Student Teaching Week 14!

Wow, it's hard to believe I only have one week left at Penn Manor. It's such a bittersweet feeling. I'm so excited to graduate because it's something I've been working towards for the past 4 years, but I'm not looking forward to leaving this community and all of the wonderful people I've gotten to know over the past 15 weeks. Thankfully I still have one more week to enjoy, so here are some highlights from this past week! Also, check out my other blogs from this week on the PAAE meeting I went to, my most recent SAE visit, and my visit with Macy at the Selinsgrove ag ed program!

1. Plants galore!

Two of my students modeling their flowers!

We are in the middle of our Plant Science unit in Intro to AFNR, and I have to say, I'm really enjoying teaching plant science! Students learned about the parts of a plant and flower, as well as how they all function together to make the plant grow. Now we're conducting experiments on germination!  I was really pleased with how my lesson on the parts of a flower went this week. Awesome questions were asked, everyone was engaged, and I knew at the end of the lesson the students had met the learning goals for the day. I definitely want to grow in my knowledge of plant science and horticulture and hopefully have a greenhouse learning laboratory for students someday!

2. Intake, Compression, Power, Exhaust - and repeat!

You guessed it! In Intro to Ag Mechanics I'm teaching a Small Gas Engines unit and I've really enjoyed the challenge of teaching something out of my comfort zone. I've learned a lot and I'm starting to feel more comfortable with the content! Ms. Slates has stayed after school with me a few times to go over parts and systems on the engine, which has been super helpful. This unit really helps students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills because students have to use their engine manual to find the answers to their questions. It has been interesting to see how each student handles that challenge. My goal is to continue to encourage growth mindsets and discuss how the skills they are gaining now are necessary for careers in mechanics.

3. Manor FFA students are AWESOME.

Today (Saturday) was the Manor FFA Car Show, an event organized by the FFA members to raise money for the Central PA Food Bank. What a beautiful day it was! We had over 120 vehicles enter the show and the money raised will provide 18,000 meals for the Central PA Food Bank. Talk about an amazing day. 

Thanks for following my journey thus far, stay tuned for my blog post on my final week student teaching!

Student Teaching Week 11

While I only had one day in the classroom, this week was very busy! On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday we were at SLLC, Wednesday was a snow day, Thursday was the Manor FFA banquet (on a two hour delay schedule mind you!), and on Friday I had a student teaching seminar with my fellow #psuaged18 cohort members. Here are some highlights from the week:

1. SLLC - fun, community service, and leadership growth!

I had an awesome time at my first State Legislative Leadership Conference! FFA members spent much of their time at SLLC using those parli pro skills to experience how bills move through our legislative system. They debated and amended real bills, which brought a real-life context to the experience. We also served the local community for an afternoon. We helped residents at a retirement community prepare their garden plots for spring, and we had a ton of fun doing it! It was a beautiful day, so it was perfect for working in a garden. The residents were so excited to have us, and I know I really enjoyed having conversations with the residents while we worked. There were 7 junior and senior Manor FFA members on the trip, and they are my students in the last class I started teaching this semester. It was a great opportunity to connect with them and get to know them better! 

2. Teamwork makes the dream work!

Especially when you have a snow day the day before your banquet and a two hour delay the day of the banquet. What a busy day! Everyone was in full FFA banquet mode, and it was awesome to see it all come together throughout the day. I truly enjoyed my evening at the banquet. The students did a wonderful job hosting the banquet and I loved seeing the community come together to celebrate the accomplishments of the Manor FFA members. I was honored to receive an Honorary Chapter Degree at the banquet. I'm truly thankful to be spending the semester at Penn Manor.

The FFA motto painted by a very talented FFA Member!

Goals for next week:

1. Give students more ownership of their learning by giving them the chance to decide how they will "show what they know" from a lesson!
2. Utilize e-moments more in my lessons, especially when structuring discussions and review!
3. Continue to grow in my content knowledge of small gas engines and be confident while teaching it!

Student Teaching Day 1: My first trip to Farm Show and Mid-Winter Convention!

And just like that, my first day of student teaching is in the books! We spend the day at the Farm Show and the FFA Mid-Winter Convention. Not only was this my first day of student teaching, but today was also my first trip to Farm Show and Mid-Winter Convention! Since I wasn't in FFA in high school and I lived a couple hours away, I just never made the trip down to Farm Show... until now. This year's Farm Show theme was "Diversity in Agriculture" and I thought it was perfect theme for PA agriculture. The day was full of new experiences and lessons learned.

I got to watch three PM students show their pigs!

Student safety is number one.

I know this one seems obvious, but yesterday I got to experience this in the context of the possibility of having an early dismissal on the day you're supposed to be going on a field trip. It was neat to see the communication going on between administration and teachers while discussing their plan in case of an early dismissal. This also shows how important it is for teachers to have a working relationship with their administrators.

The FFA Jacket. 

Students getting ready to wear their FFA Jackets for the first time.

It was awesome to see all of the first year ag students put on their blue corduroy FFA jackets for the first time. You could see the anticipation in their eyes, their eagerness to put them on, and their sense of pride as they zipped up that jacket for the first time. Those jackets will mean something different to each student as they continue on their FFA journey, but I hope they all use their time in FFA to grow and achieve great things. Just as Victoria Herr said (I'm paraphrasing), FFA doesn't make students leaders. It equips them with the skills and knowledge they need to be a leader. It was also great to see all of the Keystone Degree recipients go up on stage to receive their degree. Each of those students put in a lot of time and effort to get their Keystone degree, and it was neat to see how much students can achieve in just a few years. I look forward to becoming an Agricultural Educator so that I can work hard to help grow students into leaders like the ones we saw yesterday.

Have conversations with students.

I really enjoyed seeing some of the students I already knew from our trip to National FFA Convention as well as getting to know other students! I don't think it matters so much what the conversation is about, but more importantly that you listen to what they have to say and build that relationship. Plus, learning things about people helps you remember their name (which is good, because I'm typically bad with names). I'm really looking forward to having those students in class, and having conversations with the rest of my students!

Overall, it was a great day and I can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds!

Congrats to Penn Manor's Keystone Degree recipients!