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.
Friday, January 16, 2015
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.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Life Knowledge Lesson
For the Life Knowledge Lesson for lab I went to my cooperating school and decided to do a lesson on trust. I was excited to finally do a lesson where I will be student teaching and get to get even more involved with the students. I was lucky enough to teach the third period class who were all upper classroom and could have given me a run for my money.
Teaching this class was fun and exciting and went better than expected. With focusing on trust we did a blind obstacle course, a counting game, and the telephone game. I was surprised to see them most engaged in the counting game. Which is where they need to see how high they can count with having their eyes closed and no two people speak at the same time.
Teaching a life knowledge lesson for one was hard to pick. Secondly it felt awkward cause I feel like I was scripted which made me feel I was reading from a paper which I hate. Even though I was familiar with the lesson I just felt I had to keep checking to make sure I did not say something wrong.
One obstacle while being there was a student who had a physical disability being she was so small. She had a stool for her feet once in a chair. I did not expect this and did not plan for it so I had to adjust and make sure I also did what was best for her.
Teaching this class was fun and exciting and went better than expected. With focusing on trust we did a blind obstacle course, a counting game, and the telephone game. I was surprised to see them most engaged in the counting game. Which is where they need to see how high they can count with having their eyes closed and no two people speak at the same time.
Teaching a life knowledge lesson for one was hard to pick. Secondly it felt awkward cause I feel like I was scripted which made me feel I was reading from a paper which I hate. Even though I was familiar with the lesson I just felt I had to keep checking to make sure I did not say something wrong.
One obstacle while being there was a student who had a physical disability being she was so small. She had a stool for her feet once in a chair. I did not expect this and did not plan for it so I had to adjust and make sure I also did what was best for her.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Final reflection
Wow! It is hard to believe this semester had come to an end already and we officially finished up our labs this morning. For me personally lab was up and down with skills and emotions.
This lab experience was positive and negative. On the positive side it helped with nerves and getting in front of people and being the main focal point. On the negative side it was "awkward" teaching in front of your peers was weird and sometimes what you had planned went fast due to them knowing the content already. A positive aspect to the teaching was the actual classroom with real students. That is when it felt right.
Personally and professionally I grew a lot. I grew in ways such as creativeness, enthusiasm, and better clarity. Not saying I am perfect because I am far from it. I feel as a professional I have learned and worked on classroom management skills that I did not know I needed or had.
I feel that I have become a more reflective teacher even though expressing my thoughts has not been the easiest. I feel I actually take the time to step back and think about what has happened and gone on compared to just chugging ahead and not looking back. Incorporating reflection into my preparation, teaching, and learning will make me a better educator because I will be able to look back and use my weaknesses or strength to help me better myself and know what to work on rather than have no idea.
Overall the expectations were pretty clear. There was just a lot to keep track of and when having to post or comment on so many blogs it was hard keeping track of who you did and did not do because a lot were not uploaded to COP. Another thing that could have helped was a class by itself dedicated to lesson planning, unit plans, and related item. Starting the year I felt so behind on them and it was hard to learn the way as we needed them due.
It was a good experience though and I am glad I had the opportunity for these real life interactions instead of just being thrown into the classroom.
This lab experience was positive and negative. On the positive side it helped with nerves and getting in front of people and being the main focal point. On the negative side it was "awkward" teaching in front of your peers was weird and sometimes what you had planned went fast due to them knowing the content already. A positive aspect to the teaching was the actual classroom with real students. That is when it felt right.
Personally and professionally I grew a lot. I grew in ways such as creativeness, enthusiasm, and better clarity. Not saying I am perfect because I am far from it. I feel as a professional I have learned and worked on classroom management skills that I did not know I needed or had.
I feel that I have become a more reflective teacher even though expressing my thoughts has not been the easiest. I feel I actually take the time to step back and think about what has happened and gone on compared to just chugging ahead and not looking back. Incorporating reflection into my preparation, teaching, and learning will make me a better educator because I will be able to look back and use my weaknesses or strength to help me better myself and know what to work on rather than have no idea.
Overall the expectations were pretty clear. There was just a lot to keep track of and when having to post or comment on so many blogs it was hard keeping track of who you did and did not do because a lot were not uploaded to COP. Another thing that could have helped was a class by itself dedicated to lesson planning, unit plans, and related item. Starting the year I felt so behind on them and it was hard to learn the way as we needed them due.
It was a good experience though and I am glad I had the opportunity for these real life interactions instead of just being thrown into the classroom.
How to get creative!
As a broke college student or an ag teacher we learn to use our resources well. For lab today we went to the dollar tree to think creatively on a small budget of $5.00. How is this possible???
Walking through the dollar tree ideas just start popping in your head. Who knew you could do so much from a store like that. If it was not for the budget I could have probably bought the whole store to put into my lessons in one way or another.
As ag teachers, often times they buy items for lessons from their pockets filled with well not a lot. So being able to physically and visually see what you can do on such a small budget was useful. Knowing the feeling of being broke but wanting to make everything the best it can be is hard when you have obstacles in your way.
With that said I was able to put 5 items to go with a couple lessons and it will either help enhance the lesson or at least gain a few laughs to brighten the mood.
Walking through the dollar tree ideas just start popping in your head. Who knew you could do so much from a store like that. If it was not for the budget I could have probably bought the whole store to put into my lessons in one way or another.
As ag teachers, often times they buy items for lessons from their pockets filled with well not a lot. So being able to physically and visually see what you can do on such a small budget was useful. Knowing the feeling of being broke but wanting to make everything the best it can be is hard when you have obstacles in your way.
With that said I was able to put 5 items to go with a couple lessons and it will either help enhance the lesson or at least gain a few laughs to brighten the mood.
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| Sometimes you need to let loose and live a little! |
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Classroom Management
Have you ever wondered why when you walk by one classroom and it looks like the students have gone crazy and the next they are perfect little angels? I sometimes thought it was because the teacher was horrible or the students were just plain bad behaved. However, I have come to learn that it could be a little bit of both but more so it has to deal with the atmosphere of the classroom.
In order for this classroom atmosphere to read controlled and behaved the teacher must portray this to the students. This task must be done on the first day and must stick. Some general things to remember when developing your classroom management are:
~ Be firm; you can always get softer
~ Have a routine and let the students know the routine
~ Do not have favorite; no student wants to be in a class where they feel the student does not like them
~ Learn to forgive and forget
~ Set a good example
Following these simple guidelines can help you create the classroom atmosphere you desire. These are just a few examples with many more out there to use.
Having a good classroom management technique can help you be a better teacher or one that the students actually listen to because they respect you. Having that relationship with your students will go along ways when you have them for a few months or even a couple years.
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In order for this classroom atmosphere to read controlled and behaved the teacher must portray this to the students. This task must be done on the first day and must stick. Some general things to remember when developing your classroom management are:
~ Be firm; you can always get softer
~ Have a routine and let the students know the routine
~ Do not have favorite; no student wants to be in a class where they feel the student does not like them
~ Learn to forgive and forget
~ Set a good example
Following these simple guidelines can help you create the classroom atmosphere you desire. These are just a few examples with many more out there to use.
Having a good classroom management technique can help you be a better teacher or one that the students actually listen to because they respect you. Having that relationship with your students will go along ways when you have them for a few months or even a couple years.
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