Integrated Science Lab

SLURB's are very social creatures! They like to interact with anyone that they come into contact with. Much like the penguins pictured below.

What exactly is a SLURB? A slurb is a made up creature that I utilized during my integrated science lab. In all reality, all it was, was flour. However, one of them contained baking soda as well!

The SLURB's were told to interact with one another for approximately 5 minutes. At the end of the 5 minutes, I told students to return to their seats. I explained to them that there had been an outbreak! One of the SLURB's that was interacting with everyone was carrying a harmful disease and now we needed to determine who was initially infected and how many others had become infected.

How exactly did we determine who was infected? I added vinegar to each of the cups, if the contents in the cup bubbled, I knew that baking soda was present which meant that the SLURB was infected.
The problem: All of the SLURB's were infected because everyone interacted with the same people.

Let's Gem and Opp it out!

Gems:
Students were able to move around the room.
The activity was very interactive. 
The activity connected well to the lesson: how diseases spread.






Opportunities for improvement:
Provide a worksheet to help students keep track of who they came into contact with.
Explain to students that they should try not to interact with everyone.
Provide more instruction prior to "letting them go".

At the end of the day, I feel as though my lesson went well and I will definitely be using it with some tweaks during my student teaching experience!

Life Knowledge Reflection

One step closer to student teaching.

One step closer to becoming a teacher.

One step closer to graduation.

This was round 2 of my life knowledge lesson. The first time, I felt incredibly unprepared, and not genuinely interested in the topic at hand. Although the students were fairly interested in the topic, I felt incredibly scattered and unprepared.

So fast forward to round 2 of my life knowledge lesson.
I felt more prepared than the first time around, however, I was still not wild about the lesson.

The lesson was in regards to why people join organizations, in an attempt to promote recruitment for the FFA program. The materials provided to me through the FFA life knowledge lesson was incredibly dry material that was also repetitive. I could see the students losing interest and being bored. I attempted to get them  up and moving and increase class participation, but they were not having any parts of it.

Looking back on the lesson, I think that  I would add some of my own words and activities to get more engagement and not repeat the same information for an hour. I would also include a recruitment video to promote the Boonsboro FFA. The recruitment video would gain interest of students who may not have otherwise been interested. I would also attempt to locate another recruitment video for a different organization so that I was not just tailoring to the needs of the FFA students.

Overall, I was not very happy with my life knowledge lesson, but the main point is that the students learned something. Although it was dry and boring, the students genuinely learned.

What Can I Eat With This Beak?

As I prepared to travel to Juniata High School with Sara Lang, I had all of the confidence in the world.

Upon arrival, I began to get a little bit more anxious about how the students would react to me as a teacher, the technology that was used, and more importantly, how they would react to the lesson.

I am pleased to announce that the lesson went on with minor hiccups throughout. The lesson began with a bellwork question regarding shore birds, I was interested that some of the students had never been to a beach before. Which is exactly why I included pictures of the birds in a Powerpoint as well. The bellwork was proceeded by a short clip from a Disney short entitled Piper. Which featured a sand piper and his search for food.

After discussing the reasoning behind why I used this clip, the students were then instructed to go out into the shop area, which connected to the classroom and gather into groups that I had put together using a numbering system. This is where the first hiccup came in, I had to get all of the students out into the shop in a timely fashion, in their assigned groups, and take the recording technology with me.

Once everyone was settled into the shop, I gave each group a household item to attempt to pick up various "food items." When they were finished, they were to record how many food items each member collected. Which brings me to hiccup number 2... I had forgotten to instruct the students to bring the papers into the shop area with them. I instructed the students to grab their papers, quickly, and come right back into the shop area. (Thankfully, I had some rockstar students and this was able to happen without any issues).

After returning to the shop area, students were scrambling to write the results down from the first attempt. There were work tables but only on one side of the shop so the other students were having trouble writing on the ground as well as picking up the food items off the ground.

Throughout the many hiccups, the lesson went on fairly well. The students were engaged, Mrs. Morgan was genuinely happy with what I had to offer her class, and provided me with some awesome feedback. 

Things to fix:
-Clarity with instructions!
-Tables or clipboards for students to write on
-Tables or some kind of plate to place the food items on so that they aren't all over the floor
-Explaining the technology prior to the end of the lesson

I was incredibly happy with my lesson and am excited to be one step closer to my student teaching experience!

Virtual Mentor Exploration #3

Essential Question:
What are the best tips/resources you would provide to a new teacher regarding special needs accommodations?

If you haven't already picked up on it, this is by far my favorite topic to discuss. While enrolled at Penn State and studying Agricultural and Extension Education, I have also been pursuing a special education minor. Recently, I have even been looking into the 4+1 program that Penn State has to offer which would allow me to obtain my teaching certification in Agricultural Education, a Masters in Special Education, and potentially obtain my teaching certification in Special Education.

But, enough about me! Here's what my virtual mentors had to say in regards to special needs accommodations.

1. Ask for help, especially from the special education teacher.
2. Record evidence of your accommodation. 
3. Address lab area accommodations addressed in the IEP.
4. READ the IEP. 
5. Be patient!
6. Know the difference between accommodation and modifications.

All of these tips and tricks are resources that I intend to use throughout my student teaching experience and I cannot wait to combine my passion for agricultural and my passion for special education at Boonsboro. 

Virtual Mentor Exploration #2

Essential Question: 

"What strategies or resources do you use to help your class/program be responsive to cultural diversity and English Language Learners?"

As teachers, no matter our background or where we end up teaching, we will encounter various students from varying cultural backgrounds and needs. As educators, we need to be adequately prepared to engage these students in our classes. 

The main point that my virtual mentors were able to give me is that each student is unique. The phrase that has been stuck in my head a lot lately is Every student. Every Class. Every Day. It doesn't matter what the students background is or if they are learning English as a second language or not. All students should be treated with the same respect. Because of the scientific nature within our agriculture classes, ELL/ESL students may require more attention than others in terms of vocabulary and definitions. 

The key is that each state, school, and program has differing resources for students who are ELL/ESL students. Our job as educators is to cater to our students needs in any way that we possibly can. 

Honor the Texas Flag

Texas.

Oh, Texas.

I'm not going to lie to you, I was not 100% looking forward to Texas. I mean, let's be honest. What really is there to do when you are in Texas?

Those are the thoughts that were rushing through my head prior to traveling to Texas.

However, I am happy to say that throughout the week in Texas, my opinions changed. They changed so much that Texas may be on my list of potential states that I would like to teach in.

Now, I wasn't simply in Texas for the food, entertainment, and historical sights. I was there for the National Association of Agricultural Educators conference.

Throughout the week, I went to some incredible workshops, met some amazing people, and kindled new friendships that I never knew would exist.

Let's begin with the workshops:

• Classroom Inclusion 
• Relationship Building 
• Teacher Panel 
• Balance family with Ag. Ed. 
• What drives misconception of agriculture?
• Back to basics in modern day Ag Ed
• It's different for girls 
• Work-Life Balance
• Special Education in the Ag classroom 
• Trading Cards

These are just a few of the many workshops that I attended while at the NAAE conference. While I was attending NAAE as a student teacher, I was also involved with a program called FAST or Future AgriScience Teachers Symposium. Which leads me into the people. 

The amount of people that I encountered and was able to connect with was incredible! 

Just to name a few: 

• Dr. Jessica Jones (VA)
• Becky Haddad (OR)
• Holly (DE)
• Jessica Lumpkins (TN)
• Jordan Roy (GA)
• Dane White and Katie Titus (CA)
• Abigail Heikes (ID)

Each of these individuals have either made and impact on me due to their kind and caring hearts in regards to inclusion and diversity, or they were just genuinely kind and caring individuals that I was able to connect with on a personal level. 

At the end of the day, we were able to explore Texas and the city of San Antonio. Each day entailed something a little bit different. Most evenings were spent experiencing the unique food and culture. 

Some of the things we experienced and saw: 

• The Alamo
• El Mercado 
• Go Rio- Boat Ride on the River Walk 
• Laser Light show on the church
• Pearl Market

Throughout these experiences, I was able to connect with Lisa Boltz and Victoria Herr, two of the members in my cohort who are from the same side of the state, and within a county of where I grew up. Now, I had met both of these incredible ladies throughout my high school career, but once college began, I lost contact. As we all started our college careers at different campuses. Throughout the week in San Antonio, I was able to reconnect with those ladies and discover their individual strengths and how I can lean on them and them lean on me throughout this following semester and our lifelong careers. 

So, Thank you Texas! Thank you for allowing me to kindle new friendships, experience new things, try new foods, and above all, discover more about myself. 

Inquiry: Giving Students the Lead

This Week's Essential Question:
What is Inquiry Based Instruction?

Key Questions:
1) Why use Inquiry-Based Instruction?
Inquiry based instruction allows students to engage in real world scenarios. The students are trained or conditioned to become more self-motivated. The teacher provides guidance, however, it is the duty of the students to come up with a solution to the problem stated by the teacher.

2) How is Inquiry-Based Instruction different from Problems-Based?
The main difference between Inquiry-Based Instruction and Problems-Based is the amont of correct answers. Problems-Based has one clear cut answer to the problem at hand while Inquiry has multiple different solutions. However, IBI includes many of the components of Problems-Based such as questioning. Inquiry is heavily reliant on the students at times and therefore having guiding questions at least for yourself is helpful to allow students to get to the answer.

3) What are the key elements of Inquiry-Based Instruction?
There is no prescribed elements to inquiry-based instruction. Inquiry-based is not solely reliant on one criteria or one correct way. The chart used for inquiry-based instruction is a spectrum. It is important that us as pre-service teachers understand that it is okay for our lessons to not be all the way to the right of the chart. Mrs. Krista Pontius came to our AEE class last week and tried an inquiry lesson with us that she had recently wrote. One of the key things that I took away from her visit was that inquiry is often a lot more enjoyable than lecture for students. I also appreciated her comments that whenever she delivers a lesson, she thinks how she can make this lesson more inquiry-based in other words, how can she get the lesson further to the right of the chart.

Third Times The Charm

Holy smokes!
The weeks just keep on going and I'm not sure I can keep up!

October 22nd through the 27th were some of the most eye opening days for me as a future Agricultural Educator.

I travelled to Maryland on Monday, October 22nd to complete my life knowledge lesson (stay tuned for details on that!). Tuesday morning, bright and early we left to start out trek to Indianapolis, Indiana for the National FFA Convention and Expo.

Now I'm no stranger to this massive convention. I travelled to Louisville, Kentucky as a student for the National Convention in 2014. I also travelled to Indianapolis last year as an employee working for National FFA.

While all of these experiences required me to wear different hats much like Ag teachers do, this last one was the most memorable.

I travelled to Indianapolis with several other chapters near Boonsboro (my student teaching location). This trip was different though, there were two full coach busses full of students and teachers- something I'm not use to! (The other two trips I took were taken by vans with approximately 10 other people).

While at National Convention, we were able to experience a fascinating agritourism location- Fair Oaks Farm.

The students that we took, which were three girls who were all on the officer team, also participated in national days of service.

We jammed out to Garth Brooks and Easton Corbin and we listened to some of the National FFA Officers retiring addresses.

This trip to National Convention was one for the books. I was fortunate with three incredibly mature and responsible girls. They were able to be left alone for a majority of the time at national convention and were always on time, or even early to meet us where they needed to be.

I was able to get a glimpse of what it's like to be in charge of students in another state. Keeping track of the health forms for each student just in case something may come up. This trip really opened my eyes to how much the teachers need to be conscious of their students and their surroundings. When going to these events, you need to keep the students in mind as well as making sure that you are getting time for yourself to really dive into all of the professional development and teacher workshops that National FFA has to offer.

Surprise...Substitute?

This past lab, we were tasked with creating a lesson plan that was substitute worthy. However, all of our plans need to be substitute worthy. I felt very prepared for this lesson plan as my previous lesson plan seemed to be substitute worthy in regards to the amount of detail included in the lesson. For this lab, I walked in preparing to teach a lesson about how animals were classified. 

However, when we began lab, we were told that we would instead be teaching one of our peers lessons. I was incredibly thankful to Victoria for creating an easy to perform and easy to follow lesson plan. The lesson consisted of students determining what would be needed to prepare for a greenhouse sale, presenting a video, and then having students work on a project with scenarios that were previously created. However, I did find the second half of the lesson, with supervising the project hard to explain due to it not being my own lesson plan and not having a clear idea of what to expect. 

Some of the gems from this lesson included that I was able to take someone elses lesson plan and follow the plan for the most part other than some questions that I needed to prompt the students with to get to the answers. 

I think that some opportunities for improvement for this lesson would be having a better handle on the classroom as far as behaviors are concerned. Although the students were not my own, I still needed to be able to control certain behaviors that arose throughout the lesson. I also recognized that my voice inflection seemed a little bit like a mother yelling at her children at one point in time. I still need to be sure that my voice inflection is genuine throughout my lessons. I also need to be sure that although the lesson was not mine, that I am reading through the handouts so that I am aware of what the students are doing. 

Overall, I think that the substitute surprise lesson went well and I did not feel as pressured for things to go exactly as planned because I was simply following the plan that was given to me. 

Problem Solving Approach

This week, I conducted a lesson to test out the problem solving approach.

During this weeks lab, I used an activity that I was introduced to in my high school veterinary science class. The activity was a webquest. We were given a packet with multiple scenarios of different species of animals. The task was to use the internet to research the symptoms described by the owner/ scenario to diagnose the animal. 

Some of the gems from this lesson included applying previous concepts that were taught to students. This lesson would be used as a transition between a large animal unit and a small animal unit. Students would have previously conducted research on bovine diseases and may be familiar with some of the symptoms listed in the packet. Another gem was that when individual students asked questions, I was able to individually show the student where we were in the packet, as well as reword the question or reexplain the task so that students who were lost were able to catch up and continue learning and not get left behind. 

Some of the opportunities for improvement included recognizing when a student was sleepy in class and being able to engage the student so that they were not bored or disengaged. While I attempted to make connections and keep the student engaged, the lesson was hard to make active. Which brings me to the second opportunity for improvement, the lesson was a lot of stationary work where students were seated and most likely disengaged and tired of hearing my voice the entire time. I hope to make this lab more interactive for my future students! The final opportunity for improvement was to give the students independent time. In the 20 minute chunk of time that was recorded, a majority of the time was myself explaining the lab and walking students through the class example so that they were better able to conduct research once I let them work in pairs. This opportunity for improvement will likely be improved by the second half of my lesson which will have students working in pairs to complete a scenario of their choosing. 

Do you have the tools?

This week's essential question: 

Is our toolbox full?

Key Questions:

1. Why is differentiated learning important?

Differentiated learning allows educators to tailor their teaching to individual student needs and interests. This type of teaching and learning allows us as educators to meet the student where they are. As agricultural educators, we use this a lot when helping a student decide what SAE or CDE they would like to participate in. Differentiated learning focuses on three areas: readiness, interests, and learning preferences. Differentiated learning differs from individual learning in that differentiated learning can be done in a group setting. Differentiated learning is important because it gives students choice and a sense of autonomy. When students are given the opportunity to learn about topics that they are ready for, that meet their interests, and are able to learn about the topic in a way that they like and feel comfortable using; the student will be more likely to be engaged rather than disengaged and frustrated. 

While differentiated learning and instruction is incredibly useful and beneficial, how do you know when to give students that choice and when they have lost that privilege? Would this be an appropriate tool to use during student teaching in the Spring? Differentiated learning and instruction seems to be beneficial when you thoroughly know your students- would 15 weeks be enough time to really get to know students enough to be able to use this tool effectively?

2. How could we utilize individual learning techniques?

Similar to group teaching techniques, individual learning techniques are used for individual student work. We can utilize individual learning techniques by providing assignment handouts and offering independent studies. At Boonsboro, we often have one or two students who would like to complete an independent study (typically within a greenhouse/plant science topic) during their senior year. I am excited to be working with a student this Spring that will be having an independent study connected to a greenhouse class. Some of the other techniques that I found interesting and would like to try out include student notebooks and skill sheets. I would like to try the student notebooks technique by requiring students to keep a notebook during class which will include their bellwork and notes for the day. At the end of the week, I will collect the notebooks and students will receive a grade based upon completion. The notebooks will be graded this way so that students are motivated to use the notebooks but do not have to worry about having incorrect notes or not copying everything word for word.

Resources: 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.
Chapter 7 – Individualized Teaching Techniques (36 pages)
Chapter 4, Learning as Problem Solving (13 pages) 

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

Testing- Like a Boss

This weeks essential question:

How do we assess and evaluate?

Key Questions: 

1. What is the difference between formative and summative assessment?
The difference between formative and summative assessment is just as the names suggest. Formative assessments are given throughout the unit or class such as quizzes. Whereas, summative assessments are given at the end of a unit or year to determine the students understanding of the topic or unit at the end. 

For example, a formative assessment in my Intro to Ag class may be having my students take a dog breeds quiz during our small animal science unit of instruction to determine if they are prepared to move on to a more in depth topic related to the specific dog breeds. Whereas, at the end of the small animal science unit, I may give them a quiz that addresses all of the topics we discussed in the unit of instruction.

2. Why assess learning? What is the purpose?
The purpose behind assessing learning is actually quite simple. Teachers assess learning so that they are able to determine where their students are at. Whether it is a pretest to meet students where they are at, or a test during a unit to see how much students are able to comprehend, understand, and assess the learning that has just occurred, testing allows teachers to determine the support that their students need or if the students are prepared to move on to the next unit or topic of instruction. Although students will not be tested formally once they leave our classrooms, they will always be assessed. This assessment may not occur with a rubric however, no matter what field my students go into, whether that is sales, veterinary medicine, or horticulture, they will be assessed in everything that they do.

For example, the student in my Intro to Ag class may have a strong interest in animal science and go on to be a veterinarian- while he may not be formally assessed, the interactions that he makes with his clients and his clients owners will assess his veterinary skills and how likely they are to return to his veterinary clinic.

If Billy does not calculate the proper dosages for Mrs. Smith's kitten, or does not treat the kitten with care; he could lose his job.

Key Takeaways: 
-Clarity is key.
-Know the difference between fair and accurate ways of evaluating exceptional learners.
-There are advantages and disadvantages to all types of testing/assessment.
-Evaluation is used to address the strengths and needs of learners. 
-Rubrics can be used to assess learners in a more reliable manner. 

Resources:


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.
Note: Chapter 14 Evaluation of Learning

Stoughton, A.L. & Myers, B.E. (2008) Creating and working with rubrics. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC06900.pdf

Jung, L.A. & Guskey, T.R. (2010). Grading exceptional learners. Educational Leadership, 67(5). Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educationalleadership/feb10/vol67/num05/Grading-ExceptionalLearners.aspx

Warner, W.J. & Myers, B.E. (2010). Evaluating learning in laboratory settings. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC06000.pdf

Every Problem Is A Gift

This weeks essential question:

What is the Problem-Solving Approach?

Key Questions: 

1. What is problem solving?
Today, problem solving includes a complex set of cognitive, behavioral, and attitudinal components.  In 1983, Mayer defined problem solving as a multiple step process where the problem solver must find relationships between past experiences (schema) and the problem at hand and then act upon a solution.
Mayer suggested three characteristics of problem solving:
1) Problem solving is cognitive but is inferred from behavior.
2) Problem solving results in behavior that leads to a solution.
3) Problem solving is a process that involves manipulation of or operations on previous knowledge (Funkhouser and Dennis, 1992).

2. How is problem solving related to project based?
In order for students to accomplish projects used in project based learning, they are require to utilize higher order thinking as well as problem-solving. In my classroom at Boonsboro, I will be conducting a large animal science unit which will include a cattle diseases research project. This project will be based upon open-ended questions that students are able to think through and come up with conclusion. For this project, students will be working in groups, however, projects can also be individual tasks. Students are required to use critical thinking and problem solving to come up with the topics and information that they would like to include in this project.

References:

Kirkley, J. (2003). Principles for teaching problem solving. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.117.8503&rep=rep1&type=pdf Note: Principles to Teach Problem Solving (Canvas 16 pages

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

Larmer, J. & Mergendoller, J.R. (2010). 8 essentials for project-based learning. Retrieved from http://www.sbcss.k12.ca.us/attachments/article/1058/8_Essentials_article_small_file_size_Oct2012v ersion.pdf

Phipps, L.J., Osborn, E.W., Dyer, J.E., & Ball, A.L. (2008) Handbook on agricultural education in public schools, 1st Edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Note: Chapter 15 – Problem Solving 

One Down.

One Down. 

13 More To Go. 

This week, I finalized my VERY.FIRST.UNIT.PLAN. 

I am so thankful that I initially began by creating my First Original Lesson Plan that will be taught in this unit as it helped me to create the unit and get the wheels turning.

In High School, I took Veterinary Science courses and was at one point in time (as any other young teenage girl) convinced that I was going to be a veterinarian. When I was determining my student teaching placement, I wanted to channel that inner love and passion for animal sciences, however, I knew that I needed to improve in areas as well.

Boonsboro focuses mainly on plant science and agricultural mechanics. So when I was told that I would be teaching an introduction to agriculture class and could include both a large animal and small animal unit, I was excited... and a little nervous.

I took two years of veterinary science, and now I was being challenged to incorporate whatever I felt was important for large and small animals into 6 short weeks.

For my first unit plan, I decided to focus on the large animal science unit. After not only having two peer reviewers look over the unit, but also verbally discussing my unit with some other peers and mentors, I am incredibly excited to see how I can make this unit plan even better.

While I am nervous for the feedback I could receive, I keep reminding myself that this is only the first unit plan, and things can only go up from here!

Wish me luck!

Effective Questioning

This week, in AEE 412, we will be exploring the following:

How do we transition between techniques utilizing effective questioning?

It is amazing how these weekly investments seem to be lining up just perfectly with where my mind is going and what questions I have in terms of how to make myself a better teacher for my future students.

Key Questions:
1. Are all questions the same?
-Through the reading this week, I have not only discovered why questions are important, but that there are in fact different types of questions. Questions can be effective, open-ended, and closed-ended. I also learned that different questioning strategies are also beneficial for my students. Questions can be geared towards explanations, comparing and contrasting, how to do something, and making predictions.

2. What is the coolest teacher "question tip" you want to incorporate?
-One of the coolest things that I got out of this reading was from the Pursue Passion article. The article describes how Google allows their employees to spend one full work day working on a project that they are passionate about. As a result- approximately 50% of Google's products were originated from their employees spending this 20% (one full work day) on their passions. I would really like to incorporate this kind of mindset into my agriculture classrooms. On Fridays, I would like to incorporate either FFA Fridays or SAE Fridays. During these times, I would like students to plan a workshop, come up with an SAE project, come up with a class project, or come up with something else that they are passionate about to work on for a small portion of the class period. By incorporating this into my classroom, I believe that my students will be more motivated to come to class and more enthusiastic about the subject. By allowing students to pursue their passions, it gives them a sense of accomplishment and responsibility. They will have a say in what they decide to create.

3. Why would asking questions at higher levels of cognition matter?
-I believe that asking questions at a higher level of cognition matters because it allows us, as teachers, to see that our students are not just remembering and regurgitating the information, but that they are able to analyze and evaluate the topics as well. Asking questions at higher levels of cognition allows teachers to recognize what they taught well, or what they need to work on so that students are really grasping the concepts.

References:

Cornell University Center for Teaching Excellence. (2015). Using Effective Questions. Retrieved from http://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/engaging-students/using-effective-questions.html 

 

Dyer, J.E. (n.d.) Effective Questioning Techniques. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC08400.pdf 

 

Read/View: Tweak Your Teach: Dr. Tae's Building a New Culture of Teaching and Learning 

 

Read: Pursue Passion: Demand Google 20% Time at School

Go Get It!

This week, we were tasked with conducting a teaching lab with an interest approach which included an e-moment.

I chose to create an original lesson plan with an interest approach and e-moment for my introduction to agriculture class. The lesson will be conducted during my animal science unit where we will focus on lambs, hogs, and cattle.

My E-moment was entitled the Go Get It moment. This E-moment is a great way to get students up and moving. It can also be utilized at any point during a lesson when things seem dull.

I decided to try something that I had never seen before but thought was a creative and fun idea to get my students interested in the subject.

Some background:
I created this lesson to be during the middle of the week when I am teaching cattle. The beginning of the week would cover general cattle terminology and how to judge both beef cattle and dairy cattle. This topic was related to diseases in cattle, both dairy and beef. The lesson would begin with the interest approach and would lead into a group research project about one of the common cattle diseases.

Here are some gems and opps from my interest approach!

Gems: 
-The students seemed to love the e-moment and being able to get up and move around the room.

-I also feel as though I did a good job of connecting the content learned the day prior (cattle terminology) to the lesson for the day.

-I also liked how I had individual cards for each students so students were able to physically touch and see a different disease than their peers.

Opps:
-I am still struggling with finding the balance between having a loud "cheerleader" voice, and being enthusiastic yet quiet enough for my students to lean in and want to listen to what I have to say.

-I also recognized that the imaged that I had laid around the room for the students were small and difficult to see/read what the picture was portraying.

Weekly Investment #5

This week, in AEE 412, we will be exploring the following:

What structure do we need in our instruction? 

As well as applying instructional design techniques.

I could not think of a better time to address the topic of structural design as our first original lesson plan is due this week and we are reviewing our first unit plans.


Key Questions: 
1. Why are objectives important?
-Objectives, when used properly (using a verb and containing measurable components), give students the "road map" needed to see where the "destination" is for the end of the lesson. By creating objectives, and having them displayed for students; students are more likely to not "give up" due to the anxiety of wondering where they are going.

In my classroom at Boonsboro, I will emphasize the importance of having clear objectives by having the objectives either written on the board and/or on a power point presentation used during class. I will also verbally go over the objectives and ask for questions so that there is no confusion on where we are headed as a class and what I expect to cover throughout the class. 

Accepting opinions on the following idea:
The idea has run through my head of having a small sheet of paper for students with the objectives written on each day. This way, students are able to look back at the papers and recall what was taught that day and perhaps study better for an upcoming test or quiz. 

2. How does Bloom's Taxonomy impact instructional design?
- Bloom's Taxonomy impacts instructional design in a variety of ways. When creating objectives, we are able to utilize the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. Utilizing the Interactive Bloom's Taxonomy tool, educators are able to design objectives based upon the Bloom's level that they wish to address.

For example, in my Agricultural Science course, I am teaching a large animal science unit which will include both monogastric and ruminant animals. One objective that I could utilize would be to create a ruminant digestive system. Students would be challenged using the Synthesize level of Bloom's but also need to incorporate all of the levels leading up to the synthesizing, such as, listing the components of the ruminant digestive system, identifying the functions of each part of the ruminant digestive system and how they interact. 
-Side Note:
I have book marked this tool in my laptop to utilize while making lesson plans!

3. How can Group Teaching Techniques be effective?
- Group teaching techniques such as working in small groups will allow learners to develop multiple social skills that will create better members of society, whom, are able to cooperate with others both inside and outside of the classroom. Some of these skills include listening to others, taking turns, contributing ideas, explaining yourself clearly, and encouraging others. Along with social skills, there are also academic skills that can be gained. Johnson and Johnson  explained that “learning materials with the expectation that you will have to explain it to peers results in more frequent use of higher-level reasoning strategies than does learning material to pass a test. Orally explaining the material being studied results in higher achievement than does listening to the material being explained or reading it alone” (p. 1).  Group teaching also promotes controversy which allows students to thoroughly think through, and explain their reasoning for their beliefs.

In my classes at Boonsboro, I will be utilizing group teaching techniques during all of my classes. Due to the nature of agricultural education classes being mainly hands-on experiences, my students will be working in groups fairly regularly to complete projects and assignments. Students may also be asked to discuss the bell work and/or discussion questions prior to coming together and discussing them as a class. During my FFA/Leadership Unit, I may include a parliamentary procedure section which could include debate. 
-Side Note:
The cycle of effective instruction includes teamwork. 

We were required to look into various articles including the following: 

-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

- West Virginia University, (2010.). Bloom’s taxonomy. Retrieved from     http://community.wvu.edu/~lsmong/Articulate%20Blooms%20Wheel/blooms_wheel.html

- 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.

- Groseta, K.J. & Myers, B.E. (2006). Using cooperative learning in formal and nonformal education. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC06200.pdf

Teaching Lab #1: First Days!

This week in lab, we were challenged to create a lesson plan for, and present a first day lesson to our peers. Although we were to create an entire lesson plan, we were only asked to present a 10 minute section of our lesson. As I look ahead to my student teaching experience in Boonsboro, Maryland- I found this lab extremely helpful. Due to the nature of the Washington County Public Schools not beginning classes until after labor day, I truly will have a first day with my students. The first three weeks that I am at Boonsboro will be spent 1 week observing and 2 weeks finishing up a floral unit. However, shortly after those three weeks, I begin student teaching with a brand new set of students in both my Agricultural Science class and my Power Mechanics 1 class.

For this lesson, I chose to begin with my first day in Agricultural Science class.

When preparing for this lesson, we were not only asked to provide a lesson plan for the entire time that we would be teaching, which for me is 56 minutes; but we were also asked to formulate three classroom management posters entitled: Classroom Procedures, Expectations, and Consequences.

As these are just a first draft of my posters, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated! In the future I would like to make the posters more creative and engaging instead of merely words on a poster.

Classroom Procedures: 

• Obtain personal folder
• Complete bellwork 
• Turn in any homework assignments/late assignments via Turn-It-In Bin
• Complete ticket out (when asked)

Classroom Expectations:

• Be respectful 
• Use appropriate language
• Wait for Ms. Stauffer to dismiss you (not the bell)

Classroom Consequences:

• 1st Offense- Warning
• 2nd Offense- Detention with Ms. Stauffer
• 3rd Offense- Call Home/Parent-Teacher Conference
• 4th Offense- Office Referral

-Ms. Stauffer reserves the right to skip any of the above consequences and go directly to 4th offense.

Clarification: 

-The personal folders will be file folders with a tab that has each student's name on so that students can keep their bellwork books and name tags in one place. These folders will be kept in the classroom and available for students to grab on their way in every day. 

-The turn-it-in bin is a personal favorite of mine. I feel as though by having a bin for students to hand in work that they have missed or simply turning in homework; this eliminates wasted class time. However, I would still address if there were any questions regarding the homework. 

-The ticket out would be a check that I would do once a week for students to assess their learning and make sure that everyone is on the same page without asking students to speak in front of peers if they are embarrassed of not knowing or understanding a concept.

Reflecting on the first day of Agricultural Science class

Gems:                                                                                              Opps:

-The Snow Ball fight allowed the "rowdy"                              -I was struggling to find words

class to get up and moving. None of the                                    to use other than "we're going to 

students were out of hand when throwing                                 move on now, ok" when trying to gain

their snowballs.                                                                          students attention and get them back 

                                                                                                   on track.

-I was very pleased with having my

objectives written on the board                                                -I also caught myself merely telling

as well as verbally addressing them                                         students my classroom procedures,

working to incorporate all modalities!                                     expectations, and consequences when 

                                                                                                  I wanted to make it a class discussion.

-I was also pleased with having 

address all three modalities:                                                    -A peer also suggested that my bell 

kinesthetic, visual, and auditory.                                              work and ice breaker activities were

                                                                                                  similar and she had trouble determining

-I utilized the word "we" when giving                                     the difference between the two.       

directions; putting myself on the same 

level as my students.                                                                 -Although I did have the class title 

                                                                                                   on the board with the seating chart, 

-I (although unintentional),                                                        I also could have reiterated the class

left the door open slightly longer                                               while students were entering the room.

than usual to allow students who                                             

may have gotten stuck at their lockers

time to get to class. 

-I also mentioned that I 

would like to attend a basketball

game as one of my students

had mentioned that he was on the team; 

showing interest in my students 

outside of the classroom.

Overall, I was very happy with the flow of my lesson, I think that I was able to handle the class other than the phrasing when trying to gain students attention. There is always room for improvement, and I think that I have done a lot of reflecting with this first lab and will take everything that I've learned and try to improve with every teaching lab!