Week 1 at Conrad Weiser has already come to an end. This week I was setting the stage for what the rest of my student teaching internship looked like.
What did I learn this week?
- Motivation: Students were working on public speaking in into to agriculture. Mr.Serfass kept telling them that he did not care how much they had memorized of the FFA creed or if it was perfect word for word. He only expected them to try their best and to practice public speaking skills such as their stance and voice.Keeping the expectations known on this assignment allowed more students to want to try it and each time they tried we saw them get better.
- Let students take the reins: I am working on planning FFA week with the officer team.To do this I had to let them decide what they wanted to do. I gave them some ideas of what I have seen done and a website to look at ideas but, it is their decision and their planning. This is important to realize early because FFA is student run. SAE is student decided.Allowing them to make decisions on their organization and education is critical for my program but, hard to do.
- I love middle school: I started half days at the middle school with 7th and 8th grade.Coming in randomly to their class versus the high school I noticed it was easier to connect with them and they were more willing to talk to me about their projects than the high schoolers. I liked the atmosphere of the middle school classes as well.This week I solidified that I want to teach middle school.
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| 8th graders at the Butter Sculpture at Farm Show |
Questions:
- How do you make annual field trips different for those who go multiple years or to change it up for you?
- I am starting to plan FFA week. What are some annual activities your chapter does for FFA week?
- How do you pick chaperons for a field trip?
8th graders at the Farm Show
Amanda, you post some great questions!
ReplyDelete1) Remember that field trips are a extension of the purposeful learning activities that occur in the classroom. Creating engaging activities for students to complete while on the field trip that connect to classroom content provide structure and purpose and help avoid the stigma of it being a "free day off". I recommend checking out the GooseChase app and NAAE CoP and the Ag Ed Discussion Lab on Facebook for additional ideas.
3) Pick people you can trust to be positive role models for your students and who will ensure they are following procedures and expectations that you have established ahead of time.