of 
effective instruction in the classroom. Pre-service teachers are normally taught a variety of 
different instructional topics on how to impact students. This study recommends that pre-
service teachers should be taught specifically how to display these characteristics within the 
different teaching methods. Pre-service teachers could also be taught how to engage students. 
There has been a problem with engagement in American schools (Benner et al., 2019; Kuhn, 
2020; Washor & Mojkowski, 2014). Teaching methods that increase student engagement 
should be taught in pre-service teacher education programs. To increase student engagement, 
pre-service teachers should be taught different behaviors and strategies to implement in their 
classrooms. This study has multiple recommendations for current agriculture teachers. First, 
agriculture teachers should reflect on current teaching practices and determine how to 
properly implement Rosenshine and Furst’s (1971) characteristics of effective instruction in the 
classroom. Agriculture teachers should also take regular assessments of their students to 
determine student engagement. 
 

Acknowledgements 
 
We would like to thank Mr. Berry and Ms. Riley, as well as their high school agriculture 
students.  
 
C. Gilbert: Writing original draft and investigation. T. Easterly: Advisor, edited draft, initial 
review. J. Bunch: Draft theoretical framework and methods. S. Galindo: Developing methods 



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and coaching qualitative data analysis. J. Dossett: Format article for review and submission and 
incorporated previous reviewer comments. 
 

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