A Trip to the Perry County Fair

This weekend, I visited my cooperating center at the Perry County Fair in Newport, PA. I arrived at 4:30, right in time to see the livestock auctions where students across the county proudly showed off their SAE projects in hopes to get a bid for their animal. These students all had Ownership/Entrepreneurship projects.

Perry County Fair, Newport, PA

I was able to observe the roles Mrs. Pontius and Mr. Clark had in the auction as well as helping students prepare for their SAE's. Mrs. Pontius and Mr. Clark like to check on students throughout the summer that are showing and help them with anything they need for their SAE. She especially helps them with training the animals and teaching the students on showing techniques. 

How typical visits go

When there was some down-time, I asked Mrs. Pontius about how she does other types of SAE visits such as research, entrepreneurship, crop farming, etc. She said that her and Mr. Clark would usually go and check on how the students were doing and update them of when their records were due on AET. They would help students if they needed assistance with their projects.

Thomas' project on his lambs

She also talked about how they would seek out their employer and ask them questions like how is the student doing? Is there anything we (the ag teachers) could do to help make the experience better? What skills or topics should we teach to help prepare students for a project or career in your line of work?

I especially liked that last question because not only does it tie in the classroom part of the three-circle model, but it shows the community that they're not just sending the students out to do a project, they want to prepare students and get their resources from the employers themselves.

Procedures during visits

Bethany's project on her rabbit, Bella

Having never been on the receiving end of an SAE visit when I was in ag classes, I was interested to know how they were facilitated and what types of rules they had to follow. Mrs. Pontius and Mr. Clark always travel together to visits to ensure that there is more than one adult with a student. If one of them can't go, they will find school administration or other teachers to go. Mrs. Pontius even mentioned bringing chapter officers or members along to the visit. Teachers would just have to keep in mind that they should drive with more than one student or have the student meet them at the location. Rules aside, having administration visit would show them some of the work that teachers and students do over the summer, ensuring them the need for things like extended contracts. As for students visiting, it might be nice for them to see other types of SAE's or seeing what their peers are working on. 

Both teachers will also only visit the student if there is someone else like a parent present. This ensures the safety and comfort for everyone and also allows the teachers to meet the parents if they haven't already. They might also ask questions about how they can help the parents make the process better.

A little piece of Greenwood

While I was at the fair, I got to meet some of the officers that were helping out with the auction. I asked if I could steal some officers to have them take me around the fair. They eagerly took me around the fair and showed me some of their projects, the FFA stands, and of course the prized food booths. I asked them a ton of questions about their community and things in the area, neighboring schools, and things their FFA officers did. I also met some members who will be my future students so that was neat to start forming those relationships with them. 

The Agriscience Poster Project

I commend myself for introducing myself as Ms. Kane to everyone I met. It felt really strange but I didn't slip up and say my first name, so I think the transition won't be too challenging! However, as I was walking around and interacting with the officers and members, I realized that my role is now changing from visitor to their school to their student teacher, Ms. Kane. I had to take a step back and think about the things I was saying and doing. Of course, I wasn't saying anything wrong, but I wondered what do teachers talk about to their students? How do they carry themselves? How do I handle controversial topics like politics? How do I relate to them not as a peer that's only a few years older than them, but an adult that should be seen as an authority figure? 

Ethan showing his project at the auction

It was definitely a reflective moment as I asked myself those questions. The reality of student teaching is certainly starting to creep in as I feel out my role and how I interact with my students. 

I really enjoyed visiting the fair and seeing the teachers and students as they worked hard to show their SAE projects. I couldn't help but smile at how many times the students sought out the teachers for their questions. I envisioned that one day being me helping my students with all of their concerns, questions, and advice.

 Leaving Thought

"Wake up in anticipation something great is going to happen today" -unknown

Weekly Vitamins: The supplements to teaching techniques

Weekly Vitamins: The supplements to teaching techniques

Periodically, we have readings about various topics relating to education. These materials are meant to give us the extra information and promote further research or discussion about the topic. They give us the extra boost we need to strengthen our teaching bones and energize our brain. This week we read:

Warnick, B., Straquadine, G., Elliot, J., Knight, J. A., Rudd, R., Deeds, J. P., Swortzel, K. A., Nevin, N. A., Knobloch, N. A., Miller, G., Whittington, M. S., Connors, J., Boone, H. N., Boone, D. A., Gartin, S. A. (2005) The Science of Teaching. Agricultural Education Magazine, 77:4, 5-28.

Vaugh, P.R. (n.d.) Effective teaching: Notes for the Beginning Teacher. Retrieved from

http://www.casnr.unl.edu/aps/teachman.pdf

Wong, H.K. & Wong, R.T. (2009). The first days of school: How to be an effective teacher (4th ed.). Mountain View: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc.

Structure makes the world go 'round

These sources were a compilation of multiple articles expressing the need for teachers do perform various different tasks or portray certain characteristics. For the most part, the articles provided a reassurance to what I have learned in my classes previously. However there were a few that sparked my interest. 

steelstructures.co.za

One of the points I made note of was structure. In The Science of Teaching, it said that having structure makes students be more on-task and keeps them focused. Learning goals and objectives are good ways to give students structure. Doing something that is familar to them and getting into a routine will not only ensure better classroom management, but will get their minds going in the right direction as they enter into the classroom and begin to learn.

Along with this, the article also says that teachers should use motivation and praise (of course). They talk about criticism and how researchers observed that praise usually is met with better scores, better understanding, etc. while criticism is met with lower scores and less motivation. I was about to argue (in my head, of course) that criticism can be a good thing when I saw the next line talking about how teachers should still give "academic direction". I thought that was brilliant. The word criticism is usually seen as a negative word, but giving academic direction means doing what is needed to keep students focused and on track with their learning. I think it brings a whole new meaning to what people have always termed as "constructive criticism".

Problem solving methods

businessenglishhq.com

Just telling me that I should incorporate problem solving skills in my classroom is great but how? With such a broad and over-used term as "problem solving", I think people assume that everyone knows how to use it, or even how to teach with it. So when I read about it in The Science of Teaching and saw specific examples on how to use it, I made note of it all. There were several so I won't  explain them all, but it made me realize that just like there may be more than one solution to a problem, there may be more than one way to go about solving the problem as well. Perhaps its comparing your current state to the goal you wish to reach. How do you get to your goal? Maybe the method is choosing between choices and deciding on which choice is more important in that moment for what you are trying to accomplish. I would like to incorporate these methods into my teaching but I want to use the appropriate type of problem solving method for what I want my students to eventually understand.

Growth for student learning

I loved reading about the two questions for opportunities for student learning in The Science of Teaching. The first one asks "Did the teacher give equal opportunity based on learning styles and needs?" and the second one then asks "Did the student show the teacher what they learned?". These two questions coupled together bring the whole lesson full circle. Not only does it focus on whether the teacher was adaptive, variable, and patient, but it also checks whether or not at the end of the day did those methods and adaptations work and can your students walk away saying that they learned something new?

I also really liked in Wong's The first days of school article how Wong made a point that there is a difference between efficient and effective teaching. Efficient is doing things right. Effective is repeatedly doing the right thing. We can teach our students to be effective in what they are doing and how they can continue those skills even after they leave the classroom.

Top ten

Rosenshine and Furst was a pair that I recalled learning about previously and was mentioned a lot of out the three articles. Vaugh takes the time to go through each of their top ten characteristics of teachers. After participating in our RTL experiences, I find it funny how many of these same traits we mentioned we could improve on were in this list. 

1. Clarity

2. Variability

3. Enthusiasm

4. Task-oriented/ Business-like behavior

5. Positive reinforcement

6. Student opportunity to learn

7. Avoid criticism

8. Structuring comments

9. Effective questioning

10. Humor

Most of these were stated in the other articles that were read above, but I liked how they were a little more drawn out in Vaugh's article. I also thought it was interesting as I reflected on the order that Rosenshine and Furst placed the traits. Clarity being the number one trait of effective teachers means that students really value when assignments, deadlines, key information, and more are made clear. I can completely understand this being a top frustration. When I walk out of my classes and don't know what the teacher expects of me or wants me to do, or when I am still unsure of deadlines, it creates a frustrating situation. It will be something for me to keep in mind that I should spend extra time on complex subjects, or take a few extra minutes to go over the project guidelines. I shouldn't assume that students understand what I said or that a rubric will be enough explanation for them to start a project.

Related resources

On one of my favorite sites (Pinterest) I came across this fun little pin about icebreakers to do on the first day of school. There are some really good ones in here that students will be more eager to do (they're not your typical 2 truths and a lie.. yuck!)

http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/classroom-icebreakers/

These could also be useful for other activities throughout the year!

pitt.edu

I was really interested in the problem solving parts of the articles for this assignment, so I tried to do a little more exploring. 

http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/771-great-ways-to-teach-skills-like-critical-thinking-and-problem-solving

I came across this article which shares some neat things about teaching critical thinking and problem solving. But I loved the probing Einstein example towards the end which explains that given an hour to solve a hard problem, Einstein would spend 55 minutes figuring out solutions and alternatives, and 5 minutes to actually solve it. I am eager to see what that kind of mentality would look like in a classroom and how much more it would benefit students. It would force them to not just try and solve the problem and get it done with, but figure out whether there was more than one way or if the initial solution would work all the time and if there were alternatives. Something to chew on!

RTL's (Reflective Teaching Lesson): Our Guinea Pig Experience

RTL's (Reflective Teaching Lesson): Our Guinea Pig Experience

The first week of school was not your typical syllabus week, here at Penn State. We started off right away with labs and presentations. One of our labs was to partner up and to a demonstrate Reflective Teaching Lesson. This lab wasn't focusing on the content as much as it was just getting our foot in the door and reflecting on what we learned.

The planning period

Nate Repetz (http://firingonallcylindersteachag.blogspot.com) was my partner for this RTL, and my role was to serve as a mentor while he presented the lesson. We were given a lesson on teaching about the structure of a castle... so the blueprints including a moat, towers, walls, rooms, etc. A little outside of our realm of agriculture, but again the focus was on reflection and teaching rather than actual content.

We were given the materials needed including a final exam, and we decided to teach from that. Instead of just simply showing them a blueprint and having them memorize, we thought it would be nice to visually walk through the property and have our students piece together the house as we described it. So our first question was about the moat. What do you encounter first? We would continue with those questions. We would try to emphasize the importance of the different parts of the house, and we wanted to make connections to houses now-a-days.

After this, we would distribute an exam with an unlabeled blueprint, and students would write in the names of the rooms. There were also two other questions about the time period these were used and why they were built the way they were.

Execution

Along with the other lessons presented, I think our lesson went fairly well, and I think the students have an understanding of the parts. Nate asked questions that guided the students to not just "what" it was but what it might have been used for, who would have used it, why it was placed where it was, and let students use their imaginations.

Reflection

Being aware that we had not only a short period to plan the lessons, but we also only had 15 minutes to present the lesson, I would say we did a fairly good job. Out of all of the lessons that we presented, somethings we all noticed that went well were:

• Pacing
• Variability
• Flow
• Resources

I think we have those "basic" concepts down of what a classroom looks like. However, some things that we believe the group could be stronger on is:

• Clarity
• Purposeful/using objectives
• Preparation
• Awareness

I think some of these traits go hand in hand. As far as clarity goes, being able to explain tricky concepts using specific vocabulary will allow students to focus on what needs to be done rather than what the teacher said. Even being more descriptive in procedures is important. So instead of saying "and then put this here... and that goes there" a teacher might say "now place object A on the weighing bowl, and place this on top of the scale". Clarity in all aspects will benefit all students in more ways than one.

In teaching purposefully, this stems from the idea of letting students know what they're learning and why. Instead of just jumping into a lesson and teaching, objectives need to be said. And instead of using precious class time to have students do an activity or answer questions that won't necessarily help with their end goal (but may relate), teachers can skip these non-essential questions and get to the meat and potatoes. For example, if a teacher were starting their lesson on small gas engines, they shouldn't ask questions like "who's been in a car before?". I think it's safe to assume that 100% of your students have been in some type of vehicle before if you're teaching in a school in the U. S.. Unless the area is atypical, teachers can skip those questions.

Preparation is key! Maybe filling out every single little detail in the lesson planning process isn't necessary (especially for our little 15 minute presentations)  but I think it is so important to have a written list of what is being taught. Teachers don't have to hold it or read from it (and shouldn't) but should just use it as a guide and to make sure they are asking all of the right questions, in the right order. That was one thing I really tried to stress as we planned our RTL presentation. Guiding the students room by room meant asking a lot of questions. If we wanted to ensure that we asked all of the appropriate questions in a logical order, it was important to write it down. And of course, being prepared material-wise is important.

Awareness we took to define as just always being aware of where your students are at, which ones are struggling, what you are doing and what they are doing. Are you standing where your students can see you and hear you? Can they also see the board? Are your students scratching their heads or are they excited because they understand? Was your explanation clear the first time? The second time? Placing ourselves in the seats where our students sit and asking ourselves these questions can eliminate many of those uncertainties. 

Part 3: Reflection on Summer Reading

Part 3: Reflection on Summer Reading

My insight on the book Teaching Outside the Box: How to Grab Your Students By Their Brains by Louanne Johnson

 

Part 3 began with power and ended in a bittersweet way. Chapters 9-11 spoke about motivation and persuasion, and the scoop on real questions from real teachers and real answers for real situations. Chapter 12 really brings the whole teaching deal full circle when you can see testimonies from students who were so positively impacted by their teachers. In reading these chapters, I had 4 burning questions that I hoped to figure out before I student taught. Mrs. Pontius, my cooperating teacher at Greenwood, assuaged me that what Louanne Johnson said in her book was true and Mrs. Pontius expressed her own philosophies as well.

What's the big secret??

tweakers.net

Motivation, motivation, motivation. It's one of the few things everyone wants to master but there is no definitive way of going about it. There are so many factors involved and even when something works for one person, it may not work for another. My fear going into teaching is not being engaging enough or having students who resent work. Hopefully the advice from teachers and my own self-discovery will give me the resources I need to get students motivated to learn.


Johnson stresses that there is always more to the story than what we see. Sometimes, it's the students that are having issues. Maybe they are not comfortable with their classmates or perhaps they don't understand the content and are afraid to ask. They may prefer to suffer in silence rather than risk being made fun of or facing disappointment. Other times, Johnson has discovered that it could be the presentation or facilitation by the teacher. She talks about group projects and why some students dread them. It could be because the teacher is asking them to do things they haven't learned yet. This may be seen more so in younger students, but if you ask them to do a group project and they've never done one before, they are going to struggle trying to figure that out. Or if they haven't used a microscope before and you ask them to analyze their data, they're going to be more focused on figuring out the microscope than analyzing the data. By first teaching students those skills like teammwork and delegation, or using their tools and resources, they are better able to focus on the content and learning.

Something both Johnson and Pontius mentioned is letting students have ownership not only of their work but of choosing what to do. Pontius suggests letting students decide and design the curriculum. She tells them what topics she wants them to know before the end of the semester and they choose how they want to go about learning it. Letting them decide not only lets you know what students really want, but it gives them the sense of responsibility that they seldom get to practice.

Negative vs. Positive Reinforcement

The next burning question I had was when to use negative reinforcement and when to use positive reinforcement. Both can be really good and helpful for students... but both can also be degrading, unfair, or instant gratification and nothing more if done incorrectly. So how can we use it correctly?

4pawsu.com

This topic ties in with the above question about motivation. Pontius suggests not relying on negative reinforcement, such as taking away points, activities, or rewards. Instead, she feels that by allowing students to take ownership of how they are learning and letting them be involved with the planning, it will eliminate the need for using reinforcement at all. Students don't like being told what to do and will push the limit. But if they have a say in their own education, they won't have any reason to complain.

Praise craze

Students so strongly desire the attention from their teachers. And that's not always a bad thing. I recall being in school and feeling really confident about an assignment. Seeing only corrections in bright red pen or a simple "Nice job" scribbled on my paper meant little to me. Thoughtful praise and constructive criticism meant much more. Some people might consider that positive reinforcement, but praise used in the right way is just simply being a good human; a good person. It's about boosting someone's confidence and self-esteem. It's about showing someone that even though they might make mistakes, they make progress in other areas. 

Some of the ways Pontius suggested giving praise to her students is through giving back papers with thought-out notes and even using stickers and stamps (she says even high schoolers crave them!). She also mentioned that trying to visit students in their activities outside of school like sports or theater can be really encouraging to them. If you can't go, she says the next best thing is to ask them about how their game or a recital went. When you take time out to show students that they mean more to you than just a quick scribble of words or seeing them as a number in a classroom, they really value you as a teacher and person. 

ebay.com

Johnson also made some genius suggestions. One that I really liked was that she would write the names of all of her students down on a note card. Every day or every week, she would pick out two or three name cards at random. She would put them on her desk as a reminder to herself to pay special attention to those students. She would take note of the things they did well or the small acts of kindness they performed in the classroom. She would then write them a quick little note before they left for the day saying thank you. Those little notes might have been the only praise that student heard all year (hopefully not!). How precious are those moments where students start to see value and confidence in themselves. 

middleweb.com

There is one other thought that Johnson shares about motivation and effective means of encouragement. She says: "Praising students for being intelligent results in short-term good behavior and long-term bad behavior; praising them for their efforts results in self-confidence and increased effort" (Johnson, 2015). One thing I will need to remind myself is that there is a difference between student work results and student effort. Usually, they go hand in hand; if you work hard, the results will be good. But there will be students that try their best despite opposition. Others might do well but hardly lift a finger or will cut corners to get there. In those cases, I would have to admire the student that put in an honest effort even if they don't completely understand. 

Questions, comments, or concerns

I asked Mrs. Pontius for the burning questions that she had before she student taught and even afterwards. Among the stories she shared, one thing she said was to ask as many questions as you can. In a field like education, other teachers want to help. They know what a young student teacher may be going through and would be more than happy to pass on their wisdom. Even ask questions to your students, she says. Ask them what activities they liked, what they want to learn about, and questions about what's going on in their lives. Fostering that connection with students will make it much easier to approach them when problems and concerns come up. And confidently approaching other teachers will allow you to not go through that struggle alone.

 

Book report

linkedin.com

After having read this book, I feel much more confident in myself as a teacher. What I love about this book is that the advice is not only for new teachers, but also for the experienced ones. I can flip back on this book in my first year of teaching or my thirtieth year of teaching and get see things outside the  box or remind myself of a procedure. I strongly suggest this book to anyone who has questions about a specific topic or just wants to hear real cases and real feedback of methods tried. Johnson humbles herself enough to explain her faults and mistakes and advice on how she resolved the issues. These stories from her years of teaching put my mind at ease as I now have an inkling of the life of a teacher.

 Leaving Thought

"...for taking on one of the most difficult, challenging, frustrating, emotionally exhausting, mentally draining, satisfying, wonderful, important, and precious jobs in the world. Thank you for being a teacher. You truly are the unsung American hero. You have my respect and my gratitude"--Louanne Johnson