Weekly Writing #1

I started reading this week with the Effective Teaching: Notes for the Beginning Teacher article. I found that this article explained mainly about how to keep students engage and ensure their success. One area in this article that really make me start thinking about my teaching in a class room was variability, the second most important area for student success. I have never really looked into different ways to teach subjects, but now going into my student teaching it seems like the only thing I want to look at. I have found a link to help all student teachers. The article from UNC Charlotte basically lists 150 different ways to help teach materials in a classroom to promote variability.

These articles have made a huge impact on my idea of teaching. I want to become the teacher that the students look to for success. I want them to come to me down the road and tell me " Your class is the reason I stayed in school" or "I may not have needed your class at the time but I still use what you taught". This is the kind of impact I want to make on students.

After reading all of these articles, I have decided that right at this moment, I am not ready to walk into a classroom as a teacher. I could walk in and teach lessons but I believe that I would be cheating the students out of an education at this point if I was the main teacher . There is still so much I need to learn and so many ideas I need to develop this semester before I think I will be ready.

First day of 412 Lab!

So today we had our first ever 412 lab. In this lab we teach short lessons and develop our techniques further. We were given lessons to teach and had two days to prepare them. My lesson was to teach the 7 Central American countries and the countries motto's. While I was teaching the lesson it seemed like my 15 minutes flew by and I didn't get to cover everything I wanted to. But overall I believe the lesson came across effectively, but would have been better with a little bit more time.

After re-watching the recording of during the lesson I have come to the conclusion that the information and methods I used were effective, but I do still have work to do in my disposition. As I watched the video I noticed that I would start leaning on the podium. I feel like that is something I should try to avoid. Another thing I noticed was that I would keep letting the class get a little bit too hectic and everyone was trying to talk at once. I believe I need to work on giving clearer instructions to the students, when I want just one to answer at a time I need to tell them that. Finally as I was watching the video I noticed that when the students would give answers I would acknowledge it but I did not give any feedback to the students, I would just continue to the next person.

Late again!

Last week I visited the Perry County Fair and I got to see all the goats that were entered by West Perry FFA members.

As you can see, the FFA members from West Perry and Greenwood had their animals labels  with FFA Posters. This helped me identify their projects before I even got the official tour. along with the goats, I also got to see the rabbits (not pictured).

After I did the visits, I was helping with the Stockman's competition at the fair. This is similar to a CDE if you have never been to one (like me). The kids that are signed up go from table to table doing everything from identifying seeds and animal breeds to grading hay.

After that part of the competition is done the students will then judge several different animals, goats, sheep, swine, and steers. 

overall, I had a great day at the fair and I believe I learned a lot from the competition. I never knew how to judge different animals before!

My First SAE Visit

It has been awhile since I've posted on here so I am going to try something a little bit different. I am going to talk about my First SAE visit with Mrs. Miller at West Perry. 

What I saw:

I was at several different SAE's working with students of different levels. Some had done very little and some we were just checking up on. But most of them involved rabbits or growing plants. Both areas that I have very little experience in.

What I learned:

While we were out. I saw and learned so much. First I was helping to tattoo a rabbits ear  and sex the rabbit to prepare for the Perry County Fair. This girl had done very little with The AET so we spent the majority of our time teaching her how to use it and how to update it. 

The other SAE visit that I really learned from was a girl who had planted an acre of soybeans. She knew a lot more about The AET so we didn't spend much time on that. Instead we spent time teaching her how to calculate the density of her soybeans. This was something totally new to me and I feel like I will really be able to use this experience.

How will I use this?

While I am at West Perry, I will be teaching a small animal science class, The rabbit knowledge I have been gaining will be information that I bring into the classroom. I may even be able to teach the students how to tattoo a rabbit during the class.

Overall this was an extremely rewarding and informative experience for me. I am looking forward to me next visit at the Perry County Fair!