March Rolls In

And March has rolled on in. This has been an interesting week, as it seemed to really have its ups and downs throughout the week. Banquet planning, greenhouse/weather challenges, and a field trip all led to a busy week! Plus, a visit from my university supervisor, Mr. Frederick, was great! I also tried some new teaching techniques and projects this week; some were awesome, some were a wreck!

What worked this week?

Wednesday and Thursday- Animal Science: I set up 4 equine stations to quiz students on feeds, grooming tools, saddle parts, and bridle parts. The first day, we had a practice lab practical. The second day was the real deal! Results? Confident and successful students (and let me tell you, it wasn't an easy lab practical).

Tuesday and Wednesday- Food Science: We were out in the lab! Two hands-on labs that if I hadn't prepared the equipment ahead of time, they wouldn't have had time to complete the labs. Results? Happy students with their creative juices flowing.

Friday- Ag Program Field Trip to Berks County's Career Fair: Student were on their best behavior and it was just a ton of fun to get to know some of them so much better.

Ok, so what failed? 

Monday- Food Science: I began the proteins unit and assigned students to prepare an informal presentation about their assigned mini topic related to the functions of proteins in foods. Results? Many confused students and one super confused student teacher. I spent a lot of time that evening re-ordering the unit a bit to make it more logical... it's working.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday- Ag Environmental: They worked on a three-day land use group project. Results? While some enjoyed it and it challenged their math skills, I had struggled keeping everyone focused. Three days is too long. I will reformat it for the future.

Professional Development Note: As the thoughts of Spring are rolling in, I am mentally preparing myself for a VERY packed summer as an equestrian clinician, instructor, coach, and rider. Wow, this student teaching experience is really beginning to develop my teaching abilities and general confidence that is transferable to almost any type of context. In the formal school setting, I am experiencing SO MANY different types of learners and personalities. While I am continually challenged by this (my favorite part of this experience), I am truly developing a better understanding of how different people need different teaching techniques to succeed. While I have an unlimited amount to learn in this area, I thrilled to offer my equestrian students this summer with instruction based not only on horse experience, but a better understanding of the needs of different learners in any type of context.

Weekly Overview and Speaking CDE

Well we finally got a full week of school in this time! I added the Food Science class midway through the week; however, the highlight of this week was taking the students to the first round of the Speaking CDE event. Now, I'm starting to get it...why their are so many passionate agriculture teachers, because this feeling is just awesome! It is so wonderful seeing your students succeed, plus it was just great hanging out with them and joking around outside of the school setting. This is exactly what I needed during this time of student teaching.


MONDAY

Ansci- Great lesson on horse tack. I began by giving students all different types of tack, grooming tools, and other equipment. They then had to figure out in what order they would use everything to tack up a horse. Plus we identified each piece. It was a lot of fun.

Ag Enviro- Mr. Deysher came in to talk about the upcoming ag courses being offered next year and then we headed out to the lab to work with our acid rain plants and test the water for the trout. We came back into the classroom with just enough time to review Friday's materials.

TUESDAY

Ansci- We began talking about equine facilities and had the students draw their own facility. This is so awesome to see them using their creativity and getting really into the activity. Only having the last 10 minutes of class to work on this, I've decided to give them more time tomorrow (despite having different original plans).

Ag Enviro- Today we summed up our unit in preparation for the test Thursday. Here too I also had to decide to make more time and move the test Friday. I guess I will see if this extra time to review will help them!

WEDNESDAY

Ansci- Students enjoyed finishing their facilities drawings and then we held a discussion about equine diet. I need to get more people to volunteer

Food Sci- Introduction and classroom procedures...here we go Food Science!

Ag Enviro- Today, we finished up loose ends from the unit. I also tried something new to engage more students...Popsicle sticks with their names on it. It works! 

Today something really powerful happened... I've been spending hours editing speeches and practicing with students after school for the Speaking CDE, and today was the day for the students to compete! I was like a proud parent siting there as time keeper seeing so many Oley students not only participating, but excelling! For the first time, I also felt like I could have a really good time with all the students...not just being 'mean-rule-enforcer-Ms. Urban' that sometimes I feel I am, despite really wanting to loosen up the reins. It was a really exciting evening for all of us. :)

THURSDAY
  
Ansci- Nutrition and body Scoring! We did a lot in class with passing around and identifying different feeds (and beddings too).

Food Science- Students were making up tests for reviewing for NOCTI

Ag Enviro- Review game! I made up a game that if a team member answered a questions correctly, they got to try my challange: They had to get a partner, each holding a cone, pass the ball and catch it! It really was great fun :)

FRIDAY

Ansci- Routine care: We talked about the farrier, vet, and equine dentist, and Mike Rowe covered the rest (Dirty Jobs). It was hilarious.

Food Science- I did too much powerpointing here and I'm going to change that.

Ag Enviro- Test and then they read an article. Overall, I was happy with how most of the students did on the test.

2014 FFA Week

As FFA week came to a close, I left the school Friday with my very first FFA shirt proudly sporting the words "Oley Valley FFA" and the sense that the whole school district was reminded about the impacts and accomplishments this FFA Chapter has made on students and their community. After just a short three-day school week, this weekend will be a well-earned refresh time! The officers did an awesome job organizing a spirit week and free t-shirts for all the members to wear. Also, the chapter hung FFA logos all over the school with students' names on them which they could then turn in at lunch for free icecream....that of course went over super well!! The officers also attended the school board meeting to make announcements and hand school board members thank you baskets (filled with donated, local ag products). Finally, the week concluded with a well-attended teacher breakfast Friday morning, and I was thrilled to see a huge crew of FFA members there to help!

Here's how teaching went this week: 

Monday: No School for President's Day

Tuesday: Snow day

Wednesday:

An Sci- Today we review equine parts and then continued to learn about horse conformation. I had a short lecture and then had the students rotate through stations to identify the different conformation faults. It went super well!

Ag Enviro- I am beginning to talk about climate change, but first we are learning about the reasons for different climates around the world. As a class activity, we held the "climate Olympics" which students were put into groups (countries) and were assigned a topic to become experts on and teach their peers in some creative way. We ran out of class time but we will continue tomorrow with this activity. It is taking a whole period longer than I expected, but I like how it's going! Plus both classes are doing well with it!

Thursday:

An Sci- Today we presented the horse sports project and had some great discussions. Other than the initial struggles with iMovie, they turned out very well. We also had some great discussions...until the cockroach walked across the floor...

Ag Enviro- Continuation of Climate Olympics. We also used turn tables and expo markers to learn the Coriolis Effect. The first session loved this. The second session thought it was completely stupid...interesting.

Friday:

An Sci- Today we continued presenting our horse sport projects. I had the students pick their own partners for this project. While this is risky, it worked really well for this class! I also talked about my summer living in Belgium riding for Karen Donckers as she prepared for the London 2012 Olympics. Story time!

Ag Enviro- Today we talked about El Nino. My interest approach involved a student volunteer comparing hot and cold water in two mugs and talking about evaporation. We also had a great discussion about how this effected the US corn prices in 2011 and 2012. It was great! Although my powerpoint was terribly confusing for them, so I completely changed it for the second session and it was much better.

Week 5 Overview

PA's Horse Racing Industry is HUGE!

What a crazy winter this has been! It was a three day teaching week, with one day even having a two-hour delay. This type of weather has made it difficult for all teachers, but I am especially challenged with connecting concepts with students with all these gap days and shortened periods, as well as general planning difficulties. That was one of my biggest challenges in general this week: planning appropriately! I have soooo much planned everyday and for the week and then I feel like we are moving so slow, although I do know that it is better to have fuller student understanding than cover a broader range of topics.

MONDAY:

• ·         AnSci- Work day for their Horse Sport Projects. They are working in pairs to create an iMovie of the horse sport of their choice. The students did make progress, but I was not able to answer all of their technical problems. I was very frustrated with this as the instructor and spent time afterwards throughout the day seeking help of other faculty in the school to REALLY figure these iMovie questions out.
• 
  
• ·         Ag Enviro- Work day for their Air Pollution Projects. They each chose an air pollutant source and made a powerpoint on their topic. This went great! I was really happy with what they turned in. I also loved using Edmodo to assign the project and digitally ‘collect’ their assignment.

TUESDAY:

• ·         AnSci- We continued with the overview of equine industry and how it connects to agriculture. We also spent a lot of time learning about PA’s horse racing industry.
• 
  
• ·         Ag Enviro- We went out to the lab to set up and begin our acid rain lab that we will be observing for the next two weeks. I divided the class into assigned four groups. There were four plants, each receiving watering with a different pH. Students were to design a chart to test the pH of the liquid for each plant, take plant observations, and make a hypothesis of what will happen to each plant. Each group rotated through the four plants. For the first period, it was great! The second session had some dishonesty with groups, as I found too many friends working with friends. I had to address this issue.

WEDNESDAY:

• ·         AnSci- What a great class session!! We were learning horse parts, and with this very quite class, I was able to get them awake and having a ton of fun! It was a very interactive class and I even had them sit on top of their desks. This idea literally blew their mind, but it was perfect for the activity.
• 
  
• ·         Ag Enviro- This was a catch up day to finish off air pollution. I used a lot of short YouTube clips which kept them engaged and stirred up some good discussion afterwards. Also I gave them a practice quiz that they were not too fond of, but I think it was good for them to check their understanding. I struggle with handling a lot of off-topic questions in my second session class. I’m still trying to figure out how to handle this. 

Record Book Contest: Professional Development Opportunity

High concentration zone!

The Thursday school dismissal bell rang and a 'record book grading army' across the state of Pennsylvania was doing their last checks on substitute plans for Friday before they headed to State College for the Record Book Contest. Being new to this scene, I was impressed by the organization system and the crowd of helpful people. It was a great opportunity to talk to teachers across the state and also get a better understanding of the benefits of record books for the students. I was also impressed by the financial support of the event by the Center (even great food!)....how cool.

My 'take-aways' from the event: 

• I really like hearing different opinions about the two record book systems. I plan to use the AET system in the future. It seems more straightforward once it is understood, and it has so many extra benefits. I love that it is so easy for students to update it from anywhere...making it easier for them to actually keep them updated! 
• I like the idea of having ALL students keep a record book on something. Of course we want to encourage them to achieve high, but even if they can't think of ANYTHING, they can even take records on their sports activities or even their video game hobby. No excuses! They will probably find out that it would be more exciting to get more creative with their record book topic. 
• Wow, ag teachers have great stories!! The story-telling times were awesome :) 

Week 3: Getting Into the Groove of Things

And so completes Week #3 at Oley Valley, and everything is on the up curve. I really believe this was a perfect choice for a cooperating center and am so appreciative of all the support I am getting! Also, the students are great overall. 

Monday: Snow Day
Tuesday: 2-hour Delay

Animal Science

• Began teaching Animal Science with the Equine Unit
• Because of the shortened periods, this period consisted of my introduction activity and an overview of my classroom procedures, expectations, and consequences. For the introduction activity, I had them draw three things that describe them. Even though the class was older, they really enjoyed this activity. Plus I got to know each one a little better.

Ag Environmental 

• I continued with the health effects of air pollution and also began talking about indoor air pollution. 
• I also did an activity with the two periods: in the first period, it was a success; in the second period, it was a huge classroom management failure! I had the students walk around the ag facility and observe and take notes with their group about different ventilation and equipment to handle indoor air pollution in the labs. For the first class, it led to great discussion; however, the 2nd period is much larger and has many socialites in it. Unfortunately, 2nd period was completely confused and distracted. I need to make sure my directions are completely clear and also lay out clear expectations. 

Wednesday: Snow Day
Thursday: Best Student Teaching Day So Far! 

Today was the day that things really started to click! What a great feeling! I have so much to improve on, and I was getting really frustrated, but today things started flowing. I introduced my equine science unit to the Animal Science class, my favorite topic area, and began with a great interest approach by showing them my polocrosse racket and talking about the sport. I had their attention for the rest of the class!
Today in Ag Environmental, we finished talking about air pollution, but I started the lesson off with snow! How do snow and air pollution relate. Also, this interest approach really did its job :) Good interest approaches ARE important!

Friday: Professional Development --> Record Book Contest

Today, I both my class working on their projects: air pollution powerpoint project and equine sport iMovie.
(More on this day in the next blog post!)