10: Do You Have a Halter?

Warning: This post contains MANY pictures!

This week we spent more than one evening traveling around to the homes of students as well as the locations that they keep their livestock. The goal was to tag their beef and dairy beef projects for this year's Manheim Farm Show that will take place in October. 

Of course you all know that I come from a 4-H background as opposed to an FFA one but I am familiar with tagging livestock for the fair and also on my home farm with an identification routine in mind. Now yes, we did tag livestock...17 head to be exact. But why am I spending time writing a reflection about this?

Here is why...

• I believe in the power of the "home visit." These students were very proud to show us their SAE projects. We connected with them and in some cases their parents. In a total program the teacher works tirelessly to include all students and make them feel valued every day. I can proudly say that I see this with the ag teachers at Manheim Central. We tagged the steers but we also engaged in talking about classes, where students work, what they've been doing with their calves. We provided some feedback on their animals and talked about BMPs or as they're more commonly known Best Management Practices. 
• I will try my hardest to visit every one of my students at home or at work. SAEs are a vital part of the 3-circle model. Creating a bond with students and their families can only lead to great things for an ag program. As a new teacher this will also provide a wonderful way to get to know the community and the agriculture surrounding it!

Now for all of the pictures...

Ciara and her Charloais influence steer.

Such a cute picture of Ashlea and her dairy steer. 

Becca holding her dairy calf for a
quick photo.

Daniele with her steer.

Justin with his steer.

Steph holding her dairy steer as
it is tagged.

SAEs as a Co-op!

The following two Supervised Agricultural Experience visits were at a student's "placement" Co-op. Students at Manheim have the opportunity as a senior in the ag program to leave school at 10:50 to go to their work-based SAE!

The Sweet Secret to Success

Emily poses with a cake that she decorated!

On January 26, 2018 I had the chance to drop by and visit Emily at Cake and Cup Bake Shoppe in Lititz. Emily is a very dedicated and hardworking individual who is currently enrolled in my Applied Animal Science 1 class. Emily was also crowned the Manheim Farm Show Queen at eh 2017 Manheim Community Farm Show. When scheduling her co-op experience, teachers were cautious of sending Emily to a bakery for half of the school day. The hesitation was understandable remembering that SAEs are intended to grow a student's skills in an agriculture career area that they have interest in. However, we are thrilled that Emily has found a passion in cakes and other delectable goodies. She was eager to share the many technical skills that she has gained at Cake and Cup Bake Shoppe. As we spoke to her employer it was evident that Emily has been making the most out of her time there. All of the employees at the Shoppe hope that Emily will consider staying a part of the team after graduation. We couldn't be more proud!

It was fun to drop in and see Emily at her job.

Mane and Tail

Kristen and Spartan.

Our second co-op visit took place on February 1, 2018. This visit was to see Kristen who is working as an Equine caretaker at a riding barn in the Northeast corner of the school district.
Kristen introduced us to her gelding, Spartan and they let us snap a quick picture. She is incredibly driven in her pursuit of horse care and she hopes to become a trainer like her boss at the farm. While Kristen is at work, she helps manage the horses nutrition rations, feed them, muck their stalls, and exercise them daily. Her favorite part of the job is that her tasks are always different and she is faced with new challenges depending on the mood that her equine friends are in. Kristen is on the right path to meet her goals and we hope to visit with her again soon!

#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!

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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

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!