Marketing Video

Hi everyone! Here is me and Heather's Marketing Video! Take a sneak peak :) 

Weekley Investment #10 - Classroom Management

The last weekly investment of the semester is on classroom management!

My summer reading talked a lot about classroom management, rules, and expectations. If you missed in my previous blogs, this book was "What Great Teachers do Differently: 17 Things that Matter Most" by Todd Whitaker. Whitaker emphasizes that a teacher's classroom management sets the stage for student learning. He also says that great teachers focus on expectations while other teachers focus on the rules. The least effective teachers focus on the consequence of breaking the rules.

The best teachers, according to Whitaker, establish clear expectations at the start of the year and follow them consistently as the year progresses. For example, they may have three guidelines:
 - Be repectful
 - Be prepared
 - Be on time.
These teachers expect good behavior and generally that's what they get. "Great teachers focus on the behavior they expect of their students, not on the consequences for misbehavior." 

Some teachers focus on rules. While rules have their place and "school" and "rules" generally go together, they have their drawbacks. Rules mostly focus on undesirable behaviors. Stating what not to do, may actually lead to students doing just what you did not want them to do. Most people, especially our most challenging students, are typically contrary by nature. When someone says not to do something, you may not have even been thinking to do that thing until they said not to.

Consequences are yet another battle. "Rules outline the boundary between the acceptable and the unacceptable." Everyone is familiar with consequences. Take sports for example. Referees do not just point out the rule that was violated, they also assign a penalty. The purpose of consequences is to discourage people from breaking the rules. Whitaker points out that consequences frequently do just the opposite. He says that students are experts at cost-benefit analysis. "If I skip one hour of class, I'll have to go to two hours of detention. Is it worth it? How many of my buddies will be in detention?" Whitaker points out that the fear of the unknown can sometimes be a more powerful deterrent than a list of predetermined consequences.

I really enjoyed Todd Whitaker's book and his reasons for classroom expectations and consequences. In later chapters he also discusses meaning what you say. He reminds teacher that if they are saying the same thing over and over that they may be the problem. Remember to allow yourself time to think about inappropriate behavior before acting on it - and when you act on it, mean it.

Other reminders:
                            - You do not ever win an argument with a student.
                            - Treat students and parents with respect.
                            - Practice the "golden rule"
                            - Do not yell at students (unless in a true emergency.)
                            - Use your "bag of tricks"
                            - Remember the teacher is the variable.

"When a student misbehaves, great teachers have one goal: to keep that behavior from happening again."

Micro-Teaching Reflection Blog

Last week I was fortunate enough to teach 3 days of lessons at Bald Eagle High School. I taught lessons on soil nutrients and fertilizer. I thought my first day went really well with great feedback from Mr. Biddle. I used a power point and use of a couple activities - including a nutrient activity asking students where plants get their nutrients from and an activity to help students realize what pH different substances were. My lesson also included an interest approach and bellwork that asked students what they thought soil nutrients were and then the interest approach was a video that helped to define soil nutrients further.

Day 2 could have went a little better. It was a good lab about pH and soil pH, but would have been much better if it was split into 2 days with more summarizing activities. The first part of the activity was to help the students better understand pH in general, so they tested the pH of several different liquids with pH test strips. Second, I taught the students how to use the Cornell pH test it. I wish I would have spend more time on this and done a 3 step demonstration with the students - teacher says, teacher does; teacher says, student does; student says, student does. On my feedback forms, a couple of students commented that they had trouble getting the pH indicator separated out of the tray. More time for a proper demonstration would have solved this.

The third day was the review and the quiz. For the quiz I used some techniques we used in 412 for our quiz. After most of the students were complete with their quizzes, I allowed them to use their notes for two minutes. After the end of the two minutes, I gave them about one minute to finish their thoughts and then let them ask someone beside them one question. This seemed to go over well with the students and they did well on the quiz. While the review and quiz went well, I had about 3 or 4 minutes left at the end that I could have managed better.While they were taking their quiz we passed back some papers Mr. Biddle had for them. Many of the students were looking at these after they finished their quizzes and I lost control of the room and was not able to gain it back.

Please take a look at my video on Edthena or here!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5RD0r5Ah2I

 

IBI - Lab Reflection

I think my first chance at an Inquiry Based Unit of instruction went okay, however (like after every lab), there several things that I would change about it.

First things first - I would connect it to Ag. While I was completing the lab, I realized I should have done a better job connecting the lab to Agriculture. My first thought about how to do this would be to include it in a bio-fuels unit in a biotechnology class. The pressure inside the balloon is comparable to the fuel. When the fuel is ignited (in this case the pressure is released) the balloon will be forced down the string according to Newton's laws. While it is as stretch, this could be a fun enrichment activity during a bio-fuels unit on a shorter day to build upon their knowledge and relate it to another industry.

This brings me to my second change - data. While my worksheet had a place for them for record observations and data, and then analyze and conclude, I think that it would be better to give them a specific set of data to record in this case instead of letting them decide. Or maybe give them choice? For example, they could measure how far their balloons go or how fast they go.

Finally, my last change would be to have them write procedures. Not only would they design their rockets but they would also write a procedure for how they are going to test it and collect their data. How are you going to design an experiment to test how far your rocket goes or how fast it gets there. When my tired brain was first trying to think of this lesson, I was thinking of them making "procedures" for building their rockets. The procedures that came with my experiment were:
           1. Tie one end of a string to a chair, doorknob, or other support.
           2. Put the other end of the string through a straw. Then pull the string tight, and tie it to another support in the room.
           3. Blow up the balloon, and pinch the end of the balloon to keep the air inside. Do not tie the balloon.
           4. Have a partner tape the balloon to the straw so that the opening of the balloon is horizontal with the ground, while you keep the air pinched inside the balloon.
           5. Have your partner use the marker to draw a finish line near the end of the string. Then, let go of the balloon and observe!

I feel as though it would be better to give students these procedures of how to make a rocket. Then have them design procedures to test the distance or speed. After students have their hypothesis and procedure to test the data for a simple rocket they could then take it a step farther. They could re-design their rocket to try to get it to go farther or faster and test a new hypothesis.

To tie it all together the students could research which would go make a rocket go faster or farther - fossil fuels or bio-fuels (if we hadn't done it in class) and then assign each of their balloon designs to whether or not they were powered with fossil or bio-fuels.

IBI - the WHAT and the HOW

Inquiry Based Instruction - Curiosity meets the Scientific Method. 

In this teaching method, students work on a problem to formulate questions, investigate their questions, observe and repeat until they can connect the information, make a conclusion and finally share their findings. What I find most impressive about this process is how fluid it can be. When we went on our field trip this morning to Greenwood, I would not have even known that I was observing IBI if I was not there specifically for that.

The five steps of IBI are:
          1. Question
          2. Investigate
          3. Use evidence to describe, explain, and predict.
          4. Connecting evidence to knowledge
          5. Sharing findings.

The IBI method allows for students to have autonomy in their learning and gives teachers flexibility.  It allows students to work together and learn from each other - showing and utilizing their strengths.While this method of teaching is commonly used in a scientific or laboratory setting, it can be used in many settings and classroom environments with a little creativity and a lot of plannning.

Although I would like to see some more examples of this type of instruction to become more knowledgeable about it,  I feel as though triggering curiosity may be the most important, and difficult part. If students are not interested or curious it will make it much harder for them to formulate questions and research them to find answers/solutions. Furthermore, the more invested they are in the topic, the higher up Bloom's Taxonomy they will go - propelling them into the evaluating and creating stages.

I also believe that this type of learning would take a lot of time and planning for teachers that have never done it before. It would also be very important to make sure that you do not leave your students hanging. For example, while I think that helping students to work towards answers with questioning them and their thought process to lead them down the right path is important, I do not believe that this should ever be a "cop-out" for teachers to tell their students that they need to "figure it out". I feel like this could be a hole that educators could fall down into easily. I would like to remain mindful of this and make sure I am well prepared to help my students through the process with helpful questioning techniques to lead them down a path. The path may lead them back to the beginning, but will also help them to rule out solutions and ultimately help them find the right answer.

SURPRISE! Lab Reflection

So this week in lab we were given a set of AFNR standards on Monday and asked to write a lesson plan by Tuesday at 5PM for our lab on Wednesday. At first it was a little overwhelming, but once I came up with an idea, the lesson plan came together okay! 

My standards were related to the food science industry trends, so I decided to do a lesson plan on GMO labeling. I based this lesson plan on being in a junior/senior food science class. I chose to split the class in to two groups and have them debate with one team being the affirmative and one team being the negative in respect in to food being labled with containing or not containing GMOs. 

There were definitely some things I would change if I were to do this in an actual classroom. First, for the lab, I gave my peers a shortened amount of time than what I wrote my lesson plan for. I was trying to get the most out of the lab and the 43 minute lesson plan. In the future, I would assign groups and their side the night before. Not only would this allow for more time the next when the student were actually going to present, but it would also allow the students to prepare a little more. 

I also notice that I REALLY need to work on giving directions clearly! I feel like I explain the assignment better after a student asks a question. Which is NOT what I want. I need to get better at more explicitly writing out the directions for myself, copying them onto the board, and then finally verbally expressing the directions of the assignment. 

I think this overall assignment, although frustrating at first, was beneficial. It allowed me to see some more of my weaknesses. Also, even though I may not be teaching this exact lesson plan next semester, I could use the practices from it for another topic that I am teaching. 

Weekly Investment 8 - Differentiated Learning

This week in class we learned about individualized learning and it was reinforced with this week's readings. Individualized techniques we learned about are:

• Supervised Study
• Independent Study
• Experiments
• Notebooks
• Sheets
• Information
• Assignment
• Skill

This types of learning strategies are to help students in an individual way and maybe not as personalized.

What intrigued me most about the reading though was learning about differentiated learning and how it compares to individual learning. All throughout the semester we have been learning about variability in the classroom. After learning more about differentiated learning, I feel as though there are many similarities.  While individualized learning begins with one student's needs, differentiated learning starts with multiple students or groups.

In most classrooms, especially agriscience classrooms, you have students across the spectrum and students that are reading and learning on different levels. For differentiated learning, students are divided into groups for activities; however, students are not always in the same group with the same people, and they do different types of activities. Teachers must design their lessons around students' needs, which creates a lot more work on their end. This is because each group is tasked with completing an activity in a way that best suits them. This means not only is the teacher taking the time to make sure special activities are planned, but they are also taking the time to understand how their students learn and separating them into groups based on that.

I don't foresee myself using this type of learning all the time, but I can see myself figuring out how to work this into my curriculum and using as part of my variability in my classroom!

References:

(n.d.) Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/instructional-strategies/individualized-instruction-vs-differentiated-instruction

EduGains. (2015). Reach every student through differentiated instruction.  Retrieved from http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesDI/Brochures/DIBrochureOct08.pdf 

Weekly Investment 7 - Rubrics? What?

I hate assessments, but I LOVE rubrics. I can complete most assignments well if I have a rubric. Why? Because I know EXACTLY what my instructor is looking for if their rubric is clear. If their rubric is clear, I would almost just take the rubric over the instructions for the assignment. It tells me what I need to know and what I am being graded on. People of all ages want clear and accurate directions that are easy to follow - A.K.A. a Rubric.

I also feel that rubrics create consistency for the teacher. It takes opinion out of the equation and helps the teacher/instructor to stay on task when grading many of the same assignments. As much as a rubric gives the student guidance, it also gives the teacher guidance - when teaching the material and when grading.

What I did not know before this reading was the different types of rubrics and I learned some things I would think to use a rubric for - like class participation. ASCD has a published book all about rubric, but also has some nice guidelines online. Is the rubric holistic or analytic; general or task-specific? It lays this information out in a nice table seen here:

I personally like task-specific and analytic rubrics, but I think there is a place for all of them. For example, if you are writing a rubric for a whole unit, it may need to be more general than for a specific assignment. General rubrics can be handed to students at the beginning of an assignment, while task-specific rubrics function more as "scoring direction."

While I see myself using task-specific rubrics more often, I can now see the need for a general rubric. "Rubrics help teachers teach…rubrics help students learn." I said earlier that rubrics can help teachers stay consistent and this doesn't just go with grading - but also in the classroom. Furthermore, it helps students to look ahead and see what you may be building up to, which will help them to organize their learning in your classroom. I am interested in taking some more time to look into this and maybe read the full book!

 References: 

Brookhart, S. (n.d.). Chapter 1. What are Rubrics and Why are they Important?Retrieved October 8, 2017, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/112001/chapters/What-Are-Rubrics-and-Why-Are-They-Important%C2%A2.aspx. 

Stoughton, A.L. & Myers, B.E. (2008) Creating and working with rubrics. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC06900.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
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Problem Solving Lab - What to give and what not to give.

This past week I was able to complete a lesson plan for and teach my first problem solving lab. As I work through my "Basic Principles of Soil and It's Land Uses" Unit for spring, I chose to do my problem solving lesson on finding soil horizons. My essential question was "How do I use soil texture, soil color, and soil formations to find soil horizons?" At this point in the unit, students will have been taught and have practiced soil texturing and soil coloring. They will have also learned about soil horizons. Therefore, I thought it would be best to have them do an activity where they used all of those skills to help them find soil horizons based on characteristics.

In the beginning of the lesson I set up the problem and gave them some information they would need. In the future teaching this lesson, I would start out by asking them questions and letting them give me the information that they needed to complete the assignment. I feel like this would further the problem solving and push them more into the application and analysis sections of Bloom's taxonomy.

I also think I will forgo the power point so that it is more of a discussion. I or a student can write their answers on the board and leave them there to help them during their lab. I think this would be good to give them a break from the power point and also increase the classroom discussion. Furthermore, instead of having the directions on a power point, I may have a printout of the directions to give them, as well as verbally stating them. Also, I think that I need to at least put the soils in order that they were taken out of the pit. Since it will be January/February when I will be teaching this they will more than likely not be able to go to a soil pit. It would not be fair to not put them in order, because if they were able to be in the pit they would be able to see what order the samples were in and just need to distinguish the soil horizons. There would be too many variations of "right" answers if I do not. I think that I will need many stations set up so that students can work through them easily and more efficiently.

I found this lab challenging because I have not taught my peers information that I will be teaching my students, so it was a little confusing for them. I also do not think I could have set my lab up the same way I plan on changing my lesson plan for my classroom - because my peers needed that information. Whereas hopefully if I do my job, my students will be able to give me the information when prompted. Otherwise, this lab gave me insight that I need to not give so much information and let the students give me the information.

Are we preparing students for the 21st Century?

This week's readings had a lot to do with problem solving and the problem solving approach. There was also a reading on "How are students reaching 21st century goals?" Since we ended up talking a lot about problem solving in class last week, I wanted to touch more on it for my weekly investment.

Our reading focused on Projects vs. Project Based Learning. I found this very interesting because I can recall many times in high school and college where I have been giving a project that contributed little to nothing to what I was learning. However, I can only recall a handful of times where I was given a project that was beneficial to my learning. It is easy to fall into the hole where you give students projects to break up lecture, but are they really learning from it? Project based learning is when students learn the material from completing the project. The project requires critical thinking that revolves around an open ended question, allows student voice, and includes processes for reflection and revision.

When we are using projects in the classroom to help teach students versus teaching students to help them complete the project, I think they get a lot more value out of it. I am not saying that you are not teaching them some of the material, but you may not be teaching them all of the material - and may the project helps them to connect the dots of what they have been learning.

We also talk about the 4 C's in class last week: Communication, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Creativity. I found an article from Oxford University Press about how these 4 C's prepare students for the 21st century. Although, the article is geared towards English classrooms, I think it lays out 5 good steps to help in any classrooms.

These 5 steps are:
1. Let your students lead the learning.
2. Create an inquiry-based classroom environment.
3. Encourage collaboration.
4. Develop critical thinking skills.
5. Encourage creativity.

In summary, students learn best when they are empowered and if you have empowered them to lead the classroom they need to be able to ask questions. A classroom that promotes sharing, is simultaneously promoting speaking and listening skills. When we are taking students beyond comprehension and challenging them with real world problems we are developing their critical thinking skills. And finally, students need to be able to express what they have learned in a creative way.

Hmmm..... this all sounds a lot like the 3 circle model in action. ????
  


References

ELT, O.U. (2013, October 9). 5 Ways to prepare your students for the 21st Century. Retrieved October 1, 2017, from https://oupeltglobalblog.com/2013/10/09/5-ways-to-prepare-your-students-for-the-21st-century/

Larmer, J. & Mergendoller, J.R. (2010). The main course, not dessert: How are students reaching 21st century goals? With 21stcentury project based learning. Retrieved from http://bie.org/object/document/main_course_not_dessert
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1st Unit Plan - So much editing

So I just got done with my thousandth draft of my 1st unit plan. I have wrote, re-wrote, re-organized, re-re-organized, and contemplated. And repeated that process. I feel like I am still trying to squeeze a whole bunch of stuff into a little bit of time, but I am not sure how to shorten it anymore.

I feel very overwhelmed when starting a unit plan - and maybe it is because I started this one mostly from scratch with help from a textbook. I did not really use a "borrowed" unit plan or lesson plan, because I really like soils and thought this would be a good unit to really dive into (plus I did not like ones that I found). It was really hard to wrap my head around and figure out at first. I think I have a better grasp on it now that we have learned more of the information in class - like writing objectives properly. I think the next 20 unit plans should get easier! (At least I hope!)

I would really appreciate any tips or suggestions! I would be happy to email the document to anyone that would like to provide feedback for me 😊

Listening to Students - Weekly Investment #5

This week, Kate Simonds, "I'm Seventeen" TED Talk really hit me hard. It honestly gave me goosebumps. This is what we, agricultural educators, are really about - and I am glad that I am going to be able to be a part of students being about to reach their potential and make their own decisions.

It is really important that we as teachers listen to our students, even though this can be hard for us sometimes. Why is hard? Well, as teachers, we are over achievers with a lot of ideas. Sometimes its hard to step back and let our students take over, make decisions, and make mistakes. I know I am guilty of hearing outrageous ideas from students, and shrugging them off. What I should be doing is asking the right questions to help them through their thought process to build on their idea - show interest and listen to what they are saying, not just hear it.

I think that Kate made some very good arguments in her TED Talk. One was that students have some really great ideas, and adults are solving our country's problems so why are we not asking the students for help. I am only 25 and I know and can tell that my ability to be creative and come up with good ideas is on the decline. It was so easy for me in high school to make a really creative project and really easily. Now, it takes a lot of work, thought, and pinterest.

I found a graphic I really liked that can help us with the process of listening to students.

Jackie Gerstein listed some listening skills for the educator that included keeping an open mind, remaining empathetic, using nonverbal cues that demonstrate that you are focused on the speaker, and to summarize what the speaker said. Seems pretty typical? This is what we do as adults when we talk to our peers, right? Like Kate said - she had to gain respect when she walked on to the TED Talk stage because she was seventeen, when most adults already had gained it before they spoke. She also says to ask students open-ended questions and ask them how they can relate back to what they are learning (metacognition). I think that even though these seem like pretty simple ideas, we need to keep them in mind. 

Jackie Gerstein also discussed what happens in our classrooms when we listen to students. As a teacher you create a safe environment, better you relationship with your students, create a positive culture, and and let the learners seem themselves as active partners in their own education (autonomy). 

This really helps me to think about and be more conscience when I am listening and responding to students. I hope to be the teacher that listens to all of my students idea - no matter how outlandish and respond to them sincerely and with questions that will help them to connect to their learning. I hope that as a teacher I can give students purpose to their education. 

References: 

Gerstein, J. (2015, November 19). Student Voice Comes With Teachers as Listeners. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2015/11/20/student-voice-comes-with-teachers-as-listeners/

T. (2015, February 09). I'm 17 | Kate Simonds | TEDxBoise. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OkOQhXhsIE

What is soil? Lab 2 - Interest Approach

The Bellwork:

Yesterday during my interest approach lab, I taught students about what soils really are. The students' bellwork was to write down things they thought were making the plant grow. I asked them to set this aside and we would come back to it later. I wanted them to have their list, so at the end of class they could reflect upon it and see if they agree with what they said from the beginning. I think I need to do this once during a full class period to see if I like it or not and see if it works or if I need to revise and review the bellwork at the beginning. 

The Interest Approaches:

I really love soil! However, I am not blind to the fact that most people do not have any interest in learning about the soil. This is why I tried to bring in several approaches to catch their interest - first with the bellwork. I passed around a soil sample and asked the students what they thought was in the soil to hopefully spark their interest about the soil actually being there. If I was teaching this class in the fall, I would maybe take the students to a soil pit; however, I will be teaching this class in January during my student teaching internship and they may not be an option. I may give groups soils samples that they can touch and look through to see what it in it in the future, though.

Afterwards, I showed the students a 2 minute and 45 second video that explained what soil was to help build the interest. This enabled me to start a class discussion and help the students come up with their own definition of soil and edit definitions they made as their "ticket outs" the day before.

One thing I already added to my lesson plan is "why?" I forgot to ask the important 3 letter question: Why? I could have been asking this all through my lesson to help my students work their way up Bloom's taxonomy and understand better. Why do you think there are nutrients in the soil? Why do think their needs to be air in the soil? Why do you think organisms benefit the soil? I really need to practice asking the why in the classroom and not taking that for granted.

Wrap-up:

Overall I think that my lesson went fairly well, but a few improvements I talked about can only make it better!!

You can see the video I showed in class here:

Bloom-ing into Writing Objectives (Weekly Investment #4)

When I started my first unit plan, I really struggled with writing objectives. After completing the reading, it really interested me and I wanted to dive into the use of Bloom's Taxonomy when writing objectives.

First of all, "Bloom's taxonomy is the classification of different objectives and skills that educators set for their students." Even though these six levels of learning were originally proposed in 1956, the terminology has been updated recently, as needed. Here are the six levels ("Teaching Innovation"):

1. Knowledge
2. Comprehension
3. Application
4. Analysis
5. Synthesis
6. Evaluation ("Writing Objectives")

Blooms taxonomy really helps us understand how learning takes place. For example, you cannot understand a concept before you have knowledge of it. Likewise, you cannon apply said concept before you have comprehended it. And so on, and forth until we reach the top of the pyramid. In every class we do not always have to start at the bottom of the pyramid. Lower level classes very well may, but when I am crafting objectives for higher level or advanced classes, students generally have the knowledge and possibly even comprehend, and need to work on applying and analyzing the skills. It is important to note that students may need refreshers in this information, but the majority of your lessons for a unit will probably not be "information dumping" for more advanced classes. ("Teaching Innovation")

When looking at objectives you can take some key things into mind when considering what level of Bloom's Taxonomy my objective is on. Phrases like "what is",  "how is" , or "where is" typically relate to Knowledge; while phrases like "how would you compare…" typically refer to Comprehension. Moving up Bloom's taxonomy to Application, questions about how to build, construct, develop and organize will help to test the student. Analysis you need to have students  categorize, classify, and discover; if students have reached Synthesis they can solve, design, and develop. Finally, you Evaluate. Can students defend or criticize their findings? ("Writing Objectives") Looking at this and how this questions are proposed have really helped me to understand objectives and goals in the classroom. 

These readings have really helped me to submerge myself into Bloom's and understand it a little better moving forward and while designing my lessons. While all students reach each of these levels at different times or points of instruction, I really need to take into consideration the students in class who may be way ahead. This means, having some extra things for them to work on so that they are bored and they are continuing to grow and push themselves. Even though, at some point in the not-so far away past, I thought that learning "how kids learn" was not all that important. Since I have started this journey, my thinking has thankfully changed and I have come realize how important it is to understand these theories at a deeper level instead of just on the surface. 

References

Teaching Innovation & Pedagogical Support. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from https://tips.uark.edu/using-blooms-taxonomy/

Whittington, M.S. (2005). Writing objectives in secondary agriculture courses that challenge students to think. Agriculture Education Magazine. Retrieved from  http://www.naae.org/profdevelopment/magazine/archive_issues/Volume77/v77i5.pdf

Writing Objectives Using Bloom's Taxonomy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://teaching.uncc.edu/best-practice/goals-objectives/writing-objectives

Fort Cherry - 1st Day of School!

The meet and greet:

Yesterday, during my first day of school lab, I chose to meet and greet everyone at the door to introduce myself. This is definitely something that I enjoyed doing and would keep as part of my lesson plan. I feel that it is a good way to see how each student is doing and to see how there day is going before they walk into my classroom. (Mental Note! Don't forget to close the door!!)

The bellwork:

I do think I would change my bellwork. I think I would hand them notecards when they came in the room and have them write 3 things they want me to know about them on it and 1 thing they want to know about me. This way when I collect the cards I have a stack of things I now know about the students and things they may want to know about me. I can then take this knowledge and maybe incorporate it into my classroom throughout the semester. I also think that I would go over my objectives first before going into the rest of the class. 

Who is Mrs. Wright and what does she want from me:

In my classroom, I would spend a little more time talking about me and making connections with the students earlier before I talked about the classroom procedures and expectations. After this I would lead into students searching the classroom to find my expectations and procedures. (Also, I need to add that I would make sure I remembered where I hid all of the note cards, there is still one hanging out in Ferguson 214 somewhere.) I feel that this helps to get the students more involved in the class instead of me just telling them a list of do's and don'ts they have heard on their first day of school for their entire life.

The Connection:

In my full lesson plan, I have a activity planned to play a game where I can get to know a little about the students and they can know a little more about their peers. This game will help show how different we can be and how similar we can be. This game will help lead into my first unit with this class on soil. Students "ticket outs" were to think about and write down their definition of soil. I like this because it helps get them ready for the next day when we will be diving into the basics of soil science. 

Unit Plans - Weekly Investment #3

So the unit plan. I experienced writing my first unit plan this weekend (and wrote it again when I did not save and my computer froze and lost it 😒) I knew it would be challenging, but it really helped me to understand the importance of planning. Even though I thought I had given myself plenty of time, I would have liked a little more to research more, make sure I was ordering things correctly, etc.

I found a site that helped me to organize all of my thoughts a little better and condensed them in to two essential questions they suggested using:
                         1. What do I want my students to be able to do at the end of the unit?
                         2. How will I know if they will be able to do it? ("10 guidelines")
Dr. Rice re-enforced these questions in class last week as well. Every time I was not sure what to do, I asked myself these questions to help keep my thoughts from wondering and staying off task.

While I am sure my unit plan will have plenty of feedback, I hope I am on the right track!

References

10 Guidelines for Planning Units. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2017, from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/10-guidelines-planning-units/

Making a difference with Variability

No matter what classroom you happen to be in, student always learn in various ways and have many intelligences. "Strategies for Great Teaching and Learning" says "Intelligence is the ability to resolve a genuine problem, then produce or service that adds value to oneself and others".  The book emphasizes that because of these varying intelligences, engaging-moments or e-moments are vital. E-moments will help to connect combinations of different intelligences and modalities.

I think that this hard to lose sight of for sake of our own learning strategies and like and dislikes. I believe that it is always important to re-center and put yourself in the mindset of an intelligence that is not your own. For example, if you are a great visual learner and use a lot of visuals in your classroom, but you do not like group work, remember you have students who are just the opposite and learn best from working with others.

For those reasons I think that it is important that as a teacher I need to make a proactive step to be variable in my classroom and not retroactive. I do not need to create two lesson plans, I need to make a lesson plan that is holistic. Check out this video that helps put that into perspective:

So as Todd Rose explained, we need to uphold and embrace the diversity in the classroom and remember that not everyone wears the same size shoe! It’s at this point at a teacher when you will be able to reach the most students in your classroom and be able to engage and motivate the most student. By designing classrooms that meet the needs of the so-called average student, we are not helping nearly as much as we think we are. As Rose said, the average learner is a "myth".

This topic is really scary to me, because I feel like I am not going to be prepared in less than 4 months to tackle this task. Will I be inclusive enough? Will I fall into the hole of the "average learner" perspective? I suppose those are the questions I need to be asking myself as I continue through this journey!

References

Reardon, M. & Derner, S. (2004) Strategies for great teaching. Chicago, Illinois: Zephyr Press

Todd Rose: Variability Matters. (2012, January 30). Retrieved September 04, 2017, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WClnVjCEVM#action=share

Variability Matters. (n.d.). Retrieved September 04, 2017, from

http://qedfoundation.org/variability-matters/

Tour Fort Cherry Agriscience and H.G. Parkinson FFA with Me

The students of Fort Cherry's Agriscience department helped me to create this video and explore their Agriculture Program, FFA, and SAE experiences!

The Passionate Organizer

There is no secret that there are many methods to teaching and ways to handle your classroom and that students will learn from many different types of educators. However, there are some types of teaching and classroom management that may be more powerful and effective than others.

No one wants to have a teacher that is disorganized, dull, and seems more un-interested in the topics they are teaching than the students that are learning them. Students want someone in front of the classroom that is organized, has clear objectives and expectations, and is passionate about the topic and the students. It's good for teachers to blend teaching methods, such as, power points, marker/chalk board, group work, questioning, etc. This is great for both the teacher and the students' sake.

According to Maryellen Weimer's article there are six keys to classroom excellence:

1. Interest and explanation - Be interested in your topic, know what the students understand, and create connections.
2. Concern and respect for students and student learning - "Good teaching has nothing to do with making things hard. It has nothing to do with frightening students. It is everything to do with benevolence and humility."
3. Appropriate assessment and feedback - Avoid assessments type that force students to memorize material and then regurgitate it for an exam.
4. Clear goals and intellectual challenge - Create high expectations for your students and make them clear to your students.
5. Independence, control and active engagement - Don't "treat all learners as if they were exactly the same" by creating projects and tasks that allow creativity and student control.
6. Learning from students -  Be willing to change and take what your students say and use it to reevaluate your teaching methods and classroom management.

It's always important to make sure you are working to reach every student and as many different learning styles as you can - while still using your own skill set. One saying that I keep running across in my classes, reading, and research is "your students don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." I think that it is important to make sure you are constantly making connections and bonds with students to continue to build a relationship. In the Agriculture Education spectrum, I think that we also need to remember with those connections we do not just have students for 1 or 2 years typically - we hope to have them for 4 years in a high school setting. If we do not build that relationship, then we lose the students.

I am someone who has always loved school and learning, loves to be organized, and if anything, I care too much about others. I will need to work on my enthusiasm. Though, I may be really interested and excited about a topic, I do not do a very good job of outwardly expressing it (so tips are welcome!).

Photo Credit: Harry Wong, 

                                                                                                            "Unit A - The Effective Teacher"

References

Weimer, Maryellen. “Effective Teaching Strategies: Six Keys to Classroom Excellence.” Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning, 20 July 2009, www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/effective-teaching-strategies-six-keys-to-classroom-excellence/.

Pigs, goats, and cats, oh my!

In late June, Mrs. Hoover and I were able make five Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE) visits together. I was able to see market swine, breeding goat, and cat projects during these visits. This experience was very enriching for me as I have never worked in AET at all.

First, Mrs. Hoover and I set off for Fort Cherry High School to get some work done - mail out some thank you cards, send the chapter member list to the fair, and check on the progress of the project books we were going to see during our visits.

At the first visit we looked at three market swine projects where all three students were planning to show and sell their animal at the Washington County Fair in the middle of August. We then sat down with all three student and had them pull up their AET account to check out the progress in their project books. While all three students had worked on their books, a couple were ahead of the others - which is okay. Since we made this visit, we were able to catch up all three books to where they needed to be and fix any glitches.

After lunch, we made the visit to check on the member with the cat project. She recently graduated high school and was aspiring to be a Veterinarian Technician. Her books looked good and Mrs. Hoover talked to her about continuing her project next year so that she would eligible for locally awarded scholarship money to aid in her schooling expenses.

The last stop of the day was to check on some breeding goats. This FFA member recently completed her freshman year at Fort Cherry, but is not new to animals by any means. Actually, her family has had a farm for many generations and this is something that she has been involved in her whole life. Her goats were very well maintained and were more like dogs than shy farm animals. They did not have their computer there so that we could check her project book, but since Mrs. Hoover and I looked at them before we had left the school and hers appeared to be up to date. Mrs. Hoover told her that they would go over it when school started.

These visits helped Mrs. Hoover to see the progress the students had made, furthermore, we were able to give each student insight, tips, and other information to make improvements to their project books and awards they may be eligible for in the future.  

Minor errors, all-school assemblies, and parents - Part 3

The final section of our book led Mrs. Hoover and I to some great conversations about classroom management. The topic of Chapter 12 was “the ability to ignore”. Mrs. Hoover emphasized how important it is to ignore minor errors. This does not mean that you are ignoring your students by any means, but you are able to differentiate between giving students attention that they need and attention that they want.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, high achievers need to be handled in their own way as well. High achievers, just like the best teachers, are much harder on themselves than anyone else will be. Mrs. Hoover said these can be both her most challenging students and best students. Sometimes they are students who go above and beyond on every project or they might be more concerned with other classes than their agriculture class. She said it takes time to help the latter student realize that her class is just as important has their math class.

Another topic we talked about were school assemblies. “When the best teachers take their students to an assembly, what do they do? They sit by their students – and not just any students, but the students who are most likely to disrupt.” We discussed that many teachers have negative attitudes toward all-school assemblies, because they feel they could be doing something more productive. Mrs. Hoover described one time when she was at an assembly and she looked around and she was the only teacher there. She said while she could have been prepping for a class as other teachers skipped out to do, supervising school assemblies was part of the job. We also discussed how you can use the principal of sitting next to the worst students in your classrooms. You can always rearrange and adjust your classroom for the better. If you keep doing the same thing and getting the same results, you need to change, not the students. If the same people always pair up for partner work and don’t get work done, the teacher can make the decision to change that in the future – i.e. “randomly” selecting partners, or simply saying you must work with someone you haven’t worked with before. The goal of this is to help the students perform better.  The best teachers always keep the students’ interests in mind when making decisions in their classroom.

We also talked about how to handle belligerent parents. When a parent is arguing with you, they are in their prime. They don’t mind arguing and they want you to argue with them. When a parent is upset with their child’s performance, it is much better to let them know what the expectations are and what assignments need completed instead of arguing with the “why”. You don’t need to elaborate that Jimmy missed 3 days of classes this week, disrupted class, and was on his phone multiple times. That type of parent wants to argue with you about the “why”. Instead you can stop the argument before it starts by focusing on tasks that need completed. Mrs. Hoover explained that she has had to deal with parents in the past and when she takes this approach, she doesn’t have issues with the parent like other teachers and administrators have described.   

Students First and Genuine Complements - Part 2

As Mrs. Hoover and I continue our journey through "What Great Teachers do Differently: 17 Things that Matter Most", our conversations are becoming more and more meaningful. The second part of the book focuses on putting students first. The best teachers always ask themselves, "Is this the best thing for my students?" They are likely not to move forward if the answer is no, but more likely to if the answer is yes. More mediocre teachers may be more concerned about what is best for them. Mrs. Hoover thinks this can be really easy to fall into as an FFA adviser or agricultural teacher. While you might come up with a really cool project for students in the greenhouse or classroom, it may take a lot of prep time on the teachers part. A great teacher is going to see how the students are going to benefit from the project instead of how it will affect the teacher.

It is also important to focus on colleagues second and to stay out of the so-called complainers club. While it is valuable to interact with your colleagues, do not fall into the habit of complaining to your co-workers. Both the book and Mrs. Hoover agreed - stay out of the teachers lounge! Great teachers filter out complaints instead of adding to them. Many times if you start complaining about a student, the other teacher has a problem with that student too, even if they didn't before. Mrs. Hoover said she always tries to stop the conversation when a teacher starts complaining about "Jimmy" and how bad he is by saying, "Oh, really? He doesn't give me any trouble." This will generally steer the conversation elsewhere. And she tries to avoid the teachers lounge at all costs.

The best teachers have high expectations for their students and even higher expectations for themselves; to meet their expectations they are constantly repairing their relationships. "The best teachers consistently compliment and praise students." Praising students is one way great teachers keep their relationship with their students healthy. Mrs. Hoover added how important it is to have structure in the classroom. Although you want to leave room for creativity, students like guidance and consistency. If they have that, they are often more comfortable in your classroom, know what to expect of you everyday, and in return, know what you expect of them. This structure helps to keep a healthy relationship with your students and allows you to constantly repair.

Great teachers do consistently give praise, but they use five strategies to make it work. To be effective praise must be:
1. Authentic : Praise must be genuine and true.
2. Specific : Praise must focus on a specific action, such as an effective job asking questions during class.
3. Immediate : Your praise needs to be made in a timely manner.
4. Clean : There are two parts to clean praise. First, if you are complimenting someone with the sole purpose of getting them to do something in the future, your praise is not clean. Second, it can not include the word "but". You cannot couple praise with a criticism.
5. Private : The most effective praise is done privately. It may not be cool to have high grades to some, so if you recognize students with the highest grade, they may work hard to not get the highest grade during the next quarter.

Many people may have reasons not to praise their students, but I leave you with this - Do you work harder for your employer that praised the good work you were doing or for the one that never told you how good of a job you were doing?

2017 Summer Convention!

I had a wonderful opportunity this week to go to the Pennsylvania Summer State FFA Convention! It brought back a lot of good memories while I made new ones, too. I was able to spend my days helping at the Vet Science CDE - which was a whole new experience in itself, as I never had classes in Vet Science and definitely did not compete. However, I learned a lot and gain a whole new respect for what those students went through on Tuesday and Wednesday in those contests. Moreover, I was able to spend the Tuesday evening with the West Greene FFA Chapter, who invited me to dinner with them. Then, I went to the first session with the H.G. Parkinson FFA and the McGuffey FFA. It's been about 7 years since I was a student at the state convention, so it was an awesome feeling to be back and on a new level! I cannot wait to return again as a teacher with my own group of students. Thanks to all the chapters that welcomed me this week and let me hang out with them!

 

What Great Teachers Do Differently - Part 1

Mrs. Hoover and I chose "What Great Teachers Do Differently: 17 Things That Matter Most" by Todd Whitaker to read together this summer. So far we are both really enjoying it! We think that it is real. The author wrote this book on real life observations and behaviors he has noticed through his time as a teacher and principal.

In the beginning of the book, he discusses discipline a lot. He says that great teachers focus on expectations not rules. As a teacher - especially an Ag teacher - you may not always get the "cream of the crop", but great teachers will adapt to everyone and have the same expectations for everyone. These can be simple: Be respectful, be prepared, and be on time. When we focus on expectations instead of rules, we are less likely to lead students to doing something against the rules. Most students are more fearful of the unknown. If they know what will happen when they break a rule - for example detention - they will weigh they costs and benefits. If they don't know, then they are more likely to meet expectations. Maybe more importantly, the teacher needs to remember to think before they react. Is it really worth arguing with or yelling at this student? Is that an appropriate reaction? All teachers have the same "bag of tricks", but the great teachers use their bag less often and choose the right reactions at the right times. 

Mrs. Hoover said in her FFA program she expects students to behave in all school aspects to be able to go on field trips and participate in other activities. So if a student was kicked out of school or had another disciplinary action against them, they will probably not be allowed to go on a field trip with the FFA. 

Furthermore, we need to remember as teachers that we may be the problem. That we are the variable in the classroom. If students aren't paying attention in class or succeeding, we need to make a change in what we are doing. 

Lastly, one quote that stuck with me was from a teacher the author was observing. She had been teaching a long time and still had so much enthusiasm in the classroom, so the author asked her, how? She replied, "This may be my 38th year teaching 5th grade, but for these students it is their first time around." Really puts things in perspective! 

New Journey

Well, this is my first blog! I am pretty excited, and ready to start this new journey!

Currently I live in Waynesburg, PA - the Cornerstone of the Keystone - with my husband Wesley, our dog, Duke, and our two cats, Maggie and Jasmine. Recently my family and I have made the decision for me to return to college to obtain my teaching certificate for Agricultural Extension and Education. This decision has been long and stressful for many reasons and I really haven't talked about it too much. Mainly because I know that I have made the right decision and I have loads of family support. 

Even with support, leaving my current position at the Greene County Conservation District as their Agricultural Technician has been a hard decision to make. My job now has good benefits, good hours, they are flexible, my coworkers are awesome, and for the most part I love what I do every day. So what was wrong? Why am going to leave all of that in 3 short months? Better hours, better benefits, and pure passion sums it up. 

FFA and agriculture education in general are programs I am passionate about. I was involved in FFA and 4-H growing up and I loved watching other people grow through the programs - and still do. It is amazing what happens when you put the right educator with the right kids and let them go to work. You can walk away with amazing results. Of course, just like with anything, there are bound to be downfalls. However, I have experienced and witnessed much more success than failure within these programs. I want to be part of that equation once again, but a different piece of it this time. I want to be the person standing in the background at the banquet, at CDE competitions, and at the fair. Helping students achieve greatness and believe in themselves. 

With that said and off my chest, this journey has really officially began! Summer classes start in two weeks, meeting with my cooperating center in a couple of weeks as well, followed by summer convention, and more! Here comes the crazy, and I am more ready than ever!