Student Teaching Week 6

FFA Week Celebrations!

I don't think any week in agricultural education is ever the same!! The unexpected events just keep rolling right in.  The highlight of my week is celebrating National FFA Week!!

 

It's been a fun-filled week full of activity. From banners and decorations, to faculty appreciation breakfast, to scavenger hunts, elementary school visits, nursing home help, and more.  

Additionally, There has been lots of fun in my classes.  We had a great time capturing what we learned about appropriate technology specifically related to biodigestors.

  

The students are pretty excited about learning what's going on in Belize.  We've made a bulletin board that will record what is happening in Mopan Technical High School.  

My animal & veterinary science students finally finished up their dairy foods unit with an exam and will begin learning about dairy management.  

Next week will be the wrap-up of all the classes I've been teaching as my time at Penns Manor comes to a close.  

Reflection

I really feel like there is a huge improvement in my structure in my classes.  While I'm still not perfect, as I become more comfortable in the flow of the classes, I remember to cover the objectives, I am ending class at an appropriate time etc.  These things that I plan for but generally forgot to do are becoming much more natural to incorporate.  It makes me feel better about my teaching.

Supervised Agricultural Visit

Entrepreneurial SAE - Equine Production

Ah man!! It's so exciting to see students who are out there challenging themselves to work on projects.  My students are blowing me away with how dedicated they are to their SAE's.

This week I had the great opportunity to visit with one of my students who is working with horses. They show all over the country!! What a great opportunity.

                                                   

                            

 

It was a great visit.  I got to see a great example of parent, student and teacher relationships.  This visit in particular was just to check in on the student and to make sure he was keeping up with his project.  It was exciting to see clear enthusiasm about the horses.

I'll certainly be rooting for him as he continues to compete throughout the year!

Student teaching Week 5

They Love Me!!

What an incredible week!!! Many people say that the first three weeks are the "honeymoon period".  Guess what, I feel like the honeymoon period of my student teaching experience is just beginning.  After four rather chaotic weeks of school cancellations, snow days, noon dismissals, crazy schedules etc.  my students have finally been around me enough that they openly claim "SHE'S AWESOME!".  

This week has made me feel good to be a teacher.  My students are finally beginning to catch onto my style of teaching and are coming to class more energetic than the first day I walked in.  It's certainly encouraging.  

What Happened this Week.

So many awesome adventures happened this week.  Here's a quick list:

~ Appropriate Technology  by Dr. Dennis Buffington (Guest Speaker) 

~ How a Biodigestor Works by Brookside Dairy (Field Trip)

~ Introduction to Mopan Technical High School

~ Making feta cheese from start to finish! 

~ Making yogurt from raw milk

~ Filling a greenhouse with over 200 plants!  (And that's just the beginning)

~ Pesticide Toxicity & Health

~ Wiring complex systems 

~ Assembling a small gas engine.

Please enjoy a few pictures from this week.  :D

Planting in the Greenhouse

                                     

                                               Filling the Pots with Soil

                         

                   

Making Cheese

And we wait...

Dr. Buffington

Can you tell this has been awesome!?!

Reflection:
I was very pleased with my teaching this week.  I was challenged in multiple ways but nothing that I wasn't able to overcome.  There were several proud moments that I had this week.  As an example proud moment, I had one student who was being particularly difficult by acting rude, smart, leading the others on, egging the other students, trying to be a class clown but was unsuccessful etc.  Well, I was able to turn this students goofiness into a really cool interest approach for pesticide toxicity & health.

We sticky noted him with all the pesticide poisoning symptoms where we would find it on the body.
Oh it was great!! I no longer have problems with him in my classes.  But he does volunteer quite frequently now.

As I think through the lessons that I taught this week, I am pretty excited to see some of my lessons becoming more inquiry and requiring my students to think through all of the content.  It's been a struggle but it's working.  I certainly am excited to see the strategies working.

What's in it for next week?
Introduction to Agriculture
~ The Design of a biodigestor
~ Creating a profile on Mopan Technical

Animal & Veterinary Science
~ Dairy Foods Unit Exam...Duh, Duh, Duh (did they learn the material?)
~ Dairy Feeds
~ Dairy Management
~ Dairy Health

Power Systems/Power Technology
~  Continuing to rebuild engines and wiring electrical systems

Plant and Soil Science
~ Pesticide Safety

FFA WEEK!!!!!!!
My students are super duper excited to rev up some energy for promoting the FFA!!  Oh there is so much in store!  I'm looking forward to it.