This is my first attempt at writing a unit plan! I took the bull by the horns and dove into writing it. I must say that it contains a lot of information and I was not sure whether the flow of the lessons, topics of the lessons, and time of the lessons. I am now in the process of revising my unit plan so that it can better serve my class and prepare them for careers in the dairy industry as well as the different CDEs that it applies to.
Gems
My unit plan is very organized and has all of the needed information on it.
I feel that although I am an "animal science guru" dairy is my LEAST comfortable species. I researched what needs included when teaching information about dairy systems and will continue to become comfortable with the content as I move forward.
Opps
My objectives for each day could benefit from some altering. SMART objectives are key in utilizing your days to their fullest potential. Since writing my plan our AEE 412: Methods class has learned about objectives that facilitate action.
Adding more statistical data to my "reasoning" for this unit can be a benefit
As mentioned above, I'm not a dairy expert. Asking some of my peers about the industry and what they think about my plan might be useful as I move forward.
Moving forward my hope is to become stronger and more confident in the decisions that are made when planning a unit and the lessons that are contained. I will keep you updated as to how it goes as I continue along my #TeachAg journey.
This week in lab I demonstrated an interest approach. It was the first day of a new unit titled "Dairy Nutrition and Management" and I think that it went just fine! I wanted to get students to think about why cows can eat grass, which was the lesson title.
After bell-work I had all students close their eyes as I explained a scenario that they were told to imagine. It is similar to as follows: "You watched some of the school's wrestling matches this season and you thought that joining the team would look like a bunch of fun! Coach tells you that you need to gain some weight by next season. You'd better start working on that now! So I brought a snack. Open your eyes!" While their eyes were closed I took a leaf (or flake as some people prefer to call it) of hay and placed it on the front table. I then stood and looked at them as I waited for reactions.
Here is what they said:
"Sorry Ms. Becker, but I am NOT eating that."
"Can we at least have some milk to make it easier to eat?"
"Ew. I don't want to eat that."
"Nope. No way."
These were the reactions that I was expecting. So I then guided the students into another direction by asking. "Besides it not tasting good, why else wouldn't it be good to eat in this scenario? Would it help us gain weight?"
I feel that this interest approach went well, what followed after could have been stronger. I was trying to lecture/discuss some content with students in order to get them into a hands-on dissection. This might have actually been better if I had more than ten minutes so that I could see the class play out but all-in-all it was successful. Remember, there is always room for improvement!
Now this may seem like a no brainer when written down in plain sight but in the quickness of each day and the speed that life passes us by, it is easy to push to the back of our mind. We often see teachers pushing CDEs so that they can bring hardware back to the classroom after the competition. Each day becomes mundane and repetitive as autopilot takes over. Does this represent the best way to grow shape and teach our students? No. As agriculture teachers, we have been trained to dive deeper than your typical checklist chaser. We have learned about the benefits of becoming a Dewey Disciple and promoting hands on learning. Never stray from your beliefs! It is easy in any profession to become worn down but if we forget who we are then not only do we suffer, but so do our students.
Keeping in mind that our students growth is extremely rewarding, we need to take steps to give them a voice. Prepare them for success with effective questioning. Give students a voice and let them run with their interests to find their passion. It is essential to be the guide on the side and assist in goal reaching for students. Student-centered classrooms can provide a chance for ownership and exploration! Be the type of teacher that you would like to have.
This week I found the following video that talks about essential questioning of your students! Check it out!
Jan, K. V. (2011, October 24). Pursue Passion: Demand Google 20%
Time at School. Retrieved September 21, 2017, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-von-jan/unstructured-classroom_b_1024404.html
Maiers, A. (2011, August 05). Retrieved September 21, 2017, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FHdHUzRnms
Simonds, K. (2015, February 09). I'm 17. Retrieved September 21,
2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OkOQhXhsIE
T. (2013, January 10). Tweak your Teach: Dr. Tae’s Building a
New Culture of Teaching and Learning. Retrieved September 21, 2017, from
https://tweakyourslides.wordpress.com/2012/12/26/tweak-your-teach-dr-taes-building-a-new-culture-of-teaching-and-learning/
This week our readings discussed group or collaborative learning, writing purposeful learning objectives, and facilitating instruction. All of the topics are important but it seems that collaborative learning techniques happened to stick with me the most. I believe this is because I have made the connection between utilizing groups as a teaching tool when I'm a teacher and having them used on me! Within our Ag Ed courses here at Penn State Dr. Foster, Dr. Ewing, Dr. Curry, and Dr. Rice demonstrate different ways to teach our students increasing their level of comprehension and moving to a higher level on Bloom's Taxonomy. Having these techniques demonstrated on myself, I hope to use some of them as I cross the line from student to teacher.
Digging deeper into the tactics and structure of collaborative classroom activities, I can clearly see where this benefits students. Instead of simply listening to a lecture students can make more connections between the taught material and their own thoughts. Personally I gain vast amounts of comprehension in group situations. The fact of the matter is that many people see things differently. Just as our weekly investments focus on different points of the reading, group members will all pick a different facet of the content that they are working on and bring a different view to the discussion that they are a part of. Not to mention the fact that the way a teacher tries to teach something might not click for a particular student. Having group work allows for more discussion and even some clarification from other students. When used correctly collaborative learning can really make a positive difference in the classroom!
This week I found a great video from "Teaching Channel" which I have included a link to in my references. In this video, a high school teacher from Texas talks about the 1-3-6 approach to group strategies in his classroom. When a topic is being approached first the students individually comprehend what they learned. They then get into a small group of three and discuss the topic. Finally their group of three pairs with another group of three to gain even more perspectives and provide some personal views of the topic. If desired, each group of six can quickly share what they decided was the most common theme in their discussion. I like this approach to a collaborative activity and will have to test it out in the classroom to see how well it works in meeting comprehensive objectives!
Do you have any thoughts or tips on group teaching? Any stories or examples you would like to share? Please comment!
This Wednesday in our AEE 412 "methods" lab, I taught my first day of school lesson! I think it went well as it was my second time teaching in lab and this go-round was much better and less nerve racking than the first. I found some "Gems" and "Opps" that I'd like to share. Gems are positive things that I did well and opps are opportunities where I could have done better. Here it goes!
Gems
I feel that I was upbeat and enthusiastic through the lesson.
I transitioned well from greeting students at the door into bell-work and onto my expectations.
I did well at keeping student's on task when taking an introductory quiz. Some students were trying to talk instead of staying on task, others were sleeping. I tried using engaging questions and proximity control to keep them on task.
Opps
A few of the students probing questions could have been answered with more finesse. Some of these situations were downright hilarious and it was rather hard to keep a straight face and answer them correctly. Side note, the students were actually my fellow #PSUAgEd18 cohort members.
I wanted the students to introduce themselves using an activity with a large plastic ball which I would have written questions on. I could not find a ball at the local Walmart so I had to settle on a snowball game. It worked really well but it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.
Please comment and let me know how your first day of class usually goes. How do you respond when student's ask you awkward personal questions? What activity do you use to introduce yourself to the students? I look forward to reading your comments!
I just love when multiple classes share a common theme at the same time! This past week in both #AEE412 and #AEE413 we learned about the importance of program planning and how your curriculum connects to the rest of your program. Currently my focus is on lesson plans and where to start! Today I am spending my time writing a lesson plan and a unit plan. It does seem like a great deal of thought and planning must go into just one lesson! Now, I image all of the veteran teachers reading this and laughing as they say "Duh!" Remember I'm just getting started and am attempting to figure out my organization style of a lesson plan and how to fit standards as well as write clearly stated objectives. It's all new to me! Beginning with an end in mind is the advice that I have heard repeated the most. Think about what you want your students to learn and be able to do and then decide how you're going to get them to reach that goal. I feel that the approach to unit planning is similar as well. My hope is that I will figure out a way to create my unit plan and lesson plans with objectives that will satisfy what my students need to know based off of industry standards and local need. I am utilizing resources given to me in class and those I have found on my own. Check out the Missouri Program Planning Handbook that I have linked below. Its a cool resource that I feel breaks down many aspects of a program and provides help in understanding why Ag teachers must have many aspects included in a successful program. Also check out the Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning from Michigan. They break down the steps they think should be taken very nicely. Do you have any advice or suggestions to help me in starting my planning? _____________________________________________________________
References:
Agricultural Education Program Planning Handbook for Missouri
Schools. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2017, from
http://dass.missouri.edu/aged/resources/handbook/
Newcomb, L.H., McCracken, J.D., Warmbrod, J.R., & Whittington, M.S. (1993). Methods of teaching agriculture. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 10, 2017, from http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p2_5
This week our readings granted us a preview into the maze called "unit and lesson planning." This part of my journey has been looming on the horizon since I took the Introduction to Agricultural Education class here at Penn State. Just as demonstrated in the image above, I am looking at writing lesson plans and really don't know where to begin so I plan on jumping in. Thankfully this week's "Understanding by Design Framework" reading suggested that the best approach for starting a lesson plan is to go backwards and start with an end in mind based on goals and objectives. Now when students come into our classroom on day one we don't expect them to be a plethora of knowledge with the material and they have to be ready to jump right in and learn. I hope that through trial and error my lesson plans will have lots of promise because the goal of this operation in its entirety is to benefit the growth and development of my students! Creating clearly stated objectives seems to be a piece of cake until you actually try. I expect the hardest parts for me to accomplish will be creativity and remembering to use Bloom's Taxonomy to create action oriented objectives. Through practice I know that I will get there and have this conquered in a short time. I hope that when I enter student teaching I will challenge my students using variety in the classroom and differentiation of methods. Lets face it, who wants to be lectured all day? Nobody. Plus simple lecture tactics will not allow the class to reach goals that include a higher learning level of Bloom's Taxonomy. It will take creativity on my part, but I'm ready to stretch my creative muscles! I am looking forward to this week of class where I can discuss the readings with my fellow cohort members and see what they expect their strengths and weaknesses to be as we are introduced to lesson planning. Please comment with any questions or tips that you may have for me and I will be sure to keep you updated on the progression of my lesson planning experience! ________________________________________________________________________ References: Newcomb, L.H., McCracken, J.D., Warmbrod, J.R., & Whittington, M.S. (1993). Methods of teaching agriculture. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Reardon, M. & Derner, S. (2004) Strategies for great teaching. Chicago, Illinois: Zephyr Press Mctighe, J. & Wiggins, G. (2012). Understanding by design framework. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/publications/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdf Fink, L.D. (2003) A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. Retrieved from http://www.deefinkandassociates.com/GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf West Virginia University, (2010.). Bloom’s taxonomy. Retrieved from http://community.wvu.edu/~lsmong/Articulate%20Blooms%20Wheel/blooms_wheel.html
Ziff, B. (n.d.). Utilizing Blooms Taxonomy in Your Classroom.
Retrieved September 4, 2017, from
http://www.calstatela.edu/sites/default/files/centers/spedintern/hints11bloomtaxonomy.pdf
