This was the week that I would finally be front and center in the classroom teaching students. Starting out teaching the Case AFNR Introduction to Agricultural Science I was a nice transition to say. Even though it is a set curricuum does not mean you have to follow every little word or detail and that you cannot add your own ideas or activities.
To start the class off I did a bubble gum lab that made them come up with a hypothesis and procedure so each group was a little different. This lab took less time than expected but instead of having homework they were able to do it in class and get it done.
For the first week I have stayed for the most part with the lessons adding a little extension or activity change here and there. That was all true till Friday hit. I thought to myself why do these skimpy lessons on FFA if every student in here is a member. Being this class is a prerequisite for the other ag classes I felt they needed know more about the FFA than the lessons were calling for.
With that said I completely through out the first lesson and made up an FFA history lesson that includes a short video, research, timeline making, gallery walk, and a story along with a homework assignment. The only thing against me was time. Due to GrAde testing my block was switched with third and shortened to 58 minutes.
As for next week I will be finsihing up FFA, doing a CDE contest day, blood drive, and start talking about ag careers with the intro class. Tentatively if all works out I will be picking up the honors mechanics class as of Wednesday with SAE which will cover navigating AET and getting them all set up on their for their SAE project for the semester.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
Flexibility of Teaching
What does it mean to be flexible? Can I reach my toes? Can I do a split? The answer to both of those is a huge No but one thing I have to learn to be flexible at is teaching. You learn that everyday is not the same and why would you want it to be.
Since I have started at Manheim Central I have yet to have a "normal" bell schedule so I could not even tell you what that looks like. Between Keystone testing, 2-hour delays, early dismissal, field trips, and final exams the days have been far from normal. The day that really made you be flexible was the early dismissal because of being a final exam day first there testing time had to be cut short which than for us made us have to be on the ball grading since we were grading projects.
This week I worked on getting everything ready for my first class Monday with Case AFNR Agricultural Science I. This involved making a thousand copies, planning my week out, creating hopefully an awesome lab that came from the minds of two individuals, and of course decorating my room. My one wall in my room is a bulletin board so I have decided to do word walls with every unit to help visual the key terms they are expected to know. My main color of course is lime green.
As for next week I will be teaching my first class. I have all lessons ready except the Friday one with FFA History which is in the works now. I really want to work on my reflection towards the Case curriculum which will be assisted with a reflection paper of questions that I have downloaded. I will also be preparing for my first week of mechanics that will start with SAE/Record Keeping.
Friday, January 16, 2015
The First Week
You know you were in school and it was always the first day of school, well that is kind of how I felt Monday walking into my cooperating school. However, that difference between student and teacher hit me when walking through the front doors to the office and I hear hi Miss. Keller. It was a feeling that first off a student remembered me form interacting with them previously and made me feel like I had more authority.
Mid-Winter convention was a mess. Due to the two hour delay the principal cancelled the trip for the students but never cancelled the substitute teacher so Mrs. Anderson and I went to support the three students receiving their Keystone Degrees and one student who received State Star in Ag Placement. However, since the trip was cancelled for Monday we were able to reschedule it for Thursday so I still got the opportunity to see and help with the procedures of taking students on a trip.
I was able to get almost everything laid out for the student teaching and get started on assignments. I observed teachers and helped proctor keystone exams so this week has been a little chaotic. As for next week it is review and final exams and an in-service day with Monday and Friday off. I plan to keep chugging away on assignments and start preparing for my first day teaching Case AFNR. I will also be attending the young farmers meeting Monday and the FFA meeting Tuesday evening. SAE evaluation is part of the final for a class so I will be helping evaluate those.
Aside from teaching i have been given the obstacle of my car officially dying with blown pistons and valves and too much to fix. I had to clean out my car for the last time and say goodbye. So that has been an issue figuring out what car I will use to get back and forth but thankfully I have a great family support system here and I have had a vehicle to drive everyday and will until I get a car to get through till May.
Mid-Winter convention was a mess. Due to the two hour delay the principal cancelled the trip for the students but never cancelled the substitute teacher so Mrs. Anderson and I went to support the three students receiving their Keystone Degrees and one student who received State Star in Ag Placement. However, since the trip was cancelled for Monday we were able to reschedule it for Thursday so I still got the opportunity to see and help with the procedures of taking students on a trip.
I was able to get almost everything laid out for the student teaching and get started on assignments. I observed teachers and helped proctor keystone exams so this week has been a little chaotic. As for next week it is review and final exams and an in-service day with Monday and Friday off. I plan to keep chugging away on assignments and start preparing for my first day teaching Case AFNR. I will also be attending the young farmers meeting Monday and the FFA meeting Tuesday evening. SAE evaluation is part of the final for a class so I will be helping evaluate those.
Aside from teaching i have been given the obstacle of my car officially dying with blown pistons and valves and too much to fix. I had to clean out my car for the last time and say goodbye. So that has been an issue figuring out what car I will use to get back and forth but thankfully I have a great family support system here and I have had a vehicle to drive everyday and will until I get a car to get through till May.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Science Observation
Yesterday I observed a science teacher, Mrs. Hunt, who teaches ninth grade physical science to level one and level two students. She was teaching an acid and base lab that dealt with seeing the reactions between these. Some of these lab stations dealt with ph, red cabbage, electricity, and much more.
At Manheim Central their objectives are in the form of essential questions so for this day there objectives were: 1. What properties define an acid and a base?, 2. Why is water a polar molecule?, 3. How does the polarity of water lead to its unique properties?, and 4. How is a solution formed and what factors affect the rate of formation.
In my opinion the students were interested and yet not at the same time. It depended on the student. The students who went through and did the hands on lab were very interested and you could tell because you could hear the "ooooo" factor and see the expression on their faces. However, with every lab there is an alternative assignment called a wed book quest which is where they have to research everything they should have figured out doing the lab.
The teaching method that Mrs. Hunt started with was demonstrations to make sure the students knew the proper way to go through the stations. The next teaching method was group work because they worked in groups at each station and went through the steps that were laid out on paper in front of them. They had to record all their findings in their lab packets.
The teacher was facilitating the learning. When students had questions she would answer with questions to help them answer it themselves. The only time she gave away the learning was when she went over the red cabbage station because the class before contaminated one of the chemicals so the results would not come out how they should.
The teacher was very enthusiastic. You could tell she loves her job and loves working with students. You could see this through the way she presented materials and especially important concepts cause she would get excited and her voice would change. She was very clear and direct about safety and procedures and you saw this because she kept repeating it the whole way through class.
Mrs. Hunt did a great job working with her students and to the point that I wished I had her for a teacher in high school because I was interested and that is hard to do. She had the respect from her students and they were comfortable with answering and asking questions.
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At Manheim Central their objectives are in the form of essential questions so for this day there objectives were: 1. What properties define an acid and a base?, 2. Why is water a polar molecule?, 3. How does the polarity of water lead to its unique properties?, and 4. How is a solution formed and what factors affect the rate of formation.
In my opinion the students were interested and yet not at the same time. It depended on the student. The students who went through and did the hands on lab were very interested and you could tell because you could hear the "ooooo" factor and see the expression on their faces. However, with every lab there is an alternative assignment called a wed book quest which is where they have to research everything they should have figured out doing the lab.
The teaching method that Mrs. Hunt started with was demonstrations to make sure the students knew the proper way to go through the stations. The next teaching method was group work because they worked in groups at each station and went through the steps that were laid out on paper in front of them. They had to record all their findings in their lab packets.
The teacher was facilitating the learning. When students had questions she would answer with questions to help them answer it themselves. The only time she gave away the learning was when she went over the red cabbage station because the class before contaminated one of the chemicals so the results would not come out how they should.
The teacher was very enthusiastic. You could tell she loves her job and loves working with students. You could see this through the way she presented materials and especially important concepts cause she would get excited and her voice would change. She was very clear and direct about safety and procedures and you saw this because she kept repeating it the whole way through class.
Mrs. Hunt did a great job working with her students and to the point that I wished I had her for a teacher in high school because I was interested and that is hard to do. She had the respect from her students and they were comfortable with answering and asking questions.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Pennsylvania Farm Show
In all the years I have attended the Pennsylvania Farm Show I have had multiple animals of different species tagging along. This year was my year being their as a student teacher. Although the trip did not go as planned due to a two hour delay there was a lot of good from it.
With the two hour delay the trip was cancelled but yet no substitute teachers were cancelled so my cooperating teacher and I headed up to the Farm Show still to support the three keystone degree recipients and wait to see who won Star in Ag Placement.
Since the students were still in school Mrs. Anderson made sure to go over with me what would have happened with the students with us and how the day would have played out compared to how it did. We talked about phone policies while attending mid winter convention and checking in with students.
While watching mid winter convention one thing that struck me that I never thought of before was why do they award people for having large families? With the honorary keystone degree the parents have to have three children who have received the award. Why is this? Why do they not award families with 100% of their children receiving this outstanding degree.
Overall the experience was great and put me into a mind set of a teacher compared to a showman like I have been for the past ten years. It was also a great feeling seeing Manheim Central take first in the state with Ag Placement.
With the two hour delay the trip was cancelled but yet no substitute teachers were cancelled so my cooperating teacher and I headed up to the Farm Show still to support the three keystone degree recipients and wait to see who won Star in Ag Placement.
Since the students were still in school Mrs. Anderson made sure to go over with me what would have happened with the students with us and how the day would have played out compared to how it did. We talked about phone policies while attending mid winter convention and checking in with students.
While watching mid winter convention one thing that struck me that I never thought of before was why do they award people for having large families? With the honorary keystone degree the parents have to have three children who have received the award. Why is this? Why do they not award families with 100% of their children receiving this outstanding degree.
Overall the experience was great and put me into a mind set of a teacher compared to a showman like I have been for the past ten years. It was also a great feeling seeing Manheim Central take first in the state with Ag Placement.
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