Home Stretch!

Monday - Today we put the finishing touches on our C - clamp project, painting the clamps a choice of colors to show some individualism and personality, I chose John Deere green! This project from start to finish was a great example of the culmination of the electric arc welding unit because the growth, development, and confidence gained was evident along the way and demonstrated with a useful tool they can take justifiably take pride in.
The greenhouse competition reached a frenzy this afternoon with an Olympic theme, three places up for grabs! This activity taught me a lot about variability in instruction. I was shocked by the level of competition these students could apply to greenhouse layout when there was Math, Composition, and hands on elements. I did not realize it was possible to generate enthusiasm around these cross disciplinary subject areas but, all it took was the spark of "competition" to bring it on! The students ultimately placed the team pairs with judging based upon all three components.

And the winner is......!

This week at 5 weeks out with the student teaching experience I have mixed emotions about the "home stretch." I am determined to finish stronger with development accelerating toward the conclusion of this experience. To me that will include developing consistency, rhythm, and pace in addition to other aspects of this craft I'm tackling. Honestly, when it comes to leaving the students and especially  Mr. Anderson I am NOT looking forward to leaving, something I don't want to think about until its over.

Must have run out of green paint last year....because its so popular!

Tuesday - Today we put the second coat on our C - clamp's prior to assessment and wound the unit down prior to a test with a C - clamp reflection sheet. This activity impressed me again with the thoughtful reflections the students were able to summon. It's just not something that would have occurred to me, the assessment I get, the reflection component blows me away!
Greenhouse management block was really rough today! We shifted gears into a soils unit and it seemed like they all  missed the bus. I felt like the content was appropriate and engaging, I had even built up to it requesting soil samples from two students on the previous day. I developed and activity around the two samples to orient the students to soil texture, composition, and structure. Surprisingly in my opinion it was a 50/50 fail at best with half the normally engaged students willing to dig into it an the other half or more utilizing the time to catch up on social events/issues in their lives. My best efforts prompting, using proximity control, etc. had no effect.
I let my frustration get the best of me and that snowballed on the way home to the point where I developed an overreaction to the session, questioning my progress, confidence, and abilities.

Wednesday - I used our second block to discuss the prior days' experience because Mr. Anderson attended an event with FFA students immediately after school yesterday. He did a great job of breaking it down for me and developing a sound perspective on the situation that unfolded. He was so effective that I felt better for "having one of those days" because it created a great opportunity to learn from what otherwise was a negative experience. I have been knocked down enough in my 48 years to get right back up ready for another round without thinking about it. This experience reinforced the value of both the knock down and the get right back up. Their are lessons to be learned in our mistakes, missteps, frustrations, etc if we are willing to get back up, listen and reflect on the experience while continuing in forward direction.
Mr. Anderson's advice allowed me to tweak my approach for today turning the Greenhouse section into a productive and rewarding experience further reinforcing my attitude toward refining my instructional approach in the time remaining to walk out the door with enough experience to continue my development in the right direction avoiding as many of the first year teacher headaches as possible.

Thursday - Today went much better after my pow wow with Mr. Anderson and I made a huge leap in my effort to give up the crutch of power points in an effort to be a dynamic and flexible instructor. At his suggestion I decided to try using old school overheads to refine my pace and develop consistent timing during my sessions. In addition to my plan to use it in Greenhouse an issue came up where Mr. Anderson needed to meet with an administrator and asked me if I was willing to teach the first 30 minutes using his overheads. I told him I was game and it worked really well for me. Mr. Anderson ended up finishing his meeting early and was able to observe me twice using the overheads. He and I both felt good about how it went and I have decided to stick with it if it works and develops the pacing and consistency we feel I need to nail.

Friday - Today was a great day that started out with working one on one with a student who I am working with to get him caught up in Ag. Mechanics. He has progressed from failure to passing just in time because the marking period ended Thursday. I have this student breaking a sweat in the short flex period first thing in the morning, we are that intense and he is that in to it. Charges my day up too right out of the gate!
I am also determined to continue what some may consider an old school approach with overheads to develop the pace and consistency Mark and I are aiming for. Just because its old school doesn't mean its obsolete. I had back to back sessions in Ag. Mechanics successfully using the overheads achieving the kind of engagement I am after every day!
We got the geranium plugs that will ultimately be on display at graduation for the parents to enjoy and take home at the end! We spent the better part of the block potting the inserts and all the students were intent and intense enough that we finished potting the inserts ahead of Mr. Anderson's expectations. I must admit that I was pretty into it as well. Rounded out a great Friday.

Getting A Clue

Monday - Today I approached the classroom with a personal challenge to avoid using Power points during my 80  minute greenhouse management class. I want to develop delivery, rhythm, and a framework without the use of power points. I generally view power points as a crutch which may make me "old school" but, I have come to realize they are a useful tool in developing my craft, not the tool of instruction. In my experience, in most audiences the only person who is excited about another power point presentation is the presenter. Students and adults alike prefer other means of instruction. Power points have their usefulness, I am simply challenging myself to develop other components of my instructional approach.

Tuesday - I limited my power points to an agreed upon target with Mr. Anderson and came within 1 slide of meeting the time limit we established. This experience is developing a solid rhythm with the students that keeps their attention and engagement however, I need to hone my discussion approach to limit the tangents that the students (and I) seem eager to pursue around our topics. Interestingly, the students are starting to develop a sense of actual greenhouse management with our regular trips out to the greenhouse, the students are recognizing what to look for in their plant projects, and identify signs of success, stress, and failure in their pursuits.
Today we held another FFA meeting and I think it was the best so far because the officers shared a lot of detail about recent experiences at SLLC. They also seemed a lot more personable than I had seen them at prior meetings, willing to laugh, share funny stories, or interesting comments.

Wednesday - Today was a university supervisor observation day. I was glad my supervisor was able to come early and spend some time observing 2 out of the 3 blocks we have each day. I felt really good about the lesson we planned and the students seemed to respond to some of the tweaks Mark and I decided to do for the lesson such as making the "work" a competition. Don't know why we never tried it before! The techniques Mark is trying to help me develop and practice as well as the bag of tricks teachers draw upon really reflect the depth of 22 years of experience he has. I feel so fortunate to share a teaching experience with a veteran like that!

Thursday - Today I feel like I snatched a student from failure and possibly hooked him on Ag., just when I had about given up on him. He was behind since joining our ag. mechanics class and constantly either absent or in In School Suspension. He finally showed up for a scheduled one on one Welding Crash Course that I have been trying to get him to do for over a month! I had him sweating, smiling, and enthusiastic by the end of our first session. After our first session one on one, he showed up for class (instead of dodging school skipping out the set of doors near our classroom), and after practicing for 80 minutes, the most competent welder, and cutest girl in the class came up to him and engaged him in a conversation about how cool it was to weld etc. I don't know the rest of the conversation because I walked away but the next day while I was in SC she worked with him to develop his welding techniques. I think that's awesome and I am glad that I hung in there just long enough for him to show up. Probably go down as one of my most memorable moments of the entire student teaching experience!

Friday - Friday we had a seminar on campus that was a good experience utilizing a two session framework. The session that definitely served me well was the lesson plan tuning exercise with my peers, I felt it could be kicked up a notch with a facilitator instead of a time keeper because peer input from fellow neophytes is of limited benefit. A facilitator might bring out more valuable input prompted by peers or lead advice and conversation in a more constructive direction. The other session with multiple scenarios was good practice for what's ahead in dealing with administrators, students, fellow teachers, and parents.
Overall, this week I felt like I may be getting a clue in this student teaching experience where the experience becomes effective in shaping my development enough to do a solid job. I now have 5 weeks to gain some confidence, consistency, and pacing as part of the bigger picture of my development.

SLLC

Sunday - I went to SLLC today to kick off the week early. I started out grading proficiency award applications and really enjoyed visiting with fellow teachers in the process. It was great to see my cohort and build some new relationships, especially getting to know some of the Del. Val. student teachers. It was great to share experiences, ideas, and develop my future professional network.

Monday - Today at SLLC we had a session on SOL's from PDE which was somewhat dry, but a good introduction to the new learning objective system they're working on. In the afternoon we volunteer to help a community therapeutic horse riding organization. We primarily forked and shoveled manure all afternoon. The hard work was worthwhile and meant a lot to the organization. We enjoyed the camaraderie of hard work and good laughs while we were hard at it. In the evening I used the Dance time to further develop my network and visit with my cohort. It was a great opportunity to visit in a relaxed atmosphere.

Tuesday - Today was the last day of SLLC, we had an awesome time eating breakfast with our local representative and later visiting with him in his office at the capital building. We also toured several areas in the capital building and watched part of a session. It really brings government to life for the students.

Wednesday - Today our ag. mechanics sections started cutting the steel for  the C clamp project. I led the second section in the shop and felt like I did a good job of making it about a whole lot more than hands on experience with the metal band saw. I highlighted safe working practices, teamwork, and job preparedness.

Greenhouse mgmt. continued to amaze me with their creativity in applying the concepts they're exposed to in the classroom. The hands on component builds retention that simply isn't possible with power points. They are constructing greenhouses using popsicle sticks to highlight the design and structural components they were exposed to last week with minimum element requirements for design and structure.

Thursday - Today the students finished up their  greenhouse models to be evaluated on representation of design and major structural elements in greenhouse design. Most of the students took a lot of pride in their model designing, incorporating, and labeling the structures we learned about. Instruction in Ag Mechanics is going well and even though I am not the caliber of Mr. A when it comes to C clamp fabrication the students seem to respect my efforts as we share our welding and fabrication progress together, a good experience for us all!
Friday - Continued to work on our C clamps growing confident in fabrication as it is a lot more attention to detail and prep versus just running a bead. A student or two has discovered just how strong 70000 pounds of tensile strength is after checking to see if their clamps are true and straight after running a bead instead of after tacking it up :)

 



 In greenhouse management it was interesting to see the students continue not read directions, given most are male I am only a little surprised. I gave them a "quiz" that was actually an article review where all the questions, blanks, and short answers could be accomplished by simply reading the attached article, hence the title of Quiz - Article Review. I could only stand for 5 minutes before telling them they could remove the cover page quiz if it made reading the article easier. Big sigh! Oh! They seem to engage for the most part with the session since we were in the classroom, out in the greenhouse, and back in the classroom keeping them on their toes. I am challenged by a few attitudes but, I try (sometimes I do better, than others) to bear in mind what its like to be a teenager in high school, a tough combination for some.

Greenhouse Fever

Monday - Today capped off my community based unit of instruction with a Manheim based paving and excavating company. I took the initiative to coordinate what turned out to be an engaging and fulfilling experience for the students which was worth the planning and meeting we did prior to their presentation. This unit served both sections of Ag. Mechanics I with bookended lessons on surveying, related careers in the mechanical & construction industry, and highlighted the company's admirable community outreach and a history of involvement.

BR Kreider builds careers around Etown Ag. Ed. Students

In greenhouse management I shook up the lesson routine with a brief essential question that led to a extended interest approach out in the greenhouse. It was a great chance to check on some of our germination experiments as well as the orchids we split with Dr. Holcomb, then lead them back into the classroom to kick off a unit on plant reproduction. I think we are all a little winter weary and anxious to get out into the greenhouse. Interestingly, when the subject of potato cultivation in plant reproduction came up I mentioned I thought you could grow them in a cup of water and get a plant with roots. I didn't expect the students to jump on it and blurt out "oh!, we should do that!", to me that's students enthusiastically taking charge of their learning! So, we will!


Tuesday - Today I had the experience of going to a county level CDE for SGE and extemporary speaking with two student who were not thrilled about extemp. but, courageous enough to give it a try. This is one of the great things I feel FFA provides students that  really charges me up about FFA. It's not all about winning, because who really doesn't like to win. Sometimes its building courage, digging deeper into yourself, and stretching outside your comfort zone just for the growth and development opportunity, not a ribbon, plaque, or other "reward" or recognition.
I also had the opportunity to see Josh Walker a first year teacher slugging it out with some pretty challenging 9 graders.



Gentlemen Start Your Engines! (if you can:)





Wednesday - I finally gave into the greenhouse fever I think all of us in Greenhouse Mgmt. and Landscape Design are feeling with a three day hands on unit applying the propagation techniques we are learning about. I brought in houseplants I have had for 20+ years. One since I was about 16 and the other since I took indoor plants at Virginia Tech, you do the math on exact age of the plants. The kids seemed a little incredulous about that but, I think I hooked some of them on houseplants and propagation. The enthusiasm I saw in at least a handful of students is the same enthusiasm that has carried these plants through the decades I've had them, and to me that's pretty cool (and why I chose to TeachAg).

Thursday - The ag. mechanics sections have become very accomplished welders and developed to the point where they are frustrated when the quality of their welds isn't up to their own expectations! Even more impressive is how they double down on their efforts to master the T-weld we're currently working on! That kind of pride in their work is not necessarily something that can be taught but, they are proof it can be learned!
I've also noticed the students in Greenhouse develop the same kind of pride in the classroom activities and greenhouse projects that they will definitely need when we get into the 300 geraniums Mark grows for Etown's Graduation in June (or July, depending on the weather:)

Friday - The ag. mechanics sections really felt the pressure to deliver a T-weld for a grade because they had to take a quiz that took away some of the time they might otherwise have had during a full session. I thought they handled the pressure well but, it did get to even the best welders in both sections. Good experience for the really world where there are contracts, deadlines, and expectations for productivity.

 

After The Honeymoon Is Over

Monday -  In my tweet last week I declared the honeymoon was over and I was referring to the student teaching experience from both my perspective and that of the students. As some of my cohort responded in encouragement "it does get better." I think I had a glimpse of that this week with Mr. Anderson providing the guidance I needed at a time when I needed it. Flexibility and pacing have been a challenge to me, which might be understandable in the beginning of the student teaching experience but, becomes frustrating when you are at or near the half way point in the student teaching calendar.
I have tried to be flexible incorporating Mr. Andersons insight and recommendations into my approach. He is great at pointing me in the right direction and patient in allowing the time to find a way that works for me and the students. I continue to get valuable survival skills in additional to the skills necessary to developing my craft. I get to share in Mr. Andersons daily challenges, moments of satisfaction, points of recognition, administrative respect, and the students unfailing, earnest, enthusiasm for agriculture education.

Making Snow Load Testing Engaging!

Tuesday - Part of my student teaching experience requires facing the challenge of behavior modification for one of the moodle modules. I initially thought I would work with a student who has an IEP and might pose a behavior challenge associated with his background. I was wrong. That student simply needed recognition even though they chose to hide out in the back of the room. All it took for this student to be recognized was inclusion and contribution to our daily session.
The student who Mr. Anderson and I have agreed to single out for this assignment has turned out to be the "perfect" example of what a teacher might face year in, and year out. Part of this assignment requires a daily record of my attempts to encourage constructive, participative, positive behavior. That might look good on paper and fit the assignment structure but, in my case it will be impossible to do a "daily" journal of my attempts when this student is absent, seen dodging class with swag strolling out the door on his way to our class, and spending the associated time in In School Suspension. While challenged, I do feel up to the task, though it might literally not fit the boxes on the form but, this kid doesn't fit the box in general. Fortunately, I can identify with him in some ways and respect where he might be coming from. Below - harnessing student creativity in a Lincoln Electric FFA themed Design Your Own Helmet Contest to fund and equip your ag. program with helmets and money for the winners. This one might just put us in the running!

Wednesday - Today was a good day and my Greenhouse section felt like a pretty solid delivery. I felt like I started to dial in on some of the guidance Mr. Anderson has given me. Interestingly, it took me until this point where I felt enough comfort in this experience to let go of the reigns a little and focus closer on some of the advice I have been given. Another aspect of that is developing some semblance of a planning horizon versus struggling to adapt my plans to the students level.
I thought it was interesting to see the students in ag. mechanics get frustrated with the lap weld after they have developed solid techniques running beads and doing butt welds. I encourage them to recognize the frustration and develop effective strategies to tackle the new weld. I feel like this is a good experience to work through because that is the type of approach they will need in adulthood.

Thursday - Today was another good day using a similar pace and time management strategy that worked pretty well for me yesterday. The students in ag. mechanics continue to experience some frustration with the lap weld but, view the frustration as a challenge to overcome with practice and good old fashioned persistence. It really makes the experience worth while to guide them through the process toward competency because you start to the development in their faces and in the guidance they seek. I used an imaginative lead in to a hands on activity that challenged the students imagination while at the same time reinforcing the material we were exploring.

Friday - Today was the first observation by my University Supervisor. I did not necessarily feel nervous but, I did put a lot more pressure on myself to do a solid job for myself, my supervisor, and represent Mr. Andersons' efforts in my development. If I stretched my students minds yesterday with my imaginative approach, I blew their minds with a follow up today. I felt even at their age while we all knew it was an imaginary motivation, I had them questioning the reality of it and it was SO cool to see the energy we gained from suspending a little reality and harnessing our imaginations to engage in what is otherwise fairly dry subject matter anyone would be challenged to present.
I felt good about where I am at from the evaluation I got because it documents progress and points out areas of improvement that provide focus and emphasis for me in the last half of this experience. I feel up to the challenge and I have developed a comfort in the stretch that will help me hit the goals my supervisor and Mr. Anderson have laid out for me to become a highly effective educator in the future.