| The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of mathematics teaching and integration strategies (MTIS) on preservice agricultural teachers' mathematics ability, personal mathematics efficacy, mathematics teaching efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy in a teaching methods course. The independent variable of interest was the MTIS treatment. Dependent variables included mathematics teaching efficacy, personal mathematics efficacy, personal teaching efficacy, and mathematics ability of the preservice teachers. The research was quasi-experimental and utilized a nonequivalent control group design. The sample consisted of preservice teachers enrolled in AEC 4200 Teaching Methods in Agricultural Education during the Fall 2011 semester at the University of Florida (n = 19). Data collected were mathematics ability (as measured by the Mathematics Ability Test), mathematics teaching efficacy, personal mathematics efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy (as measured by the Mathematics Enhancement Teaching Efficacy Instrument).;ANCOVA was used to determine if significant differences existed in mathematics ability based upon the MTIS treatment. The analysis revealed a significant difference in the mathematics ability of preservice agricultural teachers based upon the MTIS treatment, while controlling pretest mathematics ability scores. Thus, the MTIS treatment had a positive effect on the mathematics ability scores of the preservice teachers.;MANOVAs were used to determine if significant differences existed in mathematics teaching efficacy, personal mathematics efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy based upon the MTIS treatment. The analyses did not reveal a significant difference in the mathematics teaching efficacy, personal mathematics efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy of preservice agricultural teachers based upon the MTIS treatment. Therefore, the MTIS treatment did not have an effect on the mathematics teaching efficacy, personal mathematics efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy of the preservice teachers.;Participants had low to moderate mathematics ability, were moderately efficacious in mathematics teaching efficacy, and efficacious in personal mathematics efficacy and personal teaching efficacy. This study found that a teaching methods course that utilizes the MTIS treatment can improve mathematics ability, but the treatment had no effect on the mathematics teaching efficacy, personal mathematics efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy of the preservice teachers. Based on these findings, recommendations for agricultural teacher educators and researchers were given. |
