Final Lab Reflection

Wow! I am so happy to say that I have completed my AEE 412 Lab experience. This course has taught me so much about becoming the best agricultural teacher I can possibly be. The knowledge and experiences I have gained from this course are life long lessons that I will carry into my future classroom.

Three take-away's from AEE 412 Lab:

• Preparation is Key- This is one of the most important skills I have learned throughout this semester. If I desire to be successful I must be willing to put time and effort into my lesson and my students. I feel that throughout the semester, I increased my preparations skills and dedicated more time to being prepared with content for each lesson.
• Go for It- Throughout this semester I feel I have grown in my confidence and my ability to be a go-getter, and my own leader. I believe I have developed my self advocating skills in which I do not need to rely on others to be successful.
• Make it real- My goal for each lab that I taught to my students was to make it real and applicable to them. As an educator I want my students to enjoy learning and find value in agriculture education.  

Things to Improve On:

• Operational lab- I think since we had to write an operational lesson plan it would be nice to have had to teach an operational lesson as well.
• Eliminate busy work!- I am so glad we did not have to complete the Genius hour or the Creativity challenge. I just feel that some of the things that are created in this course are wasted time pieces.
• Mix up the lab groups- I feel that to be fair to all of our peers labs should be assigned and not chosen. For example I do not think one lab should have all the favorite students in it. Also I think by mixing up the labs students with different strengths and weaknesses will be able to work together and learn from each other.

Overall, I felt this was a great course and very beneficial to my growth as an agricultural educator. I have learned many things from this course. Particularly, I have learn Roshenshine and Furst's characteristics of an effective teacher and I feel that I possess their variability characteristic. Below is a video which illustrates my variability in instruction.

I proudly, leave this course knowing I have the knowledge and skill set to be a great leader of inspiration, a great leader of change, and a great agriculture.

Ms. Timmons
"Be the light" -Matthew 5:14

Creating a Successful Classroom Environment

As an educator, I want to ensure that my classroom is a safe and enjoyable place for learning to occur. However, it can not always be fun and games. As much as I love to create fun and engaging activities, I know that I must first cultivate expectations and procedures for my classroom, to ensure that we are learning.

Classroom management is key to a successful classroom. I believe that within a classroom there must be a clear list of expectations for students, a guide of procedures for students to follow, and ultimately a list of consequences that inquire if expectations are not met.

A pretty list of procedures, expectations, and consequences are fine and dandy but they will do nothing for the classroom if they are not implement. I think a classroom management plan can be implemented to ensure the class is safe and successful in three simple ways:

1. From the Beginning: In order for classroom management to be effective it must be implemented immediately. At the beginning of the school the teacher must convey their expectations, procedures, and consequences. We cannot expect our students to read our minds and be perfect angels (that would be to ideal) so instead we need to be firm and start out strong with our classroom management. You can always become softer, but you can't start implementing new rules half way through the year and expect students to follow them.
2. Consistency: As teachers we have to be consistent with our classroom management. If we let bad behavior slide one time then why not let it slide the next time. We have to be consistent with our follow through. We have to demonstrate discipline in which we are disciplined with our implementation and follow through of our expectations, procedures, and consequences.
3. Two Way Street: A successful classroom includes students and teachers. We as teachers must strive to work diligently with our students. Maybe we as teachers have to be the bigger person most of the time, but if we want to create a fun and successful atmosphere and reduce behavior problems we must be willing to communicate and work effectively with each student and their individual needs.

I think we as teachers have the ability to create a safe and successful classroom atmosphere if we take time to implement our classroom management expectation, procedures, and consequences. We must immediately be firm and consistent in our implementation, and at the end of the day remember we are all in this learning experience together!

Miss. Timmons

Serving in Action at KD

Yesterday, November 24th I had the pleasure of teaching a Life Knowledge lesson at Kennard Dale, my cooperating high school where I will be student teaching. Before I tell you any more, let me just say I love my school, I love being there, I love my kids, I love my cooperating teacher, I love it all!

So anyway, as part of my student teaching preparation, I was required to teach a Life Knowledge lesson to my students at Kennard Dale.

What is a Life Knowledge lesson?

Well the National FFA did a great job of creating complete lesson plans on common every day personal growth and development skills. The purpose of me teaching a basic personal growth skill was to just give me more confidence in my teaching as well as becoming more acquainted with my students.

Since we are among the holiday season, I chose to teach a lesson on serving others. This lesson stood out to me for many reasons. I strive to serve others in any way I possible can, and as an educator I want my students to see that in me. I want them to know that not only will I serve them through their education but I also expect them to help me serve others through our agricultural program. Also with the holidays right around the corner there are always needs to be filled and I felt this was a great time for us to fill them.

 I had a complete lesson plan already created for me from the FFA Life Knowledge program, all I needed to do was teach it. But I wanted this lesson to come to life for my kids. I wanted them to actually serve and find meaning and value in that five letter word.

After communicating my ideas with Miss. Smith we decided to conduct a canned food drive for our own food pantry within our school district. I felt this was a great way students could serve other students within our district.

I am thankful for Miss. Smith and her unconditional help and support as she informed our agriculture classes of our food drive mission and encouraged our students to bring in canned food for one week. We made our serving process a competition among all of our agriculture classes and whichever class period brought in the most items would receive a prize when I came to teach my lesson on the 24th.

When I got to Kennard Dale yesterday, I was pleased to see we had collected 2 boxes of canned food items to give to our food pantry. I was proud to see that our students actually participated and felt the need to serve others. Our period 9 Horticulture 2 class brought in the most items so they received cookies for their generous support.

Now for the actual lesson part...I taught a lesson on serving others to our Intro to Agriculture and Natural Resource class. This class consists of 14 students most of which are 9th graders. After teaching this class I am reminded as to why I do not teach any grades lower than high school. Overall the teaching went well.

Throughout the lesson we created a serving plate, which illustrated 4 areas in which we have the opportunity to reach out and serve others. We also illustrated 4 ways we can contribute to a service which include: time, money, gifts & abilities, and affections/encouragement. I had the student work in groups of 3 to create a service project or event in which they had to identify who, what, when, how, where, and why they were serving. And the last activity I had our students do was to write a word of encouragement to each other. On a piece of white copy paper each student wrote their name in the middle of the page. We passed each paper around to each student and each student then had to write something encouraging to the student whose paper they had. I wanted this to be away for our students to see how easily they can serve others with their words.

I felt good after teaching the lesson. I think this class will be an opportunity for me to grow in my abilities to maintain an instructional and enjoyable environment as well as help me implement my classroom management skills, and that is something I will look forward to with an open mind.

Overall, as always is was a great day at Kennard Dale and I continue to anxiously wait until I can be there everyday!!

Miss. Timmons

"A life of significance is about serving those who need your gifts, your leadership, your purpose." - Kevin Hall

Three Day Glimpse of Teaching at Juniata High School

Last week I had the opportunity to teach a three day unit of floral design to 20 students in a Plant and Soil Science class at Juniata High School in Mifflintown, Pa. These three days of teaching was a great snapshot of teaching agriculture and it gave me a great appreciation for the career that I am entering.

In the weeks prior to my micro teaching experience I communicated with Mrs. Morgan, the high school agriculture teacher at Juniata. Mrs. Morgan requested that I teach the students how to make a Thanksgiving floral centerpiece for their holiday dinner on Thursday, November 19th. I thought, that was awesome! I personally, love floral design so this would be perfect!

So the week before teaching, I created my lesson plans as to how I wanted the three days to be structured. Three days before I was to teach, Mrs. Morgan and I were still communicating as to when the flowers would be delivered and how this would impact our instructional time. This was stressing me to no end. Fun fact about Ms. Timmons, I am a perfectionist and kind of controlling when it comes to my teaching. I like to have all my "I's" dotted and every "T" crossed before I begin teaching. So when we were still discussing what to do, three days before 'go time' I was a little frustrated.

Also, my students that I was teaching have had no experience of floral design yet. Which was great! I wanted to teach them as we went along...But there is so much to know I felt like I did not have enough time to teach them everything they needed to know about floral design and how to create a cohesive, balanced arrangement.

Ready or not Monday came and this is what I wanted us to complete for the day:

Day 1 (Monday)
- Students will be able to properly prepare Oasis floral foam in a floral dish.
- Students will be able to describe the purpose of floral foam as it relates to flower preservation.
- Students will be able to construct a double butterfly bow to add to their arrangement.

We learned about Oasis and its functional purpose. How to cut and properly soak Oasis using the 'free float' method. Each student prepared their floral dish will saturated Oasis, taped it down, and added a candle holder. Then each student received a task sheet of how to construct a double butterfly bow. We read through the instructions together and then began to create our bows until the end of class.

Day 1- Success

Initially I had planned that on Tuesday we would learn how to prepare fresh cut flowers. We would discuss how to cut the flowers at and angle and why, etc. Then we would begin with foliage/greenery. Well, after Monday's class Mrs. Morgan got the flowers and had a student go ahead and prepare them for our class on Tuesday to save time.

Therefore, my plans for Tuesday changed to include:

Day 2 (Tuesday)
- Students will be identify 3 different types of foliage used in our arrangement.
- Students will describe the functional purpose of foliage in an arrangement.
- Students will construct the foliage portion of our arrangement.

We identified 3 different greens that we were using in our arrangement. Baker's Fern, Lemon Leaf Sala,  and Seeded Eucalyptus. Each student collected their greenery and we examined the stoma pores on the underside of the leaves and briefly related this to transpiration and photosynthesis. We then discussed cutting stems and finally began putting our greenery in our arrangement. I demonstrated the floral process as if this was a cooking show. My students followed each step that I made.

We ran out of time adding our foliage/greenery to our arrangement.

Day 2- Success but not complete

So Wednesday we had to get moving and get these arrangements done:

Day 3 (Wednesday)
- Students will identify flower structures (florets) of Chrysanthemums.
- Students will analyze balance and proportion of floral arrangements.
- Students will finish constructing their Thanksgiving floral centerpiece.

We began right away getting our arrangements out and constructing. I gave the students a timeline today to make sure we got done. I told them they had 10 minutes to finish greenery. After 10 minutes we were all moving on to flowers. And we all met that timeline and did just that. By the end of class we had completed our arrangements and were adding bows.

Day 3- Complete Success...finally.

What I learned from this experience:

1. All I want for Christmas is...a watch! Each day we ran out of time. I did not realize how quickly 39 minutes goes, compared to my cooperating school which is 52 minute class periods. It will take some time for me to adjust my pace of instruction.
2. Adapt and chill! I feel as though I am a relatively laid back calm person, but when it comes to teaching I know what I want, how I envision something and that's what I expect. So when flowers arrive at different times and we don't get a task completed that I had planned, it's okay! I am learning to be more patient and go with the flow.
3. I have the ability to set the mood! If I allow my students to lollygag and mosey around they will do just that. That is why on Wednesday I felt I needed to set time stamps for us to ensure we would get our tasks completed and I felt that was a good management strategy on my part.
4. I LOVED IT!! I felt very good about my experience at Juniata. My students were great and did not want me to leave (which was a great feeling). I am proud of myself and my growth as an educator. Each day my confidence grew and I am beyond thankful for this experience.

"I will hold myself to a standard of grace not perfection"
-Miss. Timmons

Teaching the Digestive System with Lingerie.....Say What??

Yes, you read the title correct. Last week in my AEE 412 Teaching Methods course, I taught the digestive system to my peers using lingerie.

Last week my peers and I were tasked with creating and implementing a lesson using the Inquiry Based Instructional method. So what is inquiry based instruction (IBI)?

Well, according to Warner and Myers, Inquiry-based teaching is a teaching method that combines the curiosity of students and the scientific method to enhance the development of critical thinking skills while learning science.

Ideally in an IBI lesson students are given a task or question and they have to use their prior knowledge, critical thinking skills, and resources to complete the task or solve the question. Often times, while students are inquiring they pose more questions and they continue to create new ideas, and explanations. Students have the opportunity to drive their learning through the processes for exploration and questioning.

Now to the good stuff...how did I used lingerie to teach?

On Wednesday, I decided to teach a lab on the digestive system, specifically a swine's digestive system. The 'inquiry' question I posed to my students was, "How does food move through a Swine's digestive system?"

First I divided my 4 students (peers) into 2 groups. As a group they were given a lab sheet and asked to create a hypothesis for this question. After I signed off on an "if, then" hypothesis statement, the groups had to make a procedure list as to how they were going to test and demonstrate the hypothesis. Once the groups got started I displayed an image of a swine's digestive system on the white board, to alleviate any frustrations that may have been brewing. The only instructions I gave my students was to  use as many or as little supplied lab materials as they felt were needed to demonstrate the answer to the posed question.

The lab supplies that each group received was a: Tupperware container, a large spoon, scissors, 2 Ziploc sandwich bags,6 saltine crackers, a mini can of root beer, a cup of milk, and last but not least the lingerie... a NYLON! (you were thinking of something skimpier weren't you?...Tricked ya!)

 Once the groups created a procedure list, they began to test their hypothesis to answer the question of "How does food move through the digestive system?"

Both of my groups answered this question in different ways. The way I interpreted the lab supplies was to use one sandwich bag as the mouth. I added saltine crackers into the 'mouth' and poured milk into the bag to represent saliva. The teeth became my hands as I crushed the crackers. Once they were smaller in shape they traveled through the esophagus and into the stomach which was the second sandwich bag. Once in the stomach, stomach acids or the soda broke down the food into even smaller pieces. Stomach muscles (my hands) also broke down the food even more. Next using a spoon, the food was passed to the small intestines or the sexy nylon. Once in the nylon (using my hand I kept the food near the top of the nylon) the nutrients or liquids was absorbed into the body (squeezed out of the nylon). The food then traveled down the nylon or small intestines into the large intestines where the remaining food became solid waste material. Then the food passed through the rectum and left the body through the anus (cut the nylon to expose solid waste or mushy crackers).

 The interesting part for me as the teacher was to hear the questions my students were posing to themselves? First we needed to think of what is digestion? Where does it occur? How do all of these compartments (mouth, esophagus, small/large intestines, etc.) work together to move food through the system? What does the soda represent?

And at, this point, when my students were forming all of these questions and creating interesting digestive systems with their materials I realized the value of Inquiry Based Instruction.

 

The Positives

• I thoroughly enjoyed this lab! After reflecting on my thoughts, my students, and my professors evaluation I feel good about my ability to implement IBI in my future classroom. My students loved the activity and I feel as though it was very helpful in demonstrating the digestive system.
• I feel as though I continue to grow with my presence in front of the class and my confidence increases with each week.
• I am getting better at clarity of instruction and posing questions to my students.

 

Improvement for Next Time

• IBI requires science. I need to incorporate more scientific aspects into my IBI.
• I need to ask higher order thinking questions.

Overall, I feel good about IBI and my abilities to implement it into my agricultural curriculum.
Ms. Timmons

"We cannot teach people anything, we can only help them find it within themselves." - Galileo
Galilei

I almost did NOT TeachAg!

In less than 4 weeks I will be completing my academic career at The Pennsylvania State University. In 4 weeks I will be off to conclude my college career as I student teach at Kennard Dale High School in York county and as I praise the good Lord I will walk across the stage to receive a Bachelors of Science degree in May.


 

But all of this almost did not happen...

 

You see, if you would have asked the little Jenna in elementary school what she wanted to do when she grew up she would have said, "I want to be a teacher." I always knew that.
 

I used to play school with my 'imaginary students' sitting on my living room floor, and I got pretty good at the handing out papers process.
My poor sister got extra tutoring even if she didn't need or want it, I was practicing my teacher skills.

I always wanted to teach! But what would I teach? I'm not drawn to specific subjects such as Math, English, and heaven knows definitely not History.
 

So why not teach what I know, what I love, what I live.
 

See, growing up on a farm is a great blessing. I was my Daddy's side kick. I followed him everywhere. From him, I learned how to milk cows, feed baby calves, drive tractors, bale hay, load a tractor trailer load of hay or straw, how to pick rocks out of the field (not fun), how to jump in the big truck and haul up through the gears, and so much more. I've learned so much just from my 21 years of life on the farm with my Dad. And I love it all!
 

So it only made sense to teach what I know, what I live, and what I love. I need to teach Agriculture!
 

I entered college right after high school with a major in Agricultural Extension and Education. I attended Penn State Mont Alto for 2 years to complete my general education credits and I thank the good Lord I did, because that is where the love of my life, Richie, found me (and we live happily ever after).

 

So after 2 years at Mont Alto I transitioned to University Park to dive into Agricultural Education.
 

But, I couldn't do it! I could not go any further in Ag Ed.
 

I didn't even make it through the first semester, not even the first week of classes, and I wanted out! I needed to change my major. But why? Agriculture is what I love, what I know, what I live.
 

I was afraid. I doubted myself and my abilities. Honestly, the biggest fear I had was student teaching. The thought of student teaching terrified me!! There was no way I would be prepared to student teach at the end of all this, no way at all! I do not know half of anything about animals, and mechanics. Plants ehhh, I like. But there was no way I could continue in Ag Ed and feel confident in my ability to be an effective Ag teacher. What if I didn't get a long well with my cooperating teacher? What if I just could not teach? What if I don't know the material that I am expected to teach? All of these 'what if's ran through my head constantly".
 

So, I took the easy way out, and I changed my major. I began to study Agricultural Sciences with a dual minor in Agribusiness and Agronomy. I could take a office job, that would be okay, I guess.
 

When I would call Richie and talk to him about my fears, all he would say to me is "You are GOING to be a great teacher!" That's not what I wanted to hear, I wanted to get out of Ag Ed not be encouraged.  My Mom would send me cards and call to tell me she is praying that I will make the right decision and follow Gods will. I did not want to hear that either. I didn't want to think about what was right or what talents God has blessed me with.

No, I had to run from my fears, I had to get out of Agricultural Education.
 

So for the entire 2014 Fall semester (one year ago) I was enrolled as an Ag Science student, not Ag Education. Friends, every single day I thought about teaching Agriculture. Every dang day!!!!! The desire of teaching Agriculture never left my heart! And of course I still saw my Ag Ed professors and they constantly told me I could be an awesome Ag teacher. But I couldn't do it!
 

Every dang day, it was on my mind! Every day it was on my heart!
 

But I made it to Christmas break. I went home to my families and was wrapped in such love and support (I love being home) I felt good, I felt confident.
 

I came back to PSU from Christmas break, and went to my first class. In that class I introduced myself "Jenna Timmons, a  Junior majoring in Agricultural Sciences" I actually had to write that down because in my head I said Agricultural EDUCATION.

By the next class period that day, I had changed my major back to Agricultural Extension and Education. I had not one fear, not one thought of 'what in the world did I just do?" instead I felt good! I knew I made the right decision. I knew somehow I would make it through the next two semesters and I would then make it through student teaching as well. I knew in my heart I was doing what God has blessed me with the abilities to do and He would make a way for me.
 

So here I am now, about to go student teach at Kennard Dale. Let me just say, if there was a perfect school for me to teach at, it would be Kennard Dale. If there was a perfect cooperating teacher for me to teacher with, it would be Abby Smith. So it doesn't get any more perfect than this!


After every day Agricultural education classes at 8 a.m., endless conferences, multiple workshops that I have facilitated, many teaching opportunities, endless lesson plans that I have created, and so so so much more...I am ready to go student teach!

The excitement I have to student teach is beyond measures. I am so excited to be able to teach my students at Kennard Dale. After spending a week at National FFA Convention with them, Abby and I call them 'our' students. And there is nothing more welcoming than already having your own group of kids.

I am beyond ready to go! Student teaching means the end is in sight and my golly, I am so ready to cross the finish line. I am so so ready to achieve this goal. I am so ready to accomplish my dreams. I am so ready to be the best Agricultural educator that I can possibly be. I am so ready to share my gifts and my stories (oh yes), and my talents with my students.

Further more, I am excited to not have to leave my family on Sundays to come to school anymore. Lastly, I am excited to marry my best friend and start our life together.

And student teaching will be the beginning of all my accomplishments.

 

So are my fears of student teaching gone? -Definitely!

Am I prepared and ready to go?

Oh my Lord, no! I have a million lesson plans to write and I already did half a million (I'm just kidding). I only have a few more lesson plans to finish by December. But I am confident in my ability and my skills as an educator. I know in my heart that this is what I was meant to do, I know that this is where I was meant to student teach and begin my career!

Do I know everything about Agricultural Education?

Heck NO! But I am learning and growing. I have realized that I will not (ever) know everything, and that is okay with me. However, my knowledge in animal science has grown and I am actually (as crazy as this is for me) most excited about teaching my animal care and management classes. I am growing in my ability to create engaging lessons while teaching with purpose. I am learning to be an effective powerful Agriculture teacher.

Now, I know there will be tough days in Ag Ed. Days where my lesson is horrific and it just all falls to pieces. I know there will be days when I fall to pieces and cry just because. But I know that it's all going to be okay, I will make it. I will cross the finish line. I will succeed in Agricultural Education.

I once was terrified of this career. I let this fear control me. I let the fear of 'what if's' take over. And I almost let fear take my dreams. So friends, take the challenge, take the risk, take control of your dreams, and chase them!

Love,
Ms. Jenna Timmons

"Peace is not the absence of trouble; peace is the presence of God in any situation. Circumstances don't have to be perfect for you to walk and live in His perfect peace!" -Victoria Osteen"
 

What is Inquiry Based Learning?

How can we as educators make learning fun and engaging for our students?

What if instead of just providing information to our students, we gave them the opportunity to discover learning on their own?

Well, Inquiry Based Learning is a teaching method in which students are given full potential to explore content on their own. According to Warner and Myers, Inquiry Based Learning "combines the curiosity of students and the scientific method to enhance the development of critical thinking skills while learning science".

During Inquiry Based Learning students are faced with a problem to explore. As students are exploring they may pose questions to the problems, make observations, and apply knowledge before coming to a conclusion.

According to the National Academy of Sciences (1995), the process that students go through when engaging in learning through inquiry include:

1. Question
2. Investigate
3. Use evidence to describe, explain, and predict
4. Connect evidence to knowledge, and
5. Share findings with others.

As agricultural educators, I believe we have a great opportunity to implement Inquiry Based Learning in our classrooms. Because of our laboratory component of our curriculum, I feel there are numerous opportunities for students to engage in hands on activities that allow them to strengthen their critical thinking skills.

For example while in the greenhouse my students and I noticed that one of our potted sunflowers was radiating beautifully. Two potted plants to the right we found a sunflower that was half the size as the first sunflower and the head of the sunflower was drooping downward.

I asked my students why these two flowers were so different? What was causing the dramatic difference in appearance?

My students can now engage in Inquiry Based Learning following the five steps listed above. They may pose questions as to are both flowers receiving the same amount of sunlight? Could the second sunflower be lacking a nutrient? Is the temperature to hot or cold for the sunflowers?

Then my students would investigate each of their questions. This investigation would require tests and other observations to our variables or sunflowers in this experiment. After their investigation and testing the students can use their investigations to describe, explain and predict or hypothesize what could be happening to our sunflower. This process allows for the implementation of the scientific method.

Once a conclusion is made students can connect their evidence to knowledge to create a resolution to their sunflower dilemma.


Inquiry Based Learning is a great method to get students engaged and in control of their own learning process. Students will enhance their critical thinking skills as well as develop a stronger connection to their learning.

Check out this video from Edutopia on Inquiry Based Learning in a science classroom! For all my Agriculture lovers out there, this could easily be implemented in to a Natural Resource or Environmental class as well!

The article referenced in this post can be found at:
Warner, A.J. & Myers, B.E. (2011) What inquiry-based instruction? Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC07500.pdf


Amplify Life

Take the chance! Take the opportunity!

 

This past week I was given a chance of a lifetime, a tremendous opportunity to attend the 2015 National FFA Convention in Louisville Kentucky. The National FFA Convention brings together FFA members from all 50 states. I know, it's pretty much a big deal. This convention allows students to compete in Career Development Events at a national level as well as engage in student development workshops and emerge in career opportunities. I had never attended National FFA Convention before, so this was a brand new experience for me. Let me just say, it is AMAZING!! There is an indescribable feeling being surrounded by 60,000 blue FFA jackets. There is no better feeling of family and community like National FFA Convention. 

 

 

I am so fortunate to have had the pleasure of attending National FFA Convention with the Kennard Dale FFA chapter, my student teaching high school. Let me just tell you that spending 6 days AND nights with 9 students and my cooperating teacher, Ms. Smith, is the best way to get involved in my cooperating school. After this week, I am so so so so soooooo excited to student teach in 10 weeks!!!

 

We began our National FFA Convention week Monday, October 26 at 6 am. With sleepy eyes and anticipation we loaded our suitcases onto the bus at our school in York County and headed west towards Pittsburg, Pa. Monday we toured Pittsburg via a boat tour and the Duquesne Incline. We also had the pleasure of touring Heinz field. 

(Left to right: Duquesne Incline at night, City of Pittsburg, and Heinz Field)

 

 

 

We then traveled through West Virginia on Tuesday, stopping to visit the state penitentiary on our way. Finally on Wednesday we were in Kentucky and toured the Kentucky Horse Park and kicked off the 2015 National FFA convention with opening ceremonies and a Jake Owen and Maddie & Tae concert. 

West Virginia State Penitentiary

Jake Owen/Maddie and Tae Concert

 

 

Thursday provided great opportunities for our students to engage in student workshops and career opportunities through the convention and career expo. As a teacher, I gained many many resources and classroom material from the career expo, to implement and use in my future classroom. 

 

Thursday night we attended a dinner cruise on the Belle of Louisville Riverboat. This was an enjoyable evening! I appreciated the aspect of being 'stuck' on a boat with my students and Ms. Smith. This provided many opportunities to communicate and interact with my students in a very casual, fun atmosphere.

 

 

 

Friday, concluded our week at National FFA Convention. We explored the Louisville Mega Cavern Friday morning. At the cavern some students participate in zip lining through the cavern and other students completed a rope course. I faced some fears as I suited up for the zip lines, and to my surprise that was one of my favorite activities! While completing this course I was proud to see many of my students overcome and face some of their own fears as well!

 

Ms. Smith and I gearing up to zip line

 

 

Final Thoughts



This experience has furthered my commitment to agricultural education.  This week has amplified my desire to become the best agriculture teacher I can possibly be. A few things I have learned from this experience include:

 

~The best Cooperating Teacher

I have the very BEST cooperating teacher....in the world!! (just saying). Ms. Smith and I are very much the same person in many ways, and I feel that this allows us to work well together. I value Ms. Smith's presence as a young agriculture teacher. She is very organized and well prepared; she has it all together! She is respected by all our students. She constantly strives to grow our agricultural program. She's just pretty dang awesome and I admire her for all she is and does. I feel so blessed to have her as my cooperating teacher!

 

~The best Students

I am so thankful for each one of the students that I am fortunate to teach at Kennard Dale. I was so impressed with the composure and respect that our students displayed throughout the week. They  made me so proud. My students are great! They each have different personalities and I love being able to interact with each of my students, and this trip provided great opportunities for me to do so.

 

~You have to laugh

Throughout our trip we had many dilemmas, many of which had to do with our bus that we rode in to convention. Some of these dilemmas included a water leak, a flat tire and getting lost multiple times. But we learned to enjoy those set backs. Ms. Smith and I would just sit back and laugh, because that's all we could do. Our students even handled the dilemmas well, in which by the end of the week they named the bus the 'blue turd'. Life is full of dilemmas but I'm learning to enjoy them.

 

~I need to amplify my life

The theme of National FFA convention this year was 'Amplify'. Those seven letters have so much meaning. To often I have been in this rut of just getting by. I do what is required of me, to the best of my ability and that's it. But I want to do more than what is on my 'list of things to do'. I want to increase my value and purpose in this life. Also, I want to be a light for others. I want to shine the light and help amplify others. I feel that being an agriculture teacher I have many opportunities to allow my students to shine.  I want to amplify my life and make it the best life possible for me!

 

~Excitement!!!

I have been excited to student teach since, oh I don't know, the beginning of my college career. But today, after a week with my cooperating teacher, with our students..., excited does not even come close to how I feel. I woke up this morning wishing I could relive last Monday and we could be on the road again to convention. I am so thrilled to be student teaching at Kennard Dale with Ms. Smith!! Honestly, I can't stop smiling from the excitement that I have!

 

 

~Ms. Timmons

"From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another."-John 1:16

The Second National #TeachAgChat- Technology in Ag Education

I feel privileged to have been able to participate in a national twitter chat.

Twitter is still new to me, so I am still learning the basics of how to tweet, use hashtags, and interact with others. And after participating in this national #TeachAgChat I have gained a greater understanding and appreciation for Twitter.

Olivia, Janae and myself held our #TeachAgChat on October 22, 2015. My peers and I discussed the opportunities and challenges with technology regarding School-Based Agriculture Education. I was very excited about our topic because I feel it is very relevant in our 21st century classrooms. Also I think it is a topic of which more and more educators are leading towards and or want to learn more about.

Our chat consisted of 9 questions, with a few sub-questions in between.

We invited other agriculture teachers in PA and beyond, our Penn State technology expert, and other educational guru's to participate in our #TeachAgChat.

3 Thoughts I had after participating in our #TeachAgChat

1. It is FAST!!!! I have participated in a twitter chat before and was surprised at how fast everything goes, however actually conducting the chat, time went even faster. At times I felt very overwhelmed. I found it very difficult to keep up with all the questions and try to interact with each participant as well. Sometimes I would get lost in the twitter feed because it was all happening so fast.

2. Preparation is key! Preparation is important for pretty much everything, especially engaging in a twitter chat. I felt as though my peers and I were prepared in which we took time to create meaningful in depth questions in advance. However, I feel as though we lacked preparation in which we did not invite as many participants as we would have liked to.

3. Informative!! I thoroughly enjoyed our twitter chat as well as other chats that I have engaged in. I have gained so much knowledge and insight just from listening to other educators answer questions and give their insight or thoughts on how they operate their Ag classroom. As a pre-service educator I have gained many ideas and elements that I would like to incorporate in my Ag classroom.

I am very thankful to have been able to participate in and conduct a national #TeachAgChat. I have gained great information as well as developed a PLN with other agricultural educators. I look forward to continue to grow and interact through twitter.


"You must learn a new way to think before you can master a new way to be"-Marianne Williamson

~Ms. Timmons

Are We There Yet?

To many car rides hear the words "Are we there yet?" "Have we made it to our final destination?"

In education, we also need to ask ourselves if we have arrived at our final destination. As an educator I want to ensure that my students reach their final destination of success with their greatest potential. Therefore, it is important to me that, I incorporate mile markers along their routes. I want to create a definite point at which we can stop along the road, asses where we were, where we are now, and where we are heading next. Therefore I feel it is important to evaluate and assess students through their educational journey.

Before I begin a new area of content, I want to put on the brakes and identify what prior knowledge my students have in this content area. I feel it is important to gain a census of where we are now, what we already know, so I can appropriately navigate our class learning in the right direction. Once I have an understanding of what my students already know, I will then be able to identify a point of which I can intervene and pick up with new content material.

After we begin and throughout our learning process, I feel it is important to check for student understanding along the way. A formative assessment is great for checking for progress of where we are now in our learning process. Therefore, on our route to success, I feel it is beneficial to add mile markers such as formative assessments as a gauge of student learning. This mile marker allows me as the teacher to analyze what my students are learning and if we are meeting the objectives I have set forth.


Continuing on our route to success I feel it is important for students to express what they have and are learning through various forms of expression. If applied at the end of the unit, this form of assessment would be titled a summative assessment, in which it evaluates what the students have learned. How far have we traveled? An example of a summative assessment in my floral design course may include asking my students to create a holiday arrangement that identifies 5 design element and 5 principles of design. To assess or evaluate my students learning in this content area, I am asking them to demonstrate their learning and apply that leaning through a floral creation. As the educator, I will assess this project using a rubric. By using a rubric I can quickly and accurately assess my students learning based on what they have demonstrated. Using a rubric to evaluate student learning also allows my assessment criteria to be uniformed and equal for all students(unless an accommodation or modification is required).


Throughout our journey to success I feel it is important to always ask questions. I want my students to constantly be thinking and applying the knowledge they are learning and also go beyond what we are learning. Questioning is a great simple tool for evaluating students learning process and identifying what they are capturing as important material. I feel it is important to ask high level critical thinking questions. I want to push my students to think hard, and apply what we are learning to solve problems.

As an educator, I feel assessments and evaluations are very beneficial to ensure student learning. As my students embark on their routes to success, I want them to take the long way, or the winding path. I want them to think and to use their skills and knowledge to navigate them to great success. However, on the long and windy road, and even along the narrow straight path, there are always  mile markers and areas to pull over. Therefore, I feel it is important to always assess and evaluate student learning to ensure we are on the right path to success.


~Ms. Timmons



Reading material emphasizing topics in this blog, such as rubrics, formative and summative assessments can be found at:
 Cornell University Center for Teaching Excellence. (2015). Assessing student learning. Retrieved from http://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/assessing-student-learning/index.html
Stoughton, A.L. & Myers, B.E. (2008) Creating and working with rubrics. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC06900.pdf

A Possible Solution to the Problem

Problem solving is stressful for me. I like having all the answers right in front of me.

However, this is not realistic. There are many problems to be solved in every day life. In 412 Teaching Methods lab this week, I taught a lesson in which required my students to engage their problem solving skills.

I conducted my lesson on a milk tasting lab exercise. Within this lab my students had to use their problem solving skills to identify 4 flavor defects in milk.

To begin my lesson I had my students drink a glass of their favorite milk (chocolate or white). As they drank their milk we discussed the flavors, texture, and smell of their milk they were consuming. We then transitioned into how that milk was good tasting, what could bad milk look, smell, and taste like?

I created 4 stations. At each station was a scenario card and a sample of milk. The scenario described the milk sample (an accommodation for students who may be lactose intolerant). The students were given a lab worksheet and asked to write the station number under the flavor defect that they identified. Once students rotated through the stations we identified the four flavor defects and then discussed possible causes of the flavor defect as well as possible prevention tactics.

As I reflect on my own feelings and my peers comments I have identified 3 positive points of my lab and 3 areas that I will improve on.

Positive Points:

1. I feel I created a good lab experience. I feel that this lab was interactive and enjoyable. I think it allowed my students to use problem solving skills to identify the flavor defect.
2. I feel as though I handled gave clear instructions as to what I expected my students to do as they went to each station.
3. I think I interacted with each student well, in which I had each student identify a flavor defect and then read the scenario for that defect.

Points of Improvement:

1. I need to allow/encourage my students to think at higher levels. I feel as though I played the situation down very low and did not give my students enough of a challenge.
2. I need to allow my students to take ownership of the problem. I guided and 'spoon fed' my students throughout the whole problem solving process.
3. I need to work on the organization and structure of creating problem solving approaches.

I feel relieved that I was able to get through this lab with relative ease. I'm satisfied with my presentation, however I will make improvements for next time.

~Ms. Timmons

"I will walk by faith even when I can not see"- 2 Corinthians 5:7

Project Based Learning-Main Meal

Projects are used quite often in our 21st century classrooms. Projects can be used as a way for students to explore content material on their own and then they may be shared to the rest of the class through presentations.

As a pre-service educator I often sway away from projects. I honestly, do not like projects. I do not like competing projects myself, and I struggle with finding purpose in my student's completing projects as well. However, as I researched project based learning in our 21st century classroom, I found that I have a poor concept of how projects can be implemented into purposeful instruction today.

According to Larmer and Mergendoller's  '8 Essentials for Project Based Learning' projects in our classrooms should not only teach content material but they can also be a driving force for questions, inquiry, critical thinking skills, and student voice.

To ensure a project has purpose and meaning we must create a project that encompasses our important concepts and content standards that we are striving for our students to meet. I could create project after project but if my students are not meeting standards and gaining important knowledge it is meaningless to them as well as to my goal of teaching them information.

In order for the project to be specific and meaningful to learners it must focus on a specific driving question. A good driving question is one that captures the meaning of the project in clear concise language. This driving questions will lead the students to find purpose and meaning in their project. This will allow the students to capture the 'need to know benefit' of the project. The students will have a base for why this information is important for us to know.

According to Larmer and Mergendoller "The Main Course, Not Dessert", projects that answer a good driving question are ones that require students to think critically and apply a higher order of thinking. Questions should lead to more questions resulting in students engaging in inquiry. 

Also if students are informed that they must present their project findings to a panel of 'experts' (which could include other students, faculty, parents, etc.) they will be driven to complete their project to a high standard, knowing they have a purpose to convey good information.

I think, a reason why I stray away from projects is because I have not experienced a good implementation of Project Based Learning. For example, when I think of projects, I think of giving each of my students a beef cow breed and asking them to research the breed and then present the breed to the class. This is boring! This is not interesting to me or to other students. What are my students actually gaining from this experience?

After completing this research I have found that I could reconstruct the previous example to ask students to identify more important driving questions. What beef cow breed provide the most lean meat? Why? If I go to the local Steakhouse what type of beef will I be served? Answers to this 'main meal" question should be based on my location, common beef sold in the U.S., meat cut from specific breeds, and price of beef being sold. That one "main meal" question has so many other little questions that can be answered first. All the little questions are questions that may meet content standards as an additional bonus.

Projects in our classrooms can become the main meal of our content if purpose and meaning is given. If we incorporate good effective driving questions as our appetizers, we can lead to purposeful inquiry where students are led by critical thinking through the projects, and we can finish with a delicious dessert presentation of our knowledge to other students and administration.


~Ms. Timmons

A day as an FFA Secretary - Fall Leadership Conference

"Stationed by the ear of corn"
"I keep an accurate record of all meetings and correspond with other secretaries wherever corn is grown and FFA members meet." (the FFA Secretaries opening ceremony lines)

Before today, I unfortunately did not know the opening ceremony lines of an FFA Secretary. As I prepared to facilitate the Secretaries workshop today at the Fall Leadership Conference, I found myself needing to learn all the objectives I was planning for my students to learn. The first objective being able to recite the Secretaries opening ceremony lines with 100% accuracy. (I as well as my students fulfilled that objective today).

Today was a GREAT day!! I feel very confident about the learning and facilitation that occurred today. (I'm so happy with how today went that I wanted to write this blog tonight).

I will just share a few of my favorite highlights from todays lesson.

One of our first activities completed (after bell work, a get to know you activity and the interest approach was conducted) involved the students breaking up into groups based on a colored napkin(red, blue, yellow, or purple) that they received as they entered the workshop.

Once in groups, they were asked to document on a piece of paper their thoughts of the word "Secretary". What comes to their mind when they hear that word? It could be related to FFA or just in general every day life, what does that word mean to them?

One of my favorite answers I heard was "little old ladies typing away"-I mean yeah I totally could see that.

We went around the room and shared and then I got to share with them, what I think of when I hear that word. I think of an office secretary. Someone who has a small desk in front of a large office building. One who is responsible for contacting others, scheduling events, and most importantly taking coffee, and lunch orders of others in the office.

So, luckily for my 21 Secretaries I baked them chocolate chip cookies over the weekend and shared them at this time, to emphasis my thoughts of the word 'secretary'. This was the added 'Ms. Timmons' portion of the lesson plan (because I love to cook and bake...fun fact). Also, I think it was a turning point in waking my students up and creating a more comfortable environment. (I mean what high school student turns away food??).

(Photo by Laura Rice)

Then I transitioned into how the cookies are made up of many ingredients just like the Secretary position is made up of many different roles and duties. Without fulfilling all the roles/duties a Secretary position is not adequately fulfilled. We then continued in to activities talking about 6 roles/duties a secretary should fulfill.

Fast forward to later on in our workshop we completed my other favorite portion of the lesson. As Secretaries, one of their roles is to correspond with others. One way of correspondence in this modern world is through social media. So I created a big white social media post-it for each of the 4 groups.

 

On the Post-it was a Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter icon. The instructions for the activity was that each group ( a pretend FFA Chapter) was to create an FFA event. They needed to establish a name, date, time, location, theme, etc. for this event. Once they created the event they were to correspond through the 3 forms of social media and invite others to their FFA event. I felt this was a great way to connect the students to the role of 'correspondence' and make it realistic for them as well. The end result was great! During the activity there was a lot of enthusiasm, and engagement.

 

 

I enjoyed putting my social media skills to the test, by "liking and retweeting their posts".  Such a fun time to interact with the students as well. We went around the room to each group and shared about our upcoming event and how the social media platforms help convey our events through corresponding with others.



 

Overall, it was a great workshop! We had additional activities throughout our lesson to encompass the role of creating and posting an agenda and minutes report. We conducted a tower of Agenda elements. A racing puzzle match, and we also took time to work on our correspondence skills through writing a Thank You note to our Agriculture teachers. This was designed to help students communicate effectively and with appreciation.

 

 

Some areas of improvement for next time, would be to communicate better with co-facilitators and prepare more effectively as a facilitation team. Also, the teaching of agenda and minutes reports was a little dry and rough. A refinement of purpose for activity could improve that.

 

Positive notes from today include being comfortable in front of a group of students. I felt very confident in my teacher skills today. Also, the feedback that I received today was so encouraging. Some of our students took selfies and pictures throughout the workshop and have been tweeting at me and posting their appreciation for all that they learned today (and the cookies) and enjoyed about the Secretary workshop. The environment in our workshop was fun, light hearted and positive. I feel so encouraged and so excited and passionate about a future in Agricultural Education! Today was an Awesome day!!

 

~Ms. Timmons

 

"You have filled my heart with greater joy"-Psalm 4:7

Planning for Units of Success

Planning is the key!! This is the best advise I will every be able to give any young teacher. I am learning the value of planning each and every day as I prepare to student teach in the spring.

The idea of planning a whole unit of study scared me. I felt like I did not know where to even start. However, once I sat down opened my textbook for the course I was planning, it all began to fall into place.

Before I began my Dairy Science unit plan, I knew that this unit was planned to be covered in 4 weeks. Therefore, I needed to create a  unit plan which would be composed of 20 lessons/class sessions. This was a little overwhelming.

As I began my objectives for my unit plan were very vague. As I worked my way through reading the textbook, I found key areas of content that I felt would be important for my students to learn. So once I identified what I wanted to teach, I then identified the objective that I wanted them to gain from each section. I also knew that I wanted to incorporate a few lab exercises with milk and cheese, since after all this is a dairy unit.

I felt confident as I created my unit plan. I felt that my unit as whole was effective in capturing the importance of studying dairy science. Furthermore, as I established each lesson I felt good about my ability to chunk the material and divide all my content up into cohesive meaningful lessons.

Based on my peer feedback, I still feel confident with my ability to create a lesson plan. I am pleased with the feedback I received and I look forward to create the remaining 16 unit plans.

A few areas that I plan to improve for next time include addressing my academic and benchmark standards. I am still a little unfamiliar with these standards and how to properly implement them, so for future unit plans I want to devote more time to using them effectively.

Also I need to create a point of clarity when I state there will be a quiz. I need to emphasize in which lesson the quiz will be occurring and when it will be taken

Overall, I am very happy with my first unit plan and I feel confident as I embrace create the remaining unit plans.

Effectively Questioning

Questions, questions, questions. We all have questions, right?

I think we all have many questions running through our minds at almost any point in time. We may not recognize them as questions, but I believe we are constantly wondering and thinking, which in turn creates many questions.

As an educator, how do I get my students thinking and pondering new questions based on my content material that I am teaching? How do I encourage my students to create their own questions and seek answers?

According to Cornell University Center for Teaching Excellence, questions are the key to student understanding and comprehension. Questions are effective in assessing students engagement, retention of material, and stimulating discussion and high order thinking. Questions are very useful for students and teachers.

I like to think of a lesson as a little outdoor scenery. I envision content material as stepping stones. So as I begin a lesson I may start my lesson by taking little steps to stones in close proximity, until I get a framework of the material built up.

As I continue to get involved in content material I can begin to take bigger steps and lead to bigger stepping stones that increase the depth of my knowledge. As I continue to 'travel' deeper in my content 'setting' I find that my stepping stones are becoming farther apart. The content material is becoming more and more stretched from where I first started. As a student, at this point I feel I need a helping hand before I can make another big jump in content.

I need a bridge. I need to stop ask questions and review what I have learned, restate where I am going, and connect all the content material I have learned so far with the questions and concerns I am thinking or encountering. The bridge, (my questions) will allow me take take a leap of understanding forward and continue on my learning journey.

I think questioning is a great component to student success. As an educator, I was to encourage my students to strive for the very best. I want their minds to wonder. I want them to constantly be thinking of "why, what, if, how, when" questions. I want them to be able to develop a 'bridge' of questions as a way to establish content relationships and develop thinking skills as to how their 'journey' will continue.

According to "Effective Questioning Techniques"  by James Dyer, questions are effective when they establish relationships between concepts. Just as the bridge analogy illustrates.

Questions can be asked in two different level. Low level questioning and high level questioning. Low level questioning include questions that incorporate Bloom's Taxonomy of knowledge, comprehension, and simple applications.  A low level question could be thought of as a bridge very a very small slope. In contrast, a high level question is a deeper questions that asks students to use applications, analysis, and synthesis. These higher level questions illustrate a very steep skinny bridge. One that requires more thinking, and inquiring of each step.

Most importantly, I think questioning is a great tool for teachers to use to assess comprehension, develop student independence and thinking skills, and create connects between content material. Questions are everywhere, questions are inevitable, but questions are also a foundation for learning.