14: PAAE in the East

Attending the Eastern Region PAAE meeting stimulated my reflection on what happens when a big group of great minds get together. State FFA Convention, regional contests, and the next meeting location were just a few things that we discussed. The following things that happened during my evening adventure were the most memorable...

Me, Rose, and Allyson!

1) The tight knit community of ag teachers never ceases to amaze me. The jokes and smiles were contagious. I was approached by a friendly face many times with the question of "How are you?" and "How is student teaching going?" I was also touched by the kindness and support for some tough times that important people to PA FFA had gone through. It was very wholesome.

2) I was SO happy to see my fellow student teachers. I had missed not seeing Allyson and Rose everyday like we had in the fall. Our cohort has really become a unit and I love the happiness that our friendships bring me. 

3) I LOVE seeing other programs. This meeting took place at Oley Valley High School. They have one of the most prestigious high school food science labs that I have ever seen! It really is quite amazing. Their courses really are full of intense scientific rigor. I must also say that I appreciated all of the pelts and taxidermy that was on display around their ag department. 

I like to make friends wherever I go.

I believe that it is essential to remain an active member of the PAAE. Membership provides countless benefits for us teachers and all of the people that we interact with such as our school faculty and administration, our families, and even our students. I know that I will continue to strengthen my membership in the PAAE and hopefully become more involved as I grow into my first teaching job.

7: National FFA Week!

This week was my first National FFA Week celebrated in a high school. I was impressed! Here is how we celebrated the week of greatness at Manheim Central...

Manheim FFA members posed for a photo
with State FFA Officer Thomas Gabel

Boot Scootin' Tuesday

On Tuesday, FFA members asked their peers to wear their cowboy boots to school It was fun hearing the clicking of boot heels on the ground and see some great cowboy boots around the school. 

After school it was our chance to "Meet Your State Officer" at Hoss' in Elizabethtown. Just a short drive to Elizabethtown brought good food, friends, and jokes (Not only for students but also for teachers!).

Cole shows off his "whipped cream game"

Winning Wednesday

On Wednesday, small cows were hidden around the school with the promise of :find a cow and win a chocolate milk!" During my time here at Manheim Central High School I've come to the realization that students can become addicted to chocolate milk. In Mrs. Anderson's room we sell Kreider's chocolate milk and there are some individuals who can't make it through the day without their bottle. The chance to find a chow and win a milk was a pretty enticing incentive. 

After school FFA members invited teachers to stop by the Ag department for a complimentary sundae. This ice cream social was to show appreciation to the other teachers in the building. Smiles were shared because who doesn't love ice cream!?!?

FFA members posing in their favorite flannel shirts

Thank a Farmer Thursday

On Thursday we took a calmer and more heartfelt approach by writing thank you letters to local farmers. As we all know, it feels great to be thanked but it feels great to be the one doing the thanking as well. Thank you farmers. 

Favorite Flannel Friday

Friday was a day to wear flannels. They were sported all day around the school. Dressing up is always a fun way to show pride and spirit. The FFA members had been working hard for weeks to plan out the first annual Manheim FFA Food For All Banquet. This banquet was a free meal for attendees and all that was asked for was a donation to the three organizations that spoke during the meal. First we heard from 2 Seconds or Less, then from Heifer Project International, and lastly from the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. Students and guests learned a lot about the hungry people across our globe and those that are as close as our school district. We all left the banquet with a sense of purpose and a feeling of hope.

My First Trip to ACES

Ms. Anderson poses our group of students for a quick photo

What a weekend. This was my first time attending ACES and one of my first trips on which I was taking students. There were a few highlights that I would like to share.

1) A heightened sense of connection with my students. This was the first time that I had spent time with many of them. Others I have in class and have seen at FFA meetings but did not know as well as I would like. This trip to ACES, our time spent there, and the trip back allowed me to get to know them better. We made jokes, laughed about eating habits, and reflected upon what they had learned. I am curious as I go back to school this upcoming week, how the relationships with them will change. I hope that they feel more comfortable talking to me about things and interacting more in class. Stay tuned!

Teachers learned about water samples
using the inquiry based approach

2) Professional Development that ROCKS! The workshop on Saturday for teachers was about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. I LOVED IT. We learned some ways to connect watersheds around us into the curriculum we teach through MWEEs (Meaningful Watershed Education Experience). These experiences have a focus on environmental stewardship but don't have to specifically be about water or on the Chesapeake Bay. Although I am not from the Chesapeake Bay Watershed I recognized that I may be able to implement some of this during my time student teaching that pertains directly to this watershed. I also realize that no matter which watershed I get a job in, I will be able to tie meaningful lessons about ecological sustainability.

3) A chance to recharge my battery with other ag teachers. I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing the friendly faces of my fellow ag teacher colleagues. They are so supportive of us young teachers! I can not count how many times I was asked, "How is student teaching?" My confidence and warm feelings were heightened with each ask as I was reminded that other teachers really care. They are rooting for me and all of the other Penn State 2018 teacher candidates. If that doesn't make you smile then I don't know what will. Remember that there are many individuals out there who are praying for you to succeed and be the BEST YOU. I will never forget the kindness that has been extended from these great teachers and I will be quick to show that same compassion to the ag teachers that come after me.

#AEE412 Sunday Reflections 8: Individualized Teaching

Recently, #PSUAgEd18 has learned about individualized teaching techniques. Personally I felt that learning about individual after learning group techniques had "completed" the technique thought process in my mind. Now we experienced the reading about individual teaching techniques and the instruction is almost full circle. 
As we discussed in class, there are five types of individual instruction techniques that are as follows:

1. Sheets
2. Experiments
3. Supervised Study
4. Independent Study
5. Student Notebooks

In an agriscience classroom we see all of these techniques being used. Our last lab experience was problem solving approach which can be carried out either as a group or individual teaching technique. 

Being involved in Agricultural Education in some capacity means that we should all be familiar with the three circle model! What I find interesting is that when taking a look at all three circles individually, I notice that the different individual techniques can be applied to all three of the circles. While we assume that a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) would be an independent study scenario, it can actually be almost any of the above five techniques. How you ask? Think about this, students work on their SAE independently, sometimes the teacher assists and guides but not always, some students hold a research SAE, and lastly records on any and all SAEs must be kept. If that doesn't explain that it can fit in with all five then I have no idea what will. This is great because every circle can fully utilize differentiated instruction. Remember, if you're fed your favorite food for every meal you will soon get tired of it. Differentiate your instruction and make each lesson fun whether the activities are group or individual. Make it fun, ya'll!

Check out my resource for this week! It's a nice article that talks about the benefit of individualized instruction that fits each student. It somewhat fits activities that take place in an average agriscience classroom. I think that it can be looked at through SAE goggles when thinking that each student has an experience that is unique to them because SAEs are meant to ignite their passions. 

http://www.dreambox.com/blog/pros-cons-individualized-instruction

Let me know what your thoughts are!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

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

Green, N. (2013). Pros and cons of individualized instruction. DreamBox Learning. Retrieved October 14, 2017, from http://www.dreambox.com/blog/pros-cons-individualized-instruction

Let's Travel to Manheim!

In preparation for my student teaching experience I have been learning about my cooperating center. Below is my video, check it out and be sure to comment with questions!

Angela's Cooperating Center: Manheim Central High School

Reflection #2: The Hidden Lives of Learners

Welcome back to my perspective on The Hidden Lives of Learners by Graham Nuthall.

Chapter 3: "Understanding how students learn and remember what they learn"

Chapter three dove deeper into the procedures that Nuthall and his colleagues used to complete effective research in the classroom. As I was reading this chapter, I participated in the Teach Ag! Adventure Orientation where I received syllabi for the upcoming fall & spring semesters. One of my assignments will be completing a "Student Learning Outcome/Action Research Project" while at Manheim Central High School. I sense a connection between this chapter and my research next spring. Nuthall's explanation of how he decided on research practices and fulfilled his goals for the studies will help me to efficiently complete my Action Research Project.

Secondly, I appreciate the conclusions that the research provide. Those that I found to be most important are listed below.

1)  When it comes to teaching our students, we must remember that much of their capability to learn comes from the background or prior knowledge that they have. Background knowledge is often outside of a teacher's control but it is still a key piece to the learning process. 

2) It is recognized that a student must encounter the content that a teacher aims to teach at least three times to understand the concept. This is not to say that vocally repeating a concept three times will ensure that a student learns it. The first time it is taught, a student puts the information into their working memory. The second time they hear it taught or mentioned in a different manner, it has already been in the working memory and is reinforced in a new way. The third time the concept is encountered the student's brain will covert the content from the working memory to the existing knowledge. A variety of methods of teaching need to be used which I am enthralled to learn this fall in my preparation classes!


Chapter 4: "Life in classrooms: the contexts within which learning takes place"

The key point that I received from chapter four was that "students live their lives in classrooms within the context of three different but interacting worlds." These three worlds act to shape a student's attitude and experiences in the classroom. 

1) Public World - this world is seen and managed by the teacher
2) Semiprivate World - encompasses the peer relationships carried out by students
3) Private World - this world is found within the child's own mind

While considering these worlds that student's live in, we must recognize that students learn from teacher managed activities and self-generated learning experiences. Nuthall's studies show that the teacher provided a critical mass of the things learned in the classroom. Of course this is reassuring for me as I begin teaching. However within that data, I was most interested to read that students who are labeled "less able" based on standardized test scores depended more on teacher managed activities. It was also found that no matter what ability level a student was ranked at as long as they were provided the same experiences, they would learn the same amount. Going back to the Student Learning Outcome Research there is a similarity with wanting to track the growth as opposed to raw scores of students in a certain area. 

Chapter three and four were two more interesting chapters in which I learned many interesting conclusions of Nuthall's research and also came up with some ways to approach my Student Learning Outcome/Action Research Project during my time student teaching!  (Ps. If you have any ideas please comment to let me know!)


Coming in August: My final reflection covering the rest of the book. Stay tuned!

What will I see when visiting a SAE?

What is an SAE?
SAE is an acronym that stands for Supervised Agricultural Experience and is a key component of the three circle model. This is a program that agriscience students design enabling them to gain hands-on experience and real-world skills in an agricultural area of their choice. The skills learned and practiced in a student's SAE build upon skills that they are taught in the classroom. 

On June 28th I went on my first Supervised Agricultural Experience visits! I learned many tidbits about the community where I will be student teaching and met some students in the agriscience program.


Stephanie

Here Stephanie tells us about her heifer barn and the
heifers that are housed there.

Our first visit was at 11 am with Stephanie who has just graduated from Manheim Central. Stephane has an on farm dairy placement SAE as well as a paid placement at Hendricks' Flowers in Lititz, PA. Her placement at Hendricks' Flowers was a co-op she completed her senior year. During this visit our main focus was her farm to see where all of the dairy activity happens. She is currently milking 88 cows with her parents and takes very good care of all cows and calves on the premise. Mrs. Seibert asked how everything was with the operation and if there was anything new or exciting happening that Stephanie wanted to share. It was clear to see her passion and her go-getter attitude as we said goodbye and headed one direction to our next stop while she headed to work at the floral shop. 

Overhead view of Hendricks' Flowers.
https://www.hendricksflowershop.com/img/aerial-shot2.jpg

Megan

Megan showing off the white orchid
leis that she designed!

At 12pm our second stop was to visit Megan at the location of her paid placement SAE. She has the opportunity to complete a co-op with Floral Designs of Mount Joy because she will be a senior during the 2017-2018 school year. With the permission of her parents, boss, and agriscience teacher she can leave school at 10:45am and travel to work! This is a great experience that will allow her to gain knowledge and practice in the floral industry along with real time work skills. After explaining all of the paperwork that would need to be completed so that the co-op could get underway, Megan showed us some leis that she made by stringing white orchids together with floral wire. She's excited to learn and grow at Floral Designs of Mount Joy!  

Floral Designs of Mount Joy is located on Main Street. Soon they will be
moving to their new location on the other side of town. 

Jeremiah
 

Jeremiah petting his steer while explaining his feed schedule. 

Our third and final visit of the day was at 12:45pm to pick Jeremiah up from his house and take him a mile down the road to where his animals are located. This young man is a sophomore with a diversified livestock SAE and it was clear to see the diversity when stepping into the barn. He was proud to show us his lambs, hogs, sheep, goats, dairy heifers, dairy beef, and steer. He shared where his animals were purchased from and even some fun stories about their personalities. Mrs. Seibert asked if he was looking to make any changes soon and he mentioned some alterations that he wanted to make to the floor of his pig pen. I was glad to see how happy he was telling us all about his show stock and I hope that he keeps improving so that he can have a chance at winning the State Proficiency Award in Diversified Livestock!

The goats at Jeremiah's. They love to play with the
wooden wheel in their pen. 

This was a wonderful day. All three visits proved that young people are out here doing great things and learning each and every day. I can see the real life application that supervised agricultural experiences provide to students especially when these kids give 100%. I hope to be involved with all of these driven students in the year to come!