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