Over the Hill. #AFEE 5112

March 26. 2019
Over the Hill.

Over the hill, halfway done with my student teaching experience; it’s going as crazy as one might have thought. I just finished teaching my Animal Science course and received my feedback from my students. I have worked with those students from the start of my experience since animal science is my home base in terms of information and have taught them for just about 5 weeks (if you can count all of it with the snow days we had). I was able to move through some topics and complete two units as well as try some new activities and lessons, so I am grateful these students stuck with me through it and were in good spirits being the guinea pigs for me.

Some things I learned as I read through my student’s feedback were a couple things. Even though I spaced out my pacing and lesson plans there were a handful of students who still thought we could have slowed down and gained a better understanding of the content. I can understand how some might have felt that way. I had a small gap of time to get my content in before switching classes, so I wanted to make sure I left them on a rounded up note and not in the middle of a unit. This caused me to not go as in depth into the content which were different livestock breeds as we might have wanted. Student’s also commented on the atmosphere of the classroom and how I was perceived. Students said I was very welcoming and had a positive attitude in class, so they were excited to be in that class for the day. I know on my end there were those hard days where my head was elsewhere with other business that was bogging me down so it’s assuring to see that even though we as educators might be dealing with something we put the students ahead and not let it take away from their learning.

Going forward with the second half of my experience I plan to continue to build those student relationships and maintain a positive and exciting classroom. I will continue to create a place where students can’t wait to get to during their day or they don’t want to leave. Learning and growing with student relationships is fun, learning who is doing track and field, seeing students at trap practice, after school at robotics or play and just checking in on their busy and crazy lives. It has been a fun and busy couple weeks and I don’t plan for it to slow down. Below are some of the student works from a by-product assignment. Students found things they use that are made from animal by-products.

Experiences #AFEE5116

Feb 4. 2019

I don’t have experience planning or completing an SAE since I never went through an FFA program in high school. My experience with experiential learning is made up of my Boy Scout experience and working through my Eagle Scout Project. Through Boy Scouts I got to explore different activities through merit badges and working through all the requirements as I moved through the ranks. The eagle project is a milestone of service and is a marker of the highest rank in Boy Scouts. It consists of designing, planning, fundraising, and execution of the project which is a service project to benefit an organization of your choice.

              My project consisted of building 8 ten-foot wood benches for a local soccer complex. I chose this because I knew the complex needed new benches since the area was becoming more popular. Because of the scope of this project I needed to fundraise and find donors which was a new experience for high school me. I found a local carpenter who helped design the benches as well as did the metal fabrication. With his help I was able create a materials list as well as learn how much I need to fundraise to complete this project. That was my next task, fundraise enough money to get the material and complete the project. I went to local companies and talked with them about the project and having them donate to my cause. Through this whole project I had to keep records and receipts to show the progress at the end.

I learned many skills like networking, how to communicate with business leaders, leading a group, and wood working. Much of this was done on my own time when I wanted because I didn’t have a supervisor or someone to report to. My scoutmaster would check in early during the process to see how it’s going, but it was heavily on me to get it up and rolling. Once we had the materials and frames made it moved quicker because it was in the hands of the carpenter and we wanted to get them built and moved out to the complex for the community to enjoy, (and clear up space in his shop).

              Based on my experience I do want students to gain similar experience because it allows students to develop new skills and discover their talents. In my classroom I want students to complete SAE’s no matter if the are or are not part of FFA. It will hopefully just become part of the curriculum and will become part of the class that they will need to complete so if they want to use it in their FFA endeavors it will benefit them. There are many benefits that I see from experiences like this because it gets students out of the classroom and doing something they are interested in (hopefully) because it’s a project that they pick and devote time into. With high school students if they devote outside of school time it is something they invest in, so they can learn tools and tricks.

              I plan to learn many things from my spring placement with Larson and Hoefs in Medford. I know that SAE is part of their classes and is required of students, so I want to learn how they integrate it and how students who aren’t part of FFA (if there are any) complete it. I have much to learn about the formal behind the scenes of SAE like grants, placements, and any degrees or proficiencies that can relate to it because that is all new to me. Other educators around my area may have ideas or similar troubles so I plan to contact others in my area once I find my spot and build my network of similar professionals to learn and grow from. For those reading, what experience do you have with SAE or experiential learning? What was difficult about the process and what were some rewards as you completed it or moved through your experience?

Learn more about SAE from the National FFA website.

The Many Rainbows of Teaching #AFEE 5697

Dec 6. 2018 

"Students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

- Mr. B

 Last day of school, well last day of school at Stillwater for me.  It was a busy and exciting day for multiple reasons. It was obviously my last day there and I had my technology lesson to try out in our Fish and Wildlife classes.  We also had a pet visit in Small Animals, and the most important thing of the day is that the babies were coming!  Working with trout in the classroom we were expecting close to 1000 eggs of Rainbow Trout to arrive sometime throughout the day.  It was a process working with Troutlodge, (which is based out of Washington) so the process of transportation was interesting.  The eggs came in the afternoon so let me explain some of the fun from earlier in the day.

In our Small Animal class first hour we had a pet visit from a student who Mr. B explained was completing an assignment from earlier in the semester, (not the best of students).  This was went well but Mr. B received an email later that there was poop in the hall that wasn't cleaned up.  This prompted our discussion on expectations and problems for his class in the future because of this event.  He expects his students to take responsibility for anything their animals do and they must clean up after them so he will have a discussion with the student about the incident and what might happen because of his ownership responsibilities. 

Food Chemistry third hour, oh boy did I get to see how class and school policy is enforced.  We had two students in the front have an issue with their phones out.  Mr. B stopped class to address this by taking away the phones; one student complied and gave up his phone.  The other student refused to hand in his phone, (which is multiple things against school policy) and this created one of those really awkward moment for the rest of the class who were so quiet during this to see this interaction happen in front of the room.  He moved on and I followed up with Mr. B to see what happens now and he explain the steps that are enforced for their school so that student's parents will be contacted about the situation and the next steps if it occurs again would be intervention by other school support systems.

Mr. B showing eggs to class

Students dispersing eggs in tank

Preparing eggs for introduction into tank


Now for the fun fish! They were delivered during the class I was going to teach in so I understood they were more important and time sensitive to get transferred so I took a backseat and got to the main chunk of my lesson after we got these friends into their new home.  Mr. B lead them through the process received from the company and the DNR to get everything to the right temperature and sanitary so the eggs have the best survival rate.  This was a unique experience because there aren't many schools that participate in this project with Minnesota Trout Unlimited.  The goal of this is to allow students to help grow and raise these trout and release them into the wild.  These eggs will hopefully grow and be released into Browns Creek (remember the first day? That's where these students went and did some sampling) so a really cool project that students can see occurring near their home.

300 new friends!

After all the eggs are situated I was able lead a quick Kahoot on game birds and waterfowl to kick off their next unit.  This helped Mr. B gauge their before knowledge and lets me take some of the results home.  We had our ending chat and any last advice for student teaching or first year teaching.  The main take away was to be yourself but pick your words carefully those first few years.  Being a non-tenured teacher in an elective courses if we make one mistake or upset the administration that is good enough of a reason to not have you come back for next year.  Your administration is very powerful, helpful, and scary those first years so be wise with them.

All said and done it was a great experience being at SPHS this fall and I look forward to transitioning to Medford Public Schools this spring where I can continue being maroon and gold!

Taking the Reins

November 29. 2018

After a couple weeks of observation, interaction, and prepping it was time to teach.  Mr. B and I co-planned a lesson for his Fish and Wildlife class covering large mammals. It was odd taking control of a class that I have only been a part of for a couple weeks, but I guess that's what substitute teachers do.  The class had begun the unit on large mammals a couple days earlier so they had some prior knowledge that I was working with and that I was building on.  Today I had students read a current article from the DNR which could be found on their website here and as these photos show, students created a poster about what they read and they shared with the class.  Lucky for me it was two classes of Fish and Wildlife so I could change things from the first go through for the second class.  

Here's what I learned from this experience:

• Students take a lot more time than planned
• Give very clear concise directions
• Limit materials able to be used
• Direct student focus toward goal
• Be able to refocus and push students
• Manage distractions or lack of effort
• Challenge students to demonstrate their learning

Below are a few products that the students made. Many students focused more on the art more than the info but  even the ones that have great info look amazing.  Overall the lesson went well and I didn't have to lecture too much and let students lead their own learning.  The products had a range and if I created a rubric I would have been able to grade them but this was an opportunity for student growth and creativity, just like my own.  

 

Time to Flex #AFEE 5111W #AFEE 5697

November 21. 2018

Today was a special day, it was a Wednesday, that meant it was a Flex day.  This meant that classes were shorter to allow for an extra hour in the day for Flex.  That is where students are able to sign up weekly for a session that they choose.  It could be academic help, a study hall, or a fun interest like chess, board games, or music.  From my understanding it was created to assist students who might be struggling with classes and allow for student interests where they can explore different things or just have that bit of brain break they need.  It's still a new system, only in the second year of operation so there were some kinks I learned about like how to account for students.  I wanted see how this affected the school day and flow and how Mr. B managed the time. This was also the day before Thanksgiving so daily tasks were light and it was a catch up and prep kind of day.

Smoothie Lab

Students at work?

A fun lab before break was this smoothie lab in our food science class.  Students were able to create a smoothie of their choice, taste it (obviously, where would the fun be?) but then look up the nutrition of the ingredients and see how healthy and oxidants their creation is.  I saw a range of characters come out today, a glimpse of the culture at the school, as pictured to the right.  Since food science counts as a chemistry credit students who might not pass chemistry take this class, but also those who struggle or disengage.  I saw students who were excited to create something and those who weren't, not event to try their groups mix.  It's disheartening to see such a lab that we as educators think students will enjoy, and yet there are those who just don't want to put effort in or even try. It's food! How does food not even engage students?    

Hydroponic Garden

Same class is utilizing the greenhouse for their hydroponics.  They are using this set up which is cost efficient. It is a pretty cool urban garden set up that is becoming popular, if you want to learn more about about how it works or even need a design check out this link. 

Connection #AFEE 5697

November 11. 2018

We all hear that 'it's who you know' which is true, you can get into some cool situations (or not cool ones too so watch out) depending on the connections you have.  In my placement site I wanted to learn how important those connections are with the community and community members are and I got some good insight on that topic.  My cooperating teacher does have connections, but not in the form I thought it would be.  Since he doesn't live in the school district he doesn't have that in town connection to community members, but since he has worked for many years he does have professional connections like working with the Washington Watershed when we went out to Browns Creek and collected macro-invertebrates.  This allowed students to gain experience taking samples out in the field while also helping the watershed gather data on the condition of Browns Creek.  We also just had the county K-9 unit come in for our animal care class to demonstrate, talk about their dogs, and answer questions.  This was set up through the school's officer who had connections to the county's K-9 unit, so this again shows how it's who you know that can lead to some opportunities.  There are many great connections within the school and outside with local community partners. Within the school there is one teacher who is working with the DNR with falcon reproduction and release.  All these connections create a pool of knowledge to pull from.  

Identifying macros under microscope

K-9 Demo

Class Management #AFEE 5111W #AFEE 5697

November 8 . 2918

Daily Schedule

 Today my focus was on three different parts; 1. Classroom management 2. IEP & 504 3. Building relationships.  Compared to my first day where half the day was a field trip today was my first day of classroom instruction so I wanted to see how Mr. B ran his classroom and how he educates.  I can see how his experience comes through in how he operates and tricks he has learned.

Online Test Taking

Everyday he has his calendar posted at the front of the room which is posted in his Schoology for his classes and is linked with Google calendar so it is easily accessible and easy to edit.  It is repeated so he only needs to adjust dates and if there are any additions to add like my introduction.  This is good for the students because they come in, see what they have to turn in if any, start work on any bell work, and can see what they are going to be working on or learning about.

Assessment Guide

Our food science classes were taking their unit 4 tests and this is done online through Schoology. I was unable to take the test myself (oh darn) but it looked similar to quizzes and tests we may have done on Canvas or Moodle.  The students use Chromebooks and we are unable to remotely monitor or control what they have open so we have to observe their screens from the back of the room.   This meant watching if students are looking at each others screens, if there are more tabs open, or cell phones.  This was really smooth because the students get their results instantly and it goes into the gradebook so little work on our end.  Mr. B does this for quizzes, tests, and even the final which I thought was cool but scary if wifi goes down.  He said the school is usually really reliable with wifi and hasn't had problem and needed a paper backup.

For students who are worried about their grade he laid out how he assess and what is allowed for each one. (retest, notes, etc...)