Thanks to in-service and a snow day I had a three day week. Once again I found myself editing and shortening the materials I wanted to cover. I have spent a ton of time sifting through my materials distinguishing between the nice to know and the need to know.
Wednesday & Thursday- I decided that reading bottle labels and determining dosage was need to know. I put the students into groups and had them work as a team to read a label and answer several questions about the medication. I had the students create a presentation of Google drive. They shared their presentation with me, they had 10 minutes to finish their presentations at the beginning of the day Thursday. Once the groups had finished, I projected their presentation and had each group share their findings with the class. I created this activity as an extended version of the "Little Professor E-Moment". Overall I thought it went really well, however I wish I could have got the students more excited about the information and that they showed more enthusiasm. However, with that said the students did an excellent job had several positive things to say about the experience. Additionally, I was really excited to read their questions on the ticket out. This type of assignment got them to think about things a differently and they had some really great questions.
Friday- I always like to do some kind of hands on activity on Fridays. Thus, to complete our health and vaccine unit I did an injections lab. I brought in chicken wings with the skin on. I demonstrated safety and then did a demonstration on sub-q injections. I had each student give the injections one at a time as I walked around the classroom. Thus, the students received one on one instruction and safety was fully controlled. The students loved this activity and they expressed how much they learned by actually doing it. I showed a video at the beginning of the class but several students told me how the video really didn't ease their fear however my demonstration and individual step-by-step guidance made them feel confident. The students expressed how at first they were scared and really didn't know if they wanted to try it, but since I had each student do it one at a time while I watched they felt safe and confident to attempt it. After the class the students said that they felt that they could give a live animal a shot. However, they also expressed that they would have been afraid give a live animal a shot before this lab. Things I could potentially change is to bring in more help. I could contact the school nurse and maybe a vet to come into class and help the students perform the activity. I think I could also potentially find a way to keep the students more engaged while I am providing the one on one instruction.
Friday, February 21, 2014
The "twisty" road to Derry HS
After crossing every hill and mountain imaginable I made it to Derry HS just as Jessie was starting her first class.
Derry HS has absolutely amazing facilities! I was in total envy of the shear amount of space they had let alone the amount of hands on lab areas! Several things make this facility jump out, first the fact that the Ag department has its own building and they pay 2 secretaries to assist Mr.Campbell.
I honestly do not know how I would manage that many facilities, teach and still find time for FFA and SAE visits. I enjoyed getting to to see Jessie and to see where she is teaching.
I will say however, that despite the incredible opportunities that Derry has I know that I am much happier with my own placement. I think its awesome how we can both be in western Pennsylvania and have completely different programs.
My major comment/ opinion Derry needs a second and probably a third teacher just to fully utilize their facilities! The educational opportunities are incredible and the potential exponential!
Derry HS has absolutely amazing facilities! I was in total envy of the shear amount of space they had let alone the amount of hands on lab areas! Several things make this facility jump out, first the fact that the Ag department has its own building and they pay 2 secretaries to assist Mr.Campbell.
I honestly do not know how I would manage that many facilities, teach and still find time for FFA and SAE visits. I enjoyed getting to to see Jessie and to see where she is teaching.
I will say however, that despite the incredible opportunities that Derry has I know that I am much happier with my own placement. I think its awesome how we can both be in western Pennsylvania and have completely different programs.
My major comment/ opinion Derry needs a second and probably a third teacher just to fully utilize their facilities! The educational opportunities are incredible and the potential exponential!
Friday, February 14, 2014
Week 4- "The Juggling Act"
Well this week was hectic to say the least!
My weekend was not a recuperation since we were at ACES, however it was fun.
On Monday my animal science II class was making feeds! The students worked throughout last week developing rations and learning how the different feed-stuffs worked together.
This activity was a lot of fun and the students really enjoyed it HOWEVER, it took a ton of time to plan and gather all the supplies. Additionally, it wasn't cheap the up side to that is that I am going to be able to use the feeds and extra's at home. I did learn that this is an activity that I would definitely do again, but I would put it into the budget!
Additionally from a teaching stand point, there were several things that the students took away from this activity that added to the learning. My favorite part of this was however, that 100% of the students were actively participating and working independently!!
Tuesday brought an end to the nutrition part of the small ruminants unit. I started this day with Dr. Foster's good and bad cookies. The students had questioned the need to have exact measurements and know the feed components. The cookies really drove home the idea that both things are important, however I don't think my students trust me as much now! This day is probably one of my most frustrating. I developed a quiz that I believe was extremely simple. The students were told for at least a week that they would be required to identify the various feed-stuffs on the quiz and they were given time to study them. Before the quiz I did an around the world review, I posted the quiz questions on paper and had them answer the questions with markers. We went over the answers and then they took the quiz. I was upset that the average was a 75% when I literally gave them the answers minutes before they took it. Well that is my major vent for the week!
Wednesday we discussed sheep and goat management and production. I brought in a large tote bag filled with supplies for lambing, breeding and management. We did a few slides with some basics about sheep and then I pulled out my bag of goodies. The students gathered around me and were really excited to see what I was going to pull out next. I never thought a simple "bag of goodies" could get their attention so well. Mr. Wallace is on vacation and I asked him if I could start a unit on soldering with his building construction classes. Walking into that class without him being there was interesting. The students were not anticipating me teaching them but were very receptive to me (it was me or worksheets...).
Finally came Thursday, I have been dying to get to bring in animals. I brought in 2 ewes and their lambs. Wednesdays lesson included the topics of tagging, docking, castration, and vaccinations. Thus, instead of just showing a video I decided to do demonstrations using "real" sheep. The students loved it, I found it very interesting that the students were focused on what I was doing and not distracted by the fact there were animals in the ag shop. The students loved it and I really feel that they learned a lot from it too. The major thing I learned was that I need to talk less, because between talking over the sheep and ventilation system I lost my voice in the middle of the day. This led me to alter the order of my lesson plan for the buildings class. I was planning to do a demonstration at the beginning of the class. Due to my voice I had them cut all their pipe first and then I did the demo. This worked really well, what I learned was that I need to talk less and make students talk or work instead.
My weekend was not a recuperation since we were at ACES, however it was fun.
On Monday my animal science II class was making feeds! The students worked throughout last week developing rations and learning how the different feed-stuffs worked together.
This activity was a lot of fun and the students really enjoyed it HOWEVER, it took a ton of time to plan and gather all the supplies. Additionally, it wasn't cheap the up side to that is that I am going to be able to use the feeds and extra's at home. I did learn that this is an activity that I would definitely do again, but I would put it into the budget!
Additionally from a teaching stand point, there were several things that the students took away from this activity that added to the learning. My favorite part of this was however, that 100% of the students were actively participating and working independently!!
Tuesday brought an end to the nutrition part of the small ruminants unit. I started this day with Dr. Foster's good and bad cookies. The students had questioned the need to have exact measurements and know the feed components. The cookies really drove home the idea that both things are important, however I don't think my students trust me as much now! This day is probably one of my most frustrating. I developed a quiz that I believe was extremely simple. The students were told for at least a week that they would be required to identify the various feed-stuffs on the quiz and they were given time to study them. Before the quiz I did an around the world review, I posted the quiz questions on paper and had them answer the questions with markers. We went over the answers and then they took the quiz. I was upset that the average was a 75% when I literally gave them the answers minutes before they took it. Well that is my major vent for the week!
Wednesday we discussed sheep and goat management and production. I brought in a large tote bag filled with supplies for lambing, breeding and management. We did a few slides with some basics about sheep and then I pulled out my bag of goodies. The students gathered around me and were really excited to see what I was going to pull out next. I never thought a simple "bag of goodies" could get their attention so well. Mr. Wallace is on vacation and I asked him if I could start a unit on soldering with his building construction classes. Walking into that class without him being there was interesting. The students were not anticipating me teaching them but were very receptive to me (it was me or worksheets...).
Finally came Thursday, I have been dying to get to bring in animals. I brought in 2 ewes and their lambs. Wednesdays lesson included the topics of tagging, docking, castration, and vaccinations. Thus, instead of just showing a video I decided to do demonstrations using "real" sheep. The students loved it, I found it very interesting that the students were focused on what I was doing and not distracted by the fact there were animals in the ag shop. The students loved it and I really feel that they learned a lot from it too. The major thing I learned was that I need to talk less, because between talking over the sheep and ventilation system I lost my voice in the middle of the day. This led me to alter the order of my lesson plan for the buildings class. I was planning to do a demonstration at the beginning of the class. Due to my voice I had them cut all their pipe first and then I did the demo. This worked really well, what I learned was that I need to talk less and make students talk or work instead.
Monday, February 10, 2014
CPPD- Professional Development
Professional Development while at ACES!!
AET- Online Record Books
I really enjoyed the presentation on using AET, however thanks to AEE 311 I understand them pretty good. I know that I understand them better now because during the presentation I was able to show Mr. Wallace the things he was talking about. Mr. Wallace was at Penn State for the record book contest and is really excited about using the AET system and the possibilities it holds.
I was definitely resistant to learning how to use the new AET system since I feel comfortable with the Pa record books. However, the AET system is much more user friendly and has so many advantages to the students.
AET- Online Record Books
I really enjoyed the presentation on using AET, however thanks to AEE 311 I understand them pretty good. I know that I understand them better now because during the presentation I was able to show Mr. Wallace the things he was talking about. Mr. Wallace was at Penn State for the record book contest and is really excited about using the AET system and the possibilities it holds.
I was definitely resistant to learning how to use the new AET system since I feel comfortable with the Pa record books. However, the AET system is much more user friendly and has so many advantages to the students.
ACES- Agricultural Communications Establishes Success
Now, don't they look sharp!!
We started out our venture to ACES bright and early Saturday morning (6 am departure) on a school bus shared with Laural FFA. It was a great trip and these kids are a great group.
What did I learn....
* Students will be more awake than you early in the morning!
* Have some emergency funds of your own for trips! We didn't have any issues but this came from conversation with Mr. Harold from Laurel. They got stuck at Farm Show due to cold temperatures and since the school was closed he had to pay for the extra night and wait to be reimbursed.
* Know your kids, if you take students that you can trust everything runs smoothly.
* Always look at everything as a chance to teach.. The students were mesmerized by the vibrating water.
We discussed how this can be linked to science; what a cool interest approach!!
*It was a great trip, we ran into bad weather coming home but we made it everyone made it home safely.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Week 3
Well it was a finally ALMOST a full week. Wednesday was a snow day.
So how did it go? Monday went as planned, for once. I had students complete their final lab and then work as a group to complete the lab packet.. This went pretty well, as was pleasantly surprised by how well they worked together on the packet and that by choosing partners outside their lab group they were not just copying. I really liked the idea of having them work in one group to collect the do the experiments and collect their data. Then switch to different partners from other groups to work through the calculations. This way the students were forced to actually do the calculations. Once the students were finished with the packets I collected them and proceeded to do a review. I formatted the review around the questions the students asked on their ticket in/out. I made sure to tell them this and I was really happy to see how surprised they were that I was answering their questions.
Tuesday we were back into the computer and I started working them through formulating rations. This is definitely where I realized that things were not going to go as planned. The students were very slow to pick up on the things I was showing them. Thus, I realized I was going to have to stretch the lesson out to another day. Well, then came Wednesdays snow day... When school resumed on Thursday the students did not retain Tuesdays class. Thus, it was back to the drawing board and we slowly worked our way back into the material and got over some new material. The class was still not complete with the assignment they were given thus another extension into today was required.
However, on Thursday I had 3 students ask to come down to receive additional help on the material. They were interested and wanted to get a better understanding. I was happy to help them and they really seemed to enjoy it. Although, the real reward didn't come until today. Once I had class underway and assigned the students to complete the assignment I asked the girls to help their classmates since they finished. They were happy to help and the other students really liked it too.
What went well? The students were engaged and interested in the material. Additionally I am building respect and relationships with my students. I am starting to remember names.
What would I change? I really need to have a better idea of where students are at prior to starting a lesson. The students are not meeting my expectations and I am worried that I am not bringing it down to their level. I do not want to talk over or under students rather challenge them, but make it achievable. Finally, I need to find a way to get students to think harder and work independently. I am finding that students hate having to think and that they just want spoon fed.
Another week in the books!
So how did it go? Monday went as planned, for once. I had students complete their final lab and then work as a group to complete the lab packet.. This went pretty well, as was pleasantly surprised by how well they worked together on the packet and that by choosing partners outside their lab group they were not just copying. I really liked the idea of having them work in one group to collect the do the experiments and collect their data. Then switch to different partners from other groups to work through the calculations. This way the students were forced to actually do the calculations. Once the students were finished with the packets I collected them and proceeded to do a review. I formatted the review around the questions the students asked on their ticket in/out. I made sure to tell them this and I was really happy to see how surprised they were that I was answering their questions.
Tuesday we were back into the computer and I started working them through formulating rations. This is definitely where I realized that things were not going to go as planned. The students were very slow to pick up on the things I was showing them. Thus, I realized I was going to have to stretch the lesson out to another day. Well, then came Wednesdays snow day... When school resumed on Thursday the students did not retain Tuesdays class. Thus, it was back to the drawing board and we slowly worked our way back into the material and got over some new material. The class was still not complete with the assignment they were given thus another extension into today was required.
However, on Thursday I had 3 students ask to come down to receive additional help on the material. They were interested and wanted to get a better understanding. I was happy to help them and they really seemed to enjoy it. Although, the real reward didn't come until today. Once I had class underway and assigned the students to complete the assignment I asked the girls to help their classmates since they finished. They were happy to help and the other students really liked it too.
What went well? The students were engaged and interested in the material. Additionally I am building respect and relationships with my students. I am starting to remember names.
What would I change? I really need to have a better idea of where students are at prior to starting a lesson. The students are not meeting my expectations and I am worried that I am not bringing it down to their level. I do not want to talk over or under students rather challenge them, but make it achievable. Finally, I need to find a way to get students to think harder and work independently. I am finding that students hate having to think and that they just want spoon fed.
Another week in the books!
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