Using Mastery Experiences in Undergraduate Agriculture Courses to Influence Student Self-Efficacy

The numbers of students completing certificates and degrees have improved over the years, but current rates of attainment are not enough to meet state government established goals. New initiatives in higher education, especially those at the community college level, are aimed at helping students develop a growth-oriented mindset toward learning. Self-efficacy for learning is a necessary condition for this type of mindset. Previous research showed that the college classroom could be used to influence student self-efficacy. Students enrolled in two introductory agricultural science courses at a community college in Texas participated in a quasi-experimental, pre-test post-test design study to evaluate the effectiveness of mastery experiences on student self-efficacy for learning during the Fall 2019 semester, N = 100. Participants enrolled in the treatment groups of the two courses were exposed to three supplemental, mastery experiences during weeks three through 14 of the semester. Those in the control groups received only the standard curriculum. Data relating to student gender, past educational experiences, feelings towards attending college, and outside of class responsibilities were also collected. Results of the study showed that self-efficacy for learning mean scores declined for all groups from pre-test to post-test. Mean scores for most all other motivation and learning behaviors also declined from pre-test to post-test. Correlations revealed statistically significant relationships for self-efficacy for learning post-test mean scores and expected course grade for participants in both courses. When analyzed separately, analysis of variance found no statistically significant difference between self-efficacy for learning mean scores between treatment and control groups for both courses. When analyzed together, analysis of variance found no statistically significant difference between self-efficacy for learning mean scores between participants who were exposed to the exercises and those who were not. Characteristics of the study participants as well as the timing of the post-test administration were believed to have had an effect on study results. The researcher recommends continuing the current study for the next two semesters in order to have more data to analyze and developing new studies using the current study as a starting point