The Dollar Tree: A Great Source for Teachers!

There was a lot of mystery surrounding the Creativity Lab. Ms. Rice was adamant that Bry and Megan kept the little knowledge that they had about the lab a secret. So, needless to say, I had no idea what I was walking into this morning.

Let me tell you, the Creativity Lab was awesome! We loaded into a PSU van, drove to the Dollar Tree and were encouraged to purchase $5 worth of items to enhance on of our lessons.

Spending $5 usually is a breeze for me, but today, I struggled. I wasn't feeling well and I was super tired, so the last thing that I wanted to do was think. But, with a little help and encouragement from my peers, I came up with the idea to purchase items that could be used for an interest approach for my soil formation lesson (which needed some revamping, anyways!). 

I purchased a pack of balloons, fake watches, stones, large sunglasses and plastic bugs. I will put these items in a bag, hand out the bags to each group and challenge them to come up with a list of the five soil formation factors, based on these items.

While some of the item's connections to the soil formation factors are pretty straight forward (i.e. the watches and time), I had to stretch myself to connect the others. For instance, topography was almost impossible to create. I settled on balloons, because they represent the rolling hills and mountains.

I think that as a teacher, the Dollar Tree will be a great resource for me, if I am able to stretch myself to think outside the box. I am planning on looking over all of my lessons, and thinking critically about how they could be revamped to include more creative approaches. 

 This lab certainly forced me to use my creativity to connect items with my content. I think that this was a great exercise, and a fun "field trip" for our last day of lab! 

The Light at the End of the Tunnel!

Well, here it is... one of my final blog posts from the Fall 2014 semester. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!!! I cannot believe that this time has come. The semester has flew by, but has been beneficial in preparing me for my student teaching experience in the Spring.

Perhaps one of the most significant activities that I have participated in this semester has been AEE412 lab. Despite my hesitation at the beginning of the semester, I ended up really enjoying lab, and it has certainly been a positive experience for me!

I believe that lab has helped to contribute to my personal and professional growth. I gained experience at the front of a classroom full of peers, as well as a few classrooms full of actual students. I learned how to implement lesson plans, and gathered some valuable techniques that I can use while student teaching.

Lab gave us a wonderful opportunity to implement the lesson plans that we wrote. It gave us the perfect chance to try things out, and the ability to go back to tweak them before we teach them in a real classroom. I liked having free feedback from my peers and Ms. Rice, as well, because it helped me alter lessons to improve them.

I also believe that lab was a great way to become a more comfortable and confident teacher. My peers really helped to build my self-confidence, in a safe and uplifting atmosphere. I appreciated their feedback, as well as Ms. Rice's. Quite honestly, at the beginning of the semester, I was unsure if I had 'what it takes' to teach, but after experiencing lab, I am more confident than ever in my ability.

Additionally, reflection has played a huge part in my growth as an educator. Having the opportunity to watch myself back on video was an excellent way to build my self-confidence. I impressed myself in my ability quite a few times! In addition to the videos, I enjoyed writing a reflective blog post on my lab, as it helped me compile my thoughts. I also though that it was nice having peer feedback on blogs and on videos, as it helped to further build my self confidence and helped improve my lessons. Overall, reflection has helped me recognize my strengths and weaknesses, from which I have been able to grow.

While lab offered many positive aspects, it did have some room for improvement. Ideally, I would love to have more opportunities to teach in an actual classroom. It would be great if, for instance, every-other-week, we taught in a real classroom. I know that this may be hard, or nearly impossible, but I believe that it would be most beneficial.

I also wish that the labs would have lined up with instruction better. Oftentimes, we were expected to create a lab lesson plan, without any prior knowledge on the type of lesson (i.e. Inquiry). Ensuring that we had instruction prior to the lab would have helped ease a lot of my anxiousness for the labs.

Overall, lab was probably one of my favorite activities that we participated in this semester. I believe that it provided us with a unique opportunity to put what we learned in class into action, and practice our teaching techniques. I enjoyed teaching to my peers, and loved the positive, supportive environment that lab provided. Because of lab, I feel more prepared than ever to student teach!

Please see below for my final lab highlight video!

Classroom Management: A Scary Thought!

It's my worst nightmare... out of control students. I dread the days where my students misbehave, when they talk back or when we don't get along. I am awful at confrontation and I hate nothing more than to be the bad guy. However, after an eye-opening experience Microteaching, Discipline Derby activities and a class discussion based on Classroom Management, I feel as though I have a better grasp on how to avoid chaos (like this clip from Kindergarten Cop!) in my classroom.

This week's reading, based around Classroom Management, added to my arsenal of Classroom Management techniques, by providing me with some insightful tips.

Perhaps one of the most significant suggestions made, and one that I am looking to follow when I student teach, is to start off strong. At the very beginning of the year, set strict expectations, consequences and procedures, and stick with them! It is easier to ease up on your students than it is to tighten the reigns.

Another common suggestion was to ensure that you have engaging activities. Bordem is often the culprit of misbehavior. Therefore, if a student is engaged, they are less likely to partake in distracting or disrespectful behaviors. Furthermore, if your students are busy, there won't be time for them to be disruptive!

Although avoiding misbehavior is the best approach, there are many things that can be done when misbehavior does occur. Perhaps my favorite suggestion is to talk to the student one-on-one. Students have lives outside of the walls of the classroom, and sometimes things that go on may effect their attitude or feelings while in school. This is why it is essential to talk to the student about the reason they acted up. Doing so also provides a nice opportunity to separate him/her from the group and to discuss what can be done about their behavior.

While classroom management continues to scare me, I believe that I have a better grasp on some techniques that I can use to prevent and address student misbehavior. These readings, as well as class discussions, have contributed to my confidence in classroom management, and I know that as I gain experience in the front of the classroom, my classroom management skills will only improve!

Life Knowledge Lab

Today, I completed my Life Knowledge lesson at my cooperating center, Mifflinburg High School. I chose a lesson on agricultural career clusters, which I taught to 12th graders in an Agricultural Technology course. While there were only five students in my class (this is a small class because it, essentially, prepares program completers for the NOCTI exams), but it still proved to be challenging. This class was first period, and you could certainly tell. The students were not very motivated this morning, and it didn't help that today was the due date for their citrus orders. Needless to say, some students seemed disengaged, while others scrambled to get their money turned into Mr. Kessler. For this reason, I began my lesson about ten minutes late.

When I was finally able to begin, I started off introducing the topic of career clusters. I pointed out that many of the students were seniors, and would have the challenging task ahead of them, of choosing a career path. All but one of the students were enrolled in Tech school, 2 of which were in the nursing program and the other two were in mechanical programs. So, these students had a solid grasp on their future careers.

After introducing the topic, we played Pictionary. Each student had to choose from a bag one career cluster, then draw it on the board as the other students guessed. This was fun, and went pretty well. Although, one student did not seem very engaged. I made it a point to talk to him directly, and tried to pull him in by asking him to take a turn drawing. He seemed to enjoy it once he began drawing.

Next, I explained that particular careers fall into each career cluster, then we brainstormed a list of careers for the Power Systems cluster. After we finished this, I challenged them to identify careers that they were not interested in, as well as ones that they were. I asked them to look at the list of careers (provided by the FFA Life Knowledge website) and cross off careers that they had no interest in, and highlight ones that they did. This went pretty well, but was rushed due to my late start.

After they did this, we shared their answers. Again, the same student seemed disengaged, but I tried hard to interact with him directly and pull him into the lesson. Towards the end, I do think that he was getting into the topic more.

Finally, I handed out a worksheet, that asked them to identify three careers that they were interested in. I also asked them to begin thinking about the types of training/certification/education that might be needed to pursue this career.

Overall, I think that my lesson went well. One thing that I need to work on is questioning (as usual!) I tend to either ask a question and not allow time for the students to answer it, or I don't utilize questioning at all. I also need to work on timing my activities. While my timing seemed good today, I have to wonder if I would have ended early, had I not began late.

Despite the things that I still need to work on, there were many positives to my lesson. I feel as though the lesson itself was engaging, and I particularly enjoyed the Pictionary game (which was not on the original Life Knowledge lesson- I thought of this activity). I also think that I did a nice job working one-on-one with the students as they were working independently. I tried hard to pull in the student who wasn't engaged, and I did a nice job directing my attention toward him. I also felt very comfortable teaching today. I am not sure if this is because of the small size of the class, or because I had known a few of the students from our National Convention trip and my previous visits. Regardless, I am happy to see that I am improving in my teaching, and I am genuinely looking forward to working with the students from Mifflinburg in January!

Soils & Sassy Students

When I first walked into Tyrone Area High School to teach on Monday morning, I was nervous. Sure, I had taught multiple times throughout the semester, but this time, I was teaching in front of real students, in a new classroom, with an unfamiliar teacher.

During my Microteaching experience, I taught a soils lesson to a Horticulture/Botany class. There were 15 students in the class, and many of them were Juniors or Seniors. I had planned full 45 minute lessons, but when we went to observe last Friday, Ms. Hoy told us not to count on teaching bell-to-bell. So, I altered my lesson for the first day.

On Monday, I taught a lesson about the "ingredients" in soil. I focused on the four components and the ideal soil. I started out by giving them cookies, and related the ingredients in cookies to the ingredients in soil. I then asked them to observe a soil sample, then presented a very short PowerPoint about the four soil "ingredients" and asked them to complete a worksheet.

I ended up finishing my lesson about ten minutes early... apparently I had cut the lesson too much. I began to panic inside, because I didn't have anything else for them to do. However, I decided that it may be a good idea for me to go over the answers from the worksheet. After doing this, and the ticket out/evaluation, we only had a few more minutes to spare, which I spent talking to the students. This taught me that I always need a back-up plan, or (at the very least) I need to keep in mind an activity that can be done if the students finish early. Needless to say, for the next day, I made a crossword puzzle, just in case!

Day two went fairly well. We talked about the factors that influence soil formation. I split them into groups and they were each responsible for reading a passage about one of the five factors and then creatively presenting the material to their fellow students. I was a bit disappointed, because my students didn't come up with very creative presentations (I was hoping for at least one song, or one skit!). All of them chose to present the material on a poster, instead. Overall, the presentations went well. However, they didn't seem that into it, and I am not sure that they grasped the concepts as well as I had hoped. However, from their answers, they did seem to be gathering some knowledge.

The third and final day was my absolute favorite, although it did have a few downfalls. I began by presenting a PowerPoint about sand, silt and clay, connecting it to the first two days. I felt a little uncomfortable lecturing, although I am not sure why. It might have been because the students didn't seem that engaged, which potentially could have been combated by providing them with a guided note sheet. Finally, we got to the soil feel test. I demonstrated how to use the flow chart to determine soil texture. I handled the soil, while the students read the steps to me. This went pretty well, although I know that not all of my students were paying attention.

After I turned them loose to test the texture of the five soil samples that I brought (I was really excited about these samples, because they were all different textures- nerdy, right?!) they seemed to really get into the lesson. They worked diligently, and for the most part, all students were engaged. One mishap did happen when the students mixed up the soil sample lids. This threw off some of their answers, which frustrated some students. However, I fixed the problem by checking my own answers and the students quickly recovered from the problem.

After the students finished their soil analysis, I went over the answers with them. They seemed to really be connecting what they had learned the past two days with our discussion, which was nice to see!

For the most part, the students were great! There was, however, one student who seemed a bit sassy towards me. While teaching, I noticed that she would roll her eyes and whisper to her friend. While I was teaching, this really threw me off and bothered me. As I was watching my video, I noticed this more than once, as well. I was, at first, very angry and a little hurt. However, the more I thought about it, I began noticing something interesting.

Although this student was rolling her eyes and being rude, she answered almost all my questions, and her answers were always correct. Either she had already known everything I was teaching, or she was actually paying attention. Additionally, she would seem disengaged when she was at her seat, but as soon as she was broken into a group and away from her friends, she would become engaged again. This makes me believe that she might have just been acting up to be "cool" around her friends. Although this did bother me, I believe that it was a good thing for me to experience, because it made me think and analyze my teaching and the situation.

In addition to learning how to deal with sassy students, I learned something about myself as a teacher. I discovered that presenting material in the form of a lecture makes me uncomfortable. I was afraid that I would present the material wrong, which was literally the only thing that I worried about while I was teaching. I found that I am way more comfortable teaching hands-on lessons. I think that this is pretty evident in my videos, as I really loosened up when the students were performing the feel test. I also need to work on giving directions, as my directions were a bit unclear.

Overall, I had a great time Microteaching. It gave me real-world experience and I learned a few things about myself as an educator. I appreciated Ms. Hoy's willingness to help us out!

Fishing for Inquiry

When I asked the class if they liked to fish, and told them that it was their lucky day because that's what we were doing in class, I received looks of confusion and excitement.

 For my inquiry-based instruction lab this week, I decided to do an activity that introduced students to the concept of the Tragedy of the Commons. In this activity, I gave them all a bowl of Goldfish crackers and Swedish Fish. They were to fish, using chopsticks. We played three rounds: the first, they did not have a fishing limit, the second they still did not have a fishing limit, but a storm did not allow the fish to repopulate, and the third time, they had a limit of three fish per round. The ultimate goal of the activity was to allow them to see that if you over-use a resource without taking into consideration environmental factors or other people's usage of the same resource, it is easily depleted.

I was really excited for this lab because I thought that I had a solid lesson and topic. However, inquiry seemed hard and I was hesitant that I was covering all the bases. I think that my biggest downfall came when presenting the lesson, because I made it very teacher-centered. I also gave poor directions, which caused quite a bit of confusion. One way that I think I could improve this would be to ask the students to read the instructions first and then ask them to reiterate what they read for the class. This would also allow my lesson to be more student-centered.

While I did struggle with creating a student-centered atmosphere, I can see myself improving in my teaching. I am becoming more confident. In fact, this is the first time that I did not walk around holding my lesson plan! It stayed on the table the whole time, which is a big step for me! I also notice that I am beginning to walk around and interact with students more, which is good.  

I also think that my lesson was pretty solid. I think that it was a nice way to teach about human impact, as well as explain why we have some of the bag limits and laws that we have in place. Overall, I think that my students had fun with the activity, and I am excited to implement this lesson at my cooperating center!

National Convention: An Eye-Opening Experience

20+ hours in a car, 5 students, 1 adviser, 1 student teacher, 4 days, 3 nights, 570 miles away, and 100% worth it. 

My trip to National Convention with Mifflinburg FFA was outstanding. Not only did it provide me with the perfect opportunity to get to know some of my soon-to-be students, but it also encouraged a stronger relationship between my cooperating teacher and I. I had the opportunity to meet some of my student's parents, gather some free resources and experience a place that I had never been before. My trip to National Convention helped to restore my passion for agricultural education, and it kind of help to restore my faith in humanity. What do I mean by that, you might be wondering?

Well, before National Convention, Ms. Rice had challenged us to observe behaviors and journal about them for each day that we were there as a part of our Multicultural Moments for AEE295. To say the least, it is interesting the behaviors that you notice when you are made aware of them! For the most part, all of the behaviors that I noticed were positive.

The first day of our National Convention adventure consisted mostly of driving... lots and lots of driving... For this reason, I wasn't expecting to hear or see many uplifting or disappointing behaviors. We stopped at Steak and Shake for lunch, and I was on the look out for something to journal about. Sure enough, I witnessed what I was looking for! We were sitting near a window and I watched as an old woman and man got out of their car. At the same time, a group of four or five young men (probably around 20 years old) got up from their table to leave. Walking out the door, one of the men noticed the old couple making their way to the door (mind  you, this couple was probably at least 20+ feet away, and moving quite slow). The young man stood at the door and waited patiently as the old couple made their way to the door. All of his friends continued on to the car without him.

Holding the door for this old couple might not have seemed like a significant gesture, but to me, it was. In this day and age, positive gentleman-like behaviors like that are far and few between. People are often too concerned with impressing their friends or hurrying to their next task, to slow down and do something kind for a complete stranger. This moment was the most uplifting moment that I witnessed all of National Convention.

The most depressing treatment that I noticed occurred, sadly, between my students. To set the context, you must realize that my students got along great for the majority of the trip. They enjoyed each other's company and shared lots of laughs. However, on our way home, one of the girls started getting moody. She began disagreeing with everything we suggested, sharing her dismay on many things that we discussed and rolling her eyes when people were talking. She even began making comments under her breath. I know that this student was probably tired of traveling, but I became increasingly frustrated with her, as she became increasingly rude. One of my biggest peeves is bullying of any kind and this girl was about to cross the line. I find it disappointing that people think it is acceptable to say or do rude things, and to bully others.

The most interesting moment that I witnessed also occurred with some of my students. Like I said, my students were all pretty good friends and they joked around a lot. While "joking around" they would often say things that could be offensive. For instance, they often told one another that they were stupid. I found it interesting that the things that they were saying were offensive, but they thought nothing of it. Sometimes, you could tell that a few of them took what was being said personally, but they quickly got over it. This dynamic was interesting to observe.

As I said, I did have a really great time at National Convention. I think that this assignment helped me view things in a new light. I became more aware of my surroundings and more aware of the way that people treat one another.

Inquiry-based Instruction: Putting the Science Back Into "Agricultural Science"

Science... to many, this word brings to mind beakers, atoms, chemicals or periodic tables. But, to an agricultural educator, the word science may evoke images of plants, animals, soils or circuits.

Science is inevitably at the basis of everything that an agricultural educator teaches, from the chemical reactions that take place in a weld, to the process of photosynthesis that occurs in a soybean plant. We often use scientific standards, and the word science is even in our name... so, why isn't science always emphasized in an agricultural classroom? Why is there often a disconnect in the minds of the public between science and agriculture? What can we, as teachers, do to re-connect the words science and agriculture?

Perhaps one of the best tools that a teacher can use to put the science back into agricultural science is to utilize Inquiry-based Instruction. Inquiry-based instruction is a technique, which plays off of the scientific method and forces students to think critically about problems. Inquiry-based Instruction is often based upon a scientific problem, such as the amount of light needed for a plant to thrive, or how electricity works in a circuit. During Inquiry-based Instructions, students often first formulate a question, then investigate the problem. They then use the evidence that they found to describe, explain or predict. Next, they connect the evidence and their knowledge to formulate a solution, which they then share. As previously stated, this process mimics the scientific method, and relies heavily on scientific-based investigation and higher-order thinking.

According to the article by Alan Colburn, entitled Inquiry Primer, there are four types of Inquiry-based instruction; structured inquiry, guided inquiry, open inquiry, and learning cycle. Structured inquiry is more teacher-centered, and relies on a problem that is presented by the teacher. The teacher also provides the students with everything that they need to investigate, including the materials, procedures and information, but does not provide them with conclusions. Guided inquiry is very similar to structured inquiry, but the teacher does not provide the procedures. Instead, students are required to come up with a procedure on their own. Open inquiry allows the students to come up with their own problem to investigate. Finally, learning cycle occurs when the teacher only provides the title of a concept, and the students must formulate a problem and a solution based upon that.

Not only is the structure of the inquiry-based instruction important, but so is the teacher. He or she must ask open-ended, guiding questions which help students come to an appropriate conclusion. Perhaps the most important thing that a teacher must do is to allow the student to guide themselves. The teacher must avoid telling the student what to do next, but instead, allow them to figure it out on their own. This encourages higher-level thinking, which is essential in both the scientific method as well as in Inquiry-based Instruction.

Overall, Inquiry-based Instruction is a great tool that can encourage higher-level thinking and help teachers incorporate science into their classroom. If more teachers would incorporate Inquiry-based Instruction in their classroom, the disconnect between science and agriculture may finally be eliminated.

From Struggle to Success! (PSA Lab Reflection)

I have to admit that this Problem Solving lab caused me the most stress of all the labs so far. I was struggling to come up with a topic (I explored three options, before finally resorting back to my original idea!), struggling to find information and struggling to format my lesson and questions. In other words, I was driving the struggle bus!

Despite all the hardships that I had with this lab, I definitely think that it has been my most successful thus far. I chose to utilize the problem solving approach to analyze and improve a swine operation's biosecurity measures. A 'friend' emailed me, saying that she needed help improving her biosecurity after an outbreak of TGE in her operation. She provided me with the protocol she uses for new swine, the protocol for visitors, the blue print of her facility, as well as some information in the email. I asked the students to use the provided information to come up with ways to improve her biosecurity measures.

When I first began presenting the problem, my 'students' didn't seem that interested (mind you, that I did not begin with bellwork, or with explaining the  importance of biosecurity for lab!). However, as the lab progressed, they seemed more and more engaged. They started to bring up points that I never thought of, which was awesome! I was actually amazed that this happened, and it made me feel good that multiple people commented after lab that they felt as if they were actually in my class! I even noticed that their behavior roles seemed to disappear, as did side-conversations during the activity. I am really proud that I created such an engaging, relevant and applicable lesson!

Despite all of the positive aspects of my lesson, it did have some shortcomings. I noticed that I have some habits which are quite annoying. I have improved on my filler words, but continue to hold my lesson in my hand. I would really like to work on this! I also noticed that as students talk, I say "okay" a lot. It was to the point that it annoyed me in my ThereNow video, so I can only imagine how  my students feel. I want to show them that I am actively listening, but I need to find another way to do it. Additionally, I really need to work on my questioning. This is something that I struggle with on every lesson that I write. Although it is hard, I know how important questions are, especially in a lesson like this one!

As the weeks go on and I watch my ThereNow videos, I see myself becoming more and more confident in front of the "class". I am glad that we have the opportunity to practice teaching to our lab sections, and I hope that I continue to improve and create engaging lessons!

Assessing Assessments

Evaluation is a key step in quality instruction. Not only does evaluation help gauge students' understanding of content, but it also helps ensure that the teacher is delivering that content in an effective manner. Whether it be an exam or a project, evaluation is completely necessary. Why, then, do students often cringe when they hear the word "exam"? What makes this word, along with assessment, quiz or test, "bad words" in a student's mind?

Perhaps the root of students' hatred for these words stems from experiencing assessments which were poorly thought-out, badly written, or simply ineffective. Too often, teachers turn to multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank and true/false exams. While utilizing these testing methods can have its benefits, only under certain conditions will they be effective.

Much like the reading by Warner & Myers hinted on this week, an exam often is not the most effective method of evaluation, although it may be easier to throw together an exam to evaluate students (and trust me, I find myself turning to the exam option far too often while writing lesson plans for class!). Instead, why don't teachers think outside the box, and move away from exams when they are able to? Why couldn't a project take the place of an exam? How about a presentation? A speech? The list of innovative assessments can go on and on.

These less traditional forms of assessments have their own benefits. Oftentimes, these non-traditional assessment methods are less stressful for students. Students can focus their time and energy completing a task, rather than memorizing content which will likely be forgotten in a matter of days. Furthermore, assessment methods, such as a project or presentation, can be easily guided by a rubric, ensuring less stress for the student. Teachers also benefit from rubrics. By utilizing working rubrics, teachers are able to set expectations for assessments before the students hand in their assessments to be graded. Furthermore, rubrics help the teacher remain objective and fair while grading assessments.

Ultimately, I believe that utilizing a variety of assessment methods, including traditional (exams) and non-traditional, is important. Caution should be taken, though, to ensure that the assessment method fits the content. If teachers are able to utilize more varied and appropriate assessment techniques, I believe that we will be able to combat the negative connotation of the words “exam, test, assessment and quiz” once and for all!

Problem: Solved!

Think back to when you were in school... Visualize the classroom, your classmates and your teacher. What does the classroom look like? What is the teacher doing? I would be willing to bet that many of you are picturing a classroom with attentive students seated in rows and a teacher lecturing at the front of the room. Unfortunately, this is what many typically picture when thinking about an American classroom.

All too often, teachers utilize lecturing to deliver content. While lecturing does have its perks, and can be an effective teaching method, it is certainly not a technique that should be utilized for every lesson. Variety is key in education, and perhaps one of the best ways to ensure variety is to utilize a range of teaching techniques, including problem solving.

Problem solving can bring a whole new outlook to your classroom. Not only do students become more involved in the lesson, but they also gain a sense of ownership, when they have a hand at figuring out the problem. Problem solving promotes real-world application and higher order thinking. These skills are essential in many aspects of life and in today's job market.

While the problem solving technique can be extremely effective, it can be scary to pre-service or new teachers. This week's reading suggested that teachers often resort to lecturing to deliver content because it is familiar and comfortable. Problem solving is not. Problem solving requires that teachers "let go of the reigns" and allow their students to essentially teach themselves the content through inquiry and investigation. This leaves a lot of room for misunderstanding or confusion.

However, this can be avoided by planning and implementing the problem solving technique properly. The teacher should make an effort to structure the problems in such a way that requires students to actively think in order to come up with a solution. Problem solving does not always have to have a right or a wrong answer. In fact, some of the best problems have infinite answers that stem from complex questions, requiring students to think on a higher level and apply their previous knowledge. An example of such a question would be "how do we solve global warming?".

In conclusion, I am looking forward to utilizing problem solving in my own classroom, in order to promote higher-level thinking and utilize a variety of teaching techniques. I hope that when my future students are asked to "think back to when they were in school" and to "picture the classroom and teacher", they do not picture me lecturing to them. Instead, I want them to picture a classroom where learning is fostered through interactive activities, such as problem solving.

Teaching Agriculture... and Independence, and Life Skills, and...

As the title of this blog implies, the job of an Ag teacher is never done! Not only should Ag teachers aim to teach content, but they also should incorporate life skills into their lessons as well. One of the most significant life skills that can be taught in any type of classroom is independence; a skill that is essential in the personal, professional and academic lives of students. Perhaps one of the best ways to promote student independence is to include individualized teaching techniques into lessons.

Individualized teaching techniques encourage students to learn, by seeking and applying information. These techniques make students responsible for their own learning, ultimately promoting self-reliance and creating an atmosphere that moves away from teacher-centered learning. There are four main individualized teaching techniques, including; supervised study, independent study, experiments, student notebooks and information/assignment/ skill sheets. Each of these, if utilized correctly, can create a more student-centered classroom, where independence thrives.

Personally, I really love the idea of individualized teaching techniques. I think that making the students responsible for their own learning a great idea, as I believe it is important to incorporate student-centered learning into a classroom. While it is essential that the teacher plans these techniques very carefully and supervises the learning that is occurring, it is also important that the students feel a sense of ownership. If a student 'owns' a lesson, they are more likely to be interested in and remember the content.

Perhaps my favorite technique is supervised study. I think that it is a great avenue to encourage students to solve a problem. Again, supervised study will promote this sense of 'ownership' in the lesson, but will also help students come to a conclusion that will ultimately teach content. I think that it is a genius combination!

Another thing that I really like about supervised study is the opportunity it provides for alteration. I think that it is nice that this technique gives you the option to have students work alone, or in groups. You can have students pull information from the same resources, or from different ones. It is completely up to you! It also gives  you the chance to work one-on-one with students. You can provide more individualized assistance, and can help those students who may have learning disabilities in a discrete manner.

I can definitely see myself utilizing the supervised study technique in a managerial lesson plan in the near future! I am excited to create a lesson that encourages students to think critically to solve a problem. It is my hope that incorporating this technique will promote this sense of ownership, ultimately creating a student-centered classroom and an atmosphere that radiates independence!

Unit Plans: The First Step Towards a Successful (and Logical) Lesson!

A unit plan is certainly a useful tool. It helps guide the teacher towards their overarching goals during a unit, and allows them to lay out the unit in a logical manner. This was evidenced when I began writing my own unit plan, for the Public Speaking unit that I will be teaching next spring. Originally, I had lots of ideas of activities and concepts that I wanted my students to learn. Creating the unit plan helped me organize and summarize my ideas in a more logical way.

My public speaking unit will focus on two main aspects; the FFA Creed and prepared public speeches. Students will have the opportunity to pull meaning from the Creed, while learning and memorizing each paragraph in class. They will then be expected to deliver the Creed in front of their peers. Students will also be expected to create a prepared public speech. They will gain practice researching, citing sources and paraphrasing information. They will then deliver this speech in front of their peers. While the content in this lesson is important, it is my hope that students gain more than a better understanding of the Creed and their research topics from this unit.

Ultimately, I wanted to craft a unit that went beyond the black and white information. I wanted to provide my students with the opportunity to improve their communication skills, gain confidence in themselves and overcome their fears. Through memorizing and delivering the FFA Creed and through researching, constructing and delivering a prepared public speech, my students will be able to gain skills which they will be able to use in their academic, professional and personal lives.

When I turned my unit plan into my peers for evaluation, they made some really helpful suggestions, along with comments about little things that I needed to tweak to make the unit plan better. One of my reviewers reminded me to cite three sources, instead of just one. After doing a little more research, I found two more sources which I added to the introduction/need portion of my unit plan. Another suggestion that my reviewers made was to create more concrete objectives, both for my unit and for each individual lesson. I tried hard to make sure that my objectives contained all three essential parts, ultimately altering almost all of my unit and lesson objectives on my final draft of my unit plan.

Furthermore, my reviewers suggested that I include more detail in my plan, whether that be in the materials needed, or in the rubric that will be used to assess my students. This forced me to think a little more deeply about what I wanted to do daily in my unit, but I was ultimately able to compose a list of materials that I think I will need. I also decided to utilize the National FFA rubrics for their Creed Speaking CDE and their Junior Prepared Public Speaking CDE to evaluate my students. I also added a column in my table for assignments, and laid out all of the assignments that I plan to give during the unit. Additionally, I created a breakdown of how much each assignment will be weighted in the assessments section of the unit plan.

Perhaps the biggest thing that I changed to improve my unit plan was the order of my lessons. I was originally having a difficult time creating a logical order for this unit. My reviewers did not mention the order, but it was something that I was unhappy with. However, I think that the order that I decided on for my final draft makes the most sense and allows adequate time for my students to learn and craft their speeches.

Overall, I think that I did a nice job with my unit plan. I included enough detail that it could be used by another teacher, it is easy to follow and it flows in a logical manner. I can certainly see how creating these unit plans can be extremely helpful in forming lessons that compliment one another and highlighting important information!

Clarity About Questioning

Let's take a trip down memory lane... Think back to high school. Didn't it seem like your teachers asked one question after another, after another, after another, after another (you get my point!)? No, they weren't doing this to drive you nuts or to call you out on the readings that you did not do. They were asking so many questions to ensure that you were actually learning and understanding the content. Arguably, questioning is one of the most effective and quickest ways to assess lesson effectiveness and student understanding... and teachers used this to their advantage.

Questioning can be used to determine the effectiveness of objectives and teaching techniques. If a student is unable to answer a question, or provides an answer that is incorrect or off-topic, it will be obvious to the teacher that there may have been a flaw in their delivery. Furthermore, if a student is unable to perform to the standard set forth by academic standards or teacher-created objectives, the teacher can use questioning to find the lapse in understanding.

As a future educator, I see how the concepts of good objectives, concrete planning and varied teaching connect, and it is obvious that questioning plays an essential role in good instruction. Using a combination of both higher level and lower level questions allows for students to demonstrate their knowledge and for teachers to assess their teaching techniques and effectiveness.

As I relate my AEE412 lab to the idea of questioning, I realize that I should do a better job at asking question and asking if my students have questions while I am teaching. Some of the comments that I have received from my peers have indicated that I tend to stand up there and talk "at" my students, rather than allowing them to take the stage. If I would utilize questioning more frequently, I think that this bad habit of mine would fade. I hope to improve upon this, and learn to use questioning to my full advantage.

The reading by Dyer provided me with some excellent tips on how to create effective questions that I think I could utilize in my teaching. Some of my favorite hints included: calling on students using their names, avoid repeating all student's questions, not praising all answers, praising students who do not participate more than students who overly-participate. I think that these are all smart techniques, which can help me utilize questions in my future classroom.

In conclusion, I hope to be able to improve on my questioning techniques in order to become a more effective teacher. As a future educator, I certainly see the value in questioning, even though I might not have in high school!

Lab 3 Reflection: Interest Approaches

For AEE412 Lab this week, we were to present an Interest Approach. At first, my head was swarming with ideas and I was excited to create something fun and engaging to capture my students' attention. However, when I sat down to write my lesson plan for lab, my mind went blank. I could not, for the life of me, come up with an interest approach. Finally, after lots of writing (and re-writing) of ideas, I decided that I would do a modified "scavenger hunt", where I would act as if I lost my welding PPE and ask students to go find it for me. I wasn't feeling overly confident in my interest approach when I got in front of the room to present it, but, much to my surprise, it went smoother than expected.

When I began, I knew that I would have to 'act out' a scenario where I 'lost' my welding PPE. I was nervous for this, because I am, in no way, a good actress. However, that ended up being one of my favorite parts of my interest approach. My 'student's' faces were priceless when I said that I had lost my PPE. I don't think that they were expecting that, and it captured their interest. I think that it is important for me to keep in mind that I need to loosen up a bit, and have a little fun while I am teaching. I tend to get caught up in the logistics and the content and forget to joke around or laugh. Some of my favorite parts of my lesson were when I did this (including when I acted like I lost my PPE!). 

I also thought that I did a nice job asking for students to contribute to the discussion, instead of doing all the talking. However, when I did talk and explain each piece, I thought that went well, too. Overall, I am happy with my performance and extremely glad that my lesson went better than I was expecting.

Although there were many aspects that I was happy with, there were also weak points in my performance. Like last time, I said "umm" and "so" a lot. It was very distracting, and continues to be something that I need to work on. My problem is that I don't even realize that I say it until I am watching myself on ThereNow!

While my filler words were distracting, nothing was more distracting than the paper that I held THE WHOLE TIME! Watching myself back, the paper was all I could look at! I held it in front of me and moved it around as I was talking with my hands. I think that, for me, it is almost like a safety net... but I need to either get rid of it or learn to place it on the table and only refer to it when I need it. 

I hope that next time, I am able to use less filler words and do without the lesson plan in my hand. I think that making these changes would improve my performance. I do, however, hope that I am able to keep up my enthusiasm and continue to loosen up and have fun while I am teaching! 

The First (and Most Important!) Day of School

The first day of school is very important, especially for a new teacher. Not only does the first day give your students a glimpse into what your class is all about, but it is also sets the basis for the rest of the year; your expectations, your procedures and your consequences. Because of its importance to your classroom management, I totally understand why we had to complete a “First Day of School” scenario in AEE412 Lab this week and I am thankful that I now have a foundation to work from for my actual first day in the future.

To be honest, I think that my lab presentation went really well, given the amount of time I had to prepare for it, and given the ‘rambunctiousness’ of my students (for this lab, each of my ‘students’ were given a role to play… I had a complainer, one who loved his cell phone and a talker, along with others!). I am typically not one to put my foot down, because I absolutely hate confrontation. However, I surprised myself by shutting down student misbehavior quickly and in a manner that still exemplified kindness. I also liked how I asked Jenna to talk about personal issues outside of class, because I thought that this was a good way to handle that. These are a few of the things that made me most proud in this lab, and I hope that I am able to continue with them.

Despite my success in reprimanding my students, I did notice some things that I need to work on. Like last time, I used filler words, like um and uh, too often. I also got a little lost on some of my points, but failed to use my notes/lesson plan… which I was holding in my hand the whole time! Perhaps my biggest downfall in this lab was the lesson itself. Because of the short ten minutes that we were given, I didn’t get to create as detailed of a lesson as I would have liked. Naturally, everything felt a little incomplete and rushed, especially the introduction activities.

I also really did not like the method that I used to communicate my expectations, procedures and consequences. I wish that I had done something that was more engaging. Originally, I intended to ask students what each of the expectations meant to help engage them. I did this for the first expectation, but I had no volunteers. I am beginning to notice that when this happens, I simply answer my own question and move to the next thing. Instead, I need to work on calling on someone or presenting the material in such a way that will make students want to answer the questions.

I also need to work on transitions, which is something that Ms. Rice and some of my peers also noticed. I think though, that the more that I teach, the easier this will get. Overall, I think that my lesson went well. Although I do have some things to work on, I do see some improvement in my teaching from the first lab!

No Boring Lessons Allowed!

Perhaps nothing is more important to a lesson than the method in which the material is delivered. An interesting topic can be easily ruined by poor delivery, resulting in very little knowledge gain on the student’s part. On the other hand, a teacher can create an intriguing and exciting lesson on a dull topic, in which students will learn from on a much deeper level. As we discussed in AEE412 this week, there are many ways to make lessons more interesting and creative.

Generating effective objectives is the first step to creating an impactful lesson, as objectives help steer you in a direction and create focus in your lessons. The passage written by Susie Whittington brought up some outstanding points about objective writing. She stated that objectives should be based upon Bloom’s taxonomy. Using verbs that coincide with each level of the taxonomy will encourage students to learn on that level. She used a great example, when she said that an objective could read something along the lines of “list the parts of a ruminant digestive system”. This would result in memorization, a skill that lies within the knowledge level of Bloom’s taxonomy. Instead, an objective that states “describe the parts of a ruminant digestive system” will result in higher level thinking. It’s amazing the impact that changing one verb can make!

Another way to create an impactful lesson is to utilize interest approaches. An interest approach quickly captures student’s attention, and gets them excited for the unit or lesson. Because of the variety of interest approaches, they can easily be tailored to a lesson or unit. For example, an interest approach for a welding safety course could include the teacher or student dressing up in welding PPE. There are so many ways to create interest approaches… the possibilities are endless!

Finally, delivery of the course content is essential. Course content can be delivered in a variety of ways, as well. Lectures, discussions, demonstrations, field trips and role playing are some of the delivery methods that were mentioned in the reading by L.H. Newcomb. Although there are advantages and disadvantages to all of these methods, knowing when to use them and how to tailor them can help teachers successfully utilize them.

I have always wanted to avoid is being a boring teacher, like Ben Stein's character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Blank stares and sleeping students are my worst nightmare. Therefore, I am going to try my hardest to create engaging lessons. I know this might be tricky, but with these techniques, I know I can do it!

My Cooperating Center Video!

I just thought that it would be cool to share a little bit of information about my cooperating center, Mifflinburg Area High School. As you can see from the video, Mifflinburg Area High School's Agricultural Sciences Program is incredible and has so much to offer! I am super excited to student teach there in the Spring of 2015! Enjoy :)

The Science of Planning

To be honest, lesson and unit planning makes me extremely nervous. In fact, that was one of the things that I was fearing the most at the beginning of this semester. I couldn’t help but think, “I have no idea how to teach!” and “I don’t know how to go about creating a successful lesson!” These thoughts continuously raced through my head… until this week.

This week in AEE412, we focused on unit and lesson planning. We talked about the brain and how learning works. We also discussed the three domains of learning (cognitive, psychomotor & affective) and the three types of lesson plans that compliment these domains (informational- cognitive, operational- psychomotor, managerial- affective). By discussing models, such as Bloom’s Taxonomy, Depths of Knowledge, Teacher-Centered/Student-Centered Instruction, Significant Learning and Understanding by Design, we are now better equipped to grasp the concept of unit and lesson planning and get started on our unit and lesson plans for student teaching.

This week’s readings only reinforced what was discussed in class. The reading by Newcomb, et al. focused mainly on objectives, which are an essential element of writing successful unit and lesson plans. Objectives can help guide the rest of your lesson, by laying the foundation for what you want students to learn from your lesson. The reading on Anticipatory Sets focused on lesson hooks, which are important in order to captivate student’s attention and focus on the lesson.

As I begin my unit planning and lesson planning within the next few days, I feel as though I will certainly be able to use both what was learned in class this week, as well as this week’s readings. I think that the models that we discussed in class will be especially helpful in my lesson planning endeavor because many of them provide a basic, visual framework that can help guide me. I also think that by understanding the types of lesson plans and how they appeal to different learning domains, I will be better able to create more varied lessons.

To say the least, after this week, I feel much better about lesson and unit planning. I believe that with the models and material that we discussed in class, I am better equipped to write and plan a successful unit and lesson. 

Rules, Laws & RTL's?

When I first heard that we would have to prepare and teach a lesson on a completely random topic within only a few days, I was nervous. When I received my slip of paper, and read “Rules vs. Laws”, I became even more nervous. I had no idea what I would do or how I would teach this odd lesson. 

I knew one thing; that I did not want to stand in the front of the room the entire time and lecture. I did, however, know that I would have to do this to a point to get the information across to my ‘students’. I decided that the best way to approach this unconventional topic was to create a guided notes sheet that would (hopefully) keep my audience engaged while I lectured. I then came up with the idea to create an activity where students would be broken into groups and asked to determine if certain things were rules or laws.

During my RTL, my ‘students’ were engaged, although I think that I could have presented the information in a more interesting way than a lecture. I think that my guided notes helped to keep them on track, but I can't help but wonder how this would have looked if my 'students' were in high school. I also believe that the activity part of my lesson went smoothly. The ‘students’ seemed to enjoy it, and it helped gauge whether or not they understood the content.

While watching the recording of my RTL, I was surprised at how confident I came across. I sounded like I actually knew what I was talking about, despite stumbling upon a few minor details. I did rely on my notes sheet, but not as often as I was expecting to.

               
My RTL video really revealed to me some of the flaws that I have in presenting. I never recognized how many times I say “um” or “so” while speaking in front of others. This makes me sound unsure. I also never noticed how much I use my hands. I believe that this is a good thing, because it helps make my presentation more interesting.

Next time I teach a lesson, I would like to utilize more varied activities, which rely less on me lecturing. I would also like to try to be more aware of the filler words that I use. I think that eliminating these fillers would improve my performance.

Plans, Plans and More Plans!

Perhaps no other job in the world requires as much planning and preparation as that of a teacher. Curriculum plans, course plans, unit plans, lesson plans and daily plans are all elements that a teacher must consider before getting up in front of a classroom to teach.

While all of this planning seems overwhelming and intimidating, approaching this with a “backwards design” can help. The Understanding by Design Framework and the Significant Learning readings both referenced backwards design.

When we first began discussing planning in class, I immediately thought of a pyramid, with curriculum plans at the bottom and daily plans at the top. Curriculum plans are broad, and set the foundation for the rest of planning. Daily plans, on the other hand, are extremely specific to a certain day, and are based off of all other plans. “Backwards design” suggests that teachers should work from the bottom of this pyramid towards the top. Doing so will help create more concrete plans that will encourage student learning.

To further my understanding of a backwards design, I researched what this type of lesson plan would look like, and came up with a template created by the University of Hawaii (FYI- it is a Word document!). I really like it, because it clearly shows the steps of this type of planning, and shows you what to include in every section.

While planning is important, as we learned in AEE412 this week, effective teaching strategies also aid in providing high quality instruction. The two go hand-in-hand; without effective teaching, a great plan can take a turn for the worst and without a plan, even the most effective teacher will not be able to maximize student learning. Rosenshine & Furst’s five elements of effective teaching that we discussed in class (clarity, variability, enthusiasm, business-like behavior and opportunity to learn) can help ensure that lesson plans are up to par and that students will benefit from them.

Although lesson plans still seem intimidating to me, I am feeling more and more confident each class in my ability to create them. I think that utilizing this “backwards design” will be beneficial to me, and I am looking forward to the teaching end of things, where Rosenshine and Furst’s elements of effective teaching come into play!

Weekly Writing #1: Effective Teaching

What is effective teaching? This question has been the basis for not only AEE412, but for our assigned readings as well. Effective teaching is not only teaching the content, but it is also creating a positive learning environment that fosters student learning and success. Effective teaching plays a large role in inspiring students and affecting their lives, which is the biggest factor that has inspired me to pursue this degree.

As all of the readings hinted on, effective teaching does not mean only teaching content effectively. In fact, I believe that a teacher’s focus should be two-fold; student’s understanding of content and student success. While writing the letters in AEE412 this week, I found myself thinking about some of the teachers who have impacted my life. I realized that I would consider all of these teachers ‘effective’ and noticed that they all shared some common characteristics. The most effective teachers that I have ever had have wanted to see their students succeed in class (with content and assignments) as well as outside of class.

This week’s readings can attest to this, as well, particularly the article written by Wong, et al.. This article hinted at the importance of an effective teacher’s desire to affect student’s lives, while teaching content. I found this particular reading extremely insightful, and it really hit home for me as an aspiring teacher.

As I was searching for more resources on effective teaching, I found the following article from About.com. This article provides ten qualities of effective teachers. As I read the article, I began making connections between our readings, our discussions in class and my own personal experience with teachers who I have had.

http://teaching.about.com/od/pd/a/Qualities-Of-An-Effective-Teacher.htm

In conclusion, I am hopeful that I will be able to combine my desire to make a difference in the lives of students with my eagerness to spread knowledge in order to develop into a more effective teacher.

All in a Day's Work: Grading SAE's, Weighing Hogs and Tattooing Rabbits

On the morning of Monday, July 21^st, my alarm clock rang at 5:30am. I rolled out of bed, threw on my favorite Penn State Teach Ag! t-shirt, and got ready for the drive to Mifflinburg Area High School. I had to meet my cooperating teacher, Mr. Chuck Kessler, at 7:30am in the ag room. When I arrived at the school, we loaded the scales and tattooing equipment, and hit the road for a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) visit.

After a short drive and a brief tour of rural Mifflinburg, we arrived at a small family farm where we were greeted by a freshman FFA member, and his two siblings. With only a few weeks left until the fair and a weight limit of 200-300 pounds, it is essential that students ensure that their hogs are on track. As we set up our scales and checked out the hogs and the barn, the student’s father arrived to help. Weighing these pigs sure was a family affair!

Just a few of the hogs that we weighed

We opted to run the pigs from their pen, through the scales and into a holding area at the end of the barn. Everyone grabbed a sorting board, and we released the first pig. The barrow moved with ease down the hall, and Mr. Kessler commended the student for working with the pig. The student laughed, and admitted that yesterday was the first day he had worked with the hogs in a while. We repeated this process for all six hogs (two of which were another FFA member’s animals). With the exception of one small Duroc, all other animals seemed right on track for the fair.

A page from the student's SAE record book

After cleaning up the scales, Mr. Kessler asked to see the student’s Production SAE book. Upon opening it, he discovered lots of blank pages and incomplete notes, which could be expected for a freshman student. Because of this incompleteness, Mr. Kessler recommended that the student stop into the ag room next week to get some help with it during an SAE work day.

Mr. Kessler went through each page of the SAE book, marking incomplete sections, making comments and giving the student recommendations. For each incomplete section, Mr. Kessler would tell the student what needed to be entered. For instance, the student had a very inaccurate and unfinished record of purchases. Mr. Kessler asked where the student got his feed, how much feed the student typically purchases, etc. This gave the student a better understanding of what needed to be entered into the SAE book.

The student had also recorded hours that he had spent building an end table in his Production SAE book. Mr. Kessler recommended that he take those hours out, and instead enter the end table as a separate project in the fair. The student’s father was quick to agree with this suggestion.

Mr. Kessler, the student and his family gathered around the
hood of Mr. Kessler's vehicle to look over his SAE record book

After making suggestions and correcting the record book, the student’s father asked Mr. Kessler about the Safe Tractor Driving competition at the fair. Mr. Kessler recommended that the student’s father encourage the student to participate in it. The father also asked about the dates of the FFA meetings as well as the date of the SAE work day. It was awesome to see the student’s family so involved in his SAE project, and I would say that Mr. Kessler agrees.

As we left the student’s house, Mr. Kessler asked if I enjoyed the visit, then followed up by saying “that is the best part of the job! I love my job, if you can’t tell”. He went on to explain that sometimes, he spends hours on an SAE visit talking to students and their parents. He said that anyone who doesn’t do SAE visits is foolish, because it is such a great opportunity to get to know the student and their family.

After we completed the SAE visit, we went to another student’s house to tattoo her sister’s 4H rabbits. Mr. Kessler encouraged me to do the tattooing, which was an awesome experience. He said that he doesn’t mind working with and helping out 4H clubs, because they are a partner organization. Although this was not part of the SAE visit, this visit was a new experience for me, and was something that may come in handy in the future.

Two of the four rabbits that we tattooed for a
local 4H member

Overall, I am extremely happy with how the SAE visit turned out. I had a lot of fun visiting the students, and it was awesome to see so much family involvement in their SAE project. However, my favorite part of the visit had nothing to do with the students or their projects.

My favorite part was watching Mr. Kessler interact with the students and their parents, and hearing him comment on how important SAE visits are and how much he loves what he does. Not only did it inspire me, but it also made me even more eager to begin my student teaching internship with him in the spring. To say the least, I am more than happy with my placement and can’t wait to see what this experience brings!

Welcome to my blog!

Hey everyone! Welcome to my blog! My name is Morgan, and I am currently entering my senior year at Penn State (you have no idea how crazy that seems to me!). I am majoring in Agricultural & Extension Education, in hopes of one day becoming a high school agricultural sciences teacher and FFA adviser.

When I'm not busy with school, or working at a local conference center, I enjoy kayaking, cooking, crafts, gardening, antique shopping, fishing and spending time at my family's farm. My family, friends, family history and tradition are extremely important to me. I am passionate about agriculture, youth, volunteering and education.

This blog will serve as a means to record and reflect upon my thoughts, ideas and experiences as I begin preparing for student teaching in the spring of 2015. It is my hope that this coming year pushes me out of my comfort zone, and (as the title of my blog implies) allows me to 'blossom', both personally and professionally.

Enjoy!

Morgan