Cognitive Level of Instruction and Student Performance among Selected Ohio Production Agriculture Programs

Three-quarters of a century of educational literature (Chamberlain & Kelly, 1981; Furst, 1981; Ryan, 1973; Stevens, 1912) suggests that the main emphasis in schools has been teaching students facts, even though teachers and curriculum designers have attested to the importance of teaching students to think (Gall, 1970; Roberts, 1974). Newcomb and Trefz (1987) in a study of college professors of agriculture, stated that professors of agriculture concerned themselves with the subject matter their students learned, but that these same professors were less concerned about the cognitive level of their instruction as well as level of student performance.