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...)

Stillwater High School #AFEE 5111W #AFEE 5697

November 1. 2018

Today was my first day at Stillwater for my fall placement site. I am with Mr. Boettcher who is in his third decade of teaching, (30 years if you didn't catch that).  He has a range of classes from small animal management, food science, and fisheries and wildlife with students from 9-12 grade.  The day started for me at 7am and I didn't leave until 8:30pm so I got quite a fill of excitement throughout the day. 

 

1st period: Small Animals.

            

          It was the last day of the quarter so many of the classes were catching up on assignments and prepping for upcoming tests.  Students here take care of a small aquarium of a few fish by checking the water for pH, temp, and different water elements.  It was good responsibility for the students and let them evaluate the water conditions for the fish.

2nd & 3rd period: Food Chemistry.

         I was never good at chemistry, but I jumped in during the lab to help the students where I was able.  We were review orbitals in the lab so students had a worksheet and visuals to show different elements.  Other students were working on quizzes and study sheets so I was able to observe their online quizzes and Mr. Boettcher showed me his online portal to manage all of the assessments.

4th - 6th period: Fish & Wildlife

       FIELD TRIP! Our last part of the day we took his last two classes on a field trip to Browns Creek to meet with a gentleman from the watershed to help collect water samples and macro invertebrates.  It was really cool to see the students be fired up about going out and collecting samples.  I enjoyed seeing what the students were finding and also talking to our professional who works for the watershed to hear about what they are doing and how it helps his work.  This also allowed me to observe Mr. B's relationship and management of his students as we went our for lunch and allowed the students to a place of their choice. 

  

Students Sampling Browns Creek. 

Mayfly Larva

Conferences:

      I had the opportunity this day to see some of the other responsibilities of teachers by observing conferences.  It was set up in the gym and was buffet style, parents come if they choose so you didn't know who is coming or how to prepare.  Since Mr. B is an elective he didn't have many families come in so I was lucky to bounce between different teachers of different focus areas and years of experience to see how each handles conferences, what they talk about, and their thoughts & experiences. I observed one Math teacher of 33 years, a World Language teacher of 22 years, and two first year math teachers; all of which shared great experience and tricks. I saw passion, differences in technology, and great relationships being built.  Overall a long but great first day at Stillwater.

My Not So Little Pony? #AFEE 5697

October 10, 2018


Hosting an invitational! Us teacher candidates helped host a FFA invitational at the U of M Twin Cities. I don't have much experience with how these are run or what they are about so it was a great experience.  For those who don't know what an invitational is let me explain.  FFA chapters participate in Career and Leadership Development Events or CDE's as we call them.  Chapters from all over MN are welcome to register and participate.  It's similar to different events that occur in the Olympics, each athlete participates and an individual or a team in different events.  I chose to help out at the horse CDE which you can see below.  There were multiple stables and riding clubs that brought in horses for students to evaluate multiple concepts.  The Horse Evaluation had students observe riding patterns, take time to observe and take notes of multiple groups of horses, and answer questions from our judge who made up questions as he observed and evaluated the same group of horses the students observed.  I mingled with other educators to pick their brains about many different topics; the horses (very pretty), preparing their students for the CDE, registering, and many others.  Everyone was willing to jump up and help run the competition and were happy to chat to each other.  It was a good way to stay energized in the field meeting with other educators and talking.  For me it's energizing to see so many students working or trying something new or even the stables that brought in the horses.  I see that I have to learn a lot and quickly about CDE's so I can better prepare my students to participate in them.

Back to 5th Grade

Back to 5th Grade

9/17/2018

5th grade.  Most people are there once when you're what, like 10 or 11 years old? We went St. Anthony Park Elementary to meet a group of 5th grade students that we will be teaching when they take a field trip to the fairgrounds.  Now I don't remember what 5th grade was like besides going outside to play during recess so I didn't know what to expect.  We had a few minutes to ask the teachers some questions before meeting the class, and those minutes went fast.

Then we met the class.

Their energy was all over the board and they were more then willing to share their stories.  Now I wasn't scared to met them but we didn't really have a plan so it was at the mercy of the kids and with help from their teacher it was a very informative session.  We found out that many of them have traveled all over the world from New Zealand, Thailand, Kenya, to England and many more.  Many have had an agriculture experience by visiting a farm or zoo or another place that connects them to the natural world.  After our time with them I knew it would be a fun day at the fairgrounds when they come visit and participate at our stations.

CQ

Sep 13. 2018

 Cultural Competence

Today in my Human Relations - Applied Skills for School & Society class we learned about some theories and ideas that relate to culture.  One stuck with me which was about Cultural Intelligence/Intercultural Competence (CQ).  It talks about how learning and taking part in a new culture is a skill that some people have while others learn.  It was stated that Peace Corp members are good at this because they have to work with many different individuals and have a changing culture they work in depending on where they are stationed.  It made me think of James Bond (there's going to be lots of James Bond references as we adventure) in Skyfall.  

He is virtually one of the locals now as he entertains the crowd with his nerve at what must be a deadly bar game.  Bond has a strong CQ because he blends into the crowd and locals easy even though he may not speak the language.  It was an interesting idea because this might be why some individuals are better at traveling than others.  Similar to the Amazing race.

  Some feel like this. 

While others feel like this.

Sep 11. 2018

Starting a blog

They tasked us with creating a blog and keeping up with it.  This is me buttoning up for the challenge and trying something new so lets see how this goes.  Follow along and we'll see where this adventure takes us. Detjen out.