We finished up the mind mapping exercise today and two volunteers did a great job presenting their mind maps and helping us all make sense of plant science!(see a picture of a couple below)
The second glimpse I got came during a trip down the hall to an emergency faculty meeting when one of my students commented that the meeting was probably about some students who were arrested for issues with weed. Unfortunately, the emergency meeting was about the loss of a 2012 graduate in a ATV accident where the lack of a helmet contributed to his untimely passing and a discussion of another student with special needs that has a lethal birth defect that is beginning to manifest itself and there is a do not resuscitate order given the nature of this defect. It was a very sobering meeting that reminds me of something I try to remember everyday and that is we are granted the opportunity every day to greet our students with a smile and positive demeanor that may be the last they get that day or in that life, so I'll be more aware and not waste that opportunity!
Another glimpse will probably continue to play itself out for some time this semester and that was a glimpse of how we can make great lesson plans, power points, worksheets, etc., but don't be surprised when they need to be adjusted or thrown out the window, or it takes twice as long to transfer the knowledge. I believe flexibility here will make the difference in the student learning experience and is as it should be. My final observation from today is that students love alternative assessment and will work harder and show more effort (and even enthusiasm!) than traditional quiz/test approaches. It truly is a chance to let them show you what they know like the mind maps below!
Tuesday- today I continued to keep the students on their toes with variability in my instruction providing them a self guided worksheet that I customized to develop their critical thinking skills and couple that with some of their innate creativity. I feel very anxious when I try variation on levels where I have no prior experience but at least I am getting used to operating outside my comfort zone. So far, I feel my experiences have had positive results with the learning opportunities obvious to me and not so obvious to the students. I try to note these in my reflective side notes on the power points for continuous improvement in honing my craft. If I had to change anything about the worksheet experience I would have rearranged the student groups to level the playing field and break up some of the student dynamics. This will come with experience.
Wednesday- Today was a good day where I took power point material and subject matter into my own hands and kept the students engaged in what is otherwise pretty dry, boring, material. I utilized practical and humorous You Tube clips in three segments of my presentation and after viewing one clip the students had to develop their own mnemonic phrase based upon the material presented by me and discussed in a video. They had a lot of fun doing it and I even laughed at their creativity and sense of humor. I do need to be careful that we don't go down hill too fast in our mnemonics and keep it G rated. It almost became a game of one up man ship as we reviewed what they created. Again this was a great way to avoid the pitfalls of death by power point.
Thurday - Was a day that directly applied the concepts of plant classification and binomial nomenclature that we had discussed over the past two days. I even took the students into the lab for a coniferous tree dichotomous key identification exercise with rotating stations on evergreens I had collected in my travels home from Etown. The preparation I put into this lab paid off in my estimation because another student commented on the intensity and brain power that they were expending on identifying "stupid leaves!" The only real hurdles I encountered were a lack of flow between stations which I could have minimized by dictating the groups to level the playing field. Essentially there were kids that worked the process efficiently and kids that struggled to work it and I could have mitigated some of that, lesson learned!
Tonight was also parent teacher night which I really enjoyed as a chance to meet the parents or stakeholders in this public education experience. I was totally shocked at the number of Etown teachers that blew off this night simply because it was the second semester or some other lame excuse. All the parents we saw appreciated us being here and didn't hesistate to comment on the no shows. Its hard for me to believe when the teachers cant even show up or stay after for the people that are paying their salaries!!!!!!
I really enjoyed my time assisting Mark with the ag. mech. I sections in the lab practicing tack welds. The students seem to really take to my guidance and suggestions. Time literally flies in the lab.
Friday - I was totally dragging today after driving and hour and a half to home after staying until 8:15 for parent teacher night. Given my condition and a convenient transition point to a new unit I decided to play Bingo to review terms and definitions with Lifesavers as reward. After a few rounds I collected all the bingo stuff and gave them a cross word with the same terms and hints at the definitions. The students impressed me with their knowledge acquisition and really enjoyed learning this way.
We continued tack welds in the lab today with the intent on submission for grades at the end of the block, I really felt good when several of the students sought me out as I circulated for advice and assessment on their welds. I love to see them get bit by the bug of ag. mech. as they develop a little confidence. That's a big reward for me.
