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.