Week 6: The Student Teacher from F Wing

With a school population of 930 it is important to get to know not only the student that sits in your class day after day but, the rest of the community too. This week my goal was to try and connect with the students in my room outside of their lives in my class.

How did my week go?

This week I really got to know a few of my students. I asked them for their input on not only how they learn best but, for what they are interested in. In both my Introduction to Agriculture classes I met with each student to discuss their Supervised Agricultural Experience project (SAE). As I met with students I learned that several of my students were continuing research from high school/Middle School. Having them share their passions was very valuable to me as I start to design more lessons for the class. This also gives me more talking points with them.

Creating a list of technology students enjoy using

I also made it a point to ask students what technology helps them prepare better for assessments. I got a ton of good feedback and some new tech sites to try out because of this. With the upperclassmen I asked them what kind of assessments they would want to do. I had a good conversation with them about their opinions on projects and exams. I plan to take all this information and adapt it to my lessons as I feel fit. Student input is important to me as a student teacher. I want to know what they enjoy or despise. Knowing this information can help me become a better
educator for them.

I also decided to attend the Girls Bowling Tournament for the County Bowling Finals. I had 2 students on this team. Not only was I able to connect with these students at something they are passionate about but, I got to speak with the parents of the students. I was seen as more than the student teacher in F wing but, as a part of the community who cares about the students. I now plan to attend Mini THON in 2 weeks as well as a Reading Royals game with some students.

In my classroom...

Intro to Ag in planting radishes

This week I really stretched myself. I spent more time in the lab and greenhouse with the Intro to Ag class. I had to monitor students preforming a seed dissection while some students were already done. This gave me the time to practice keeping everyone engaged in the class although students were at different stages and different interest levels in the content. Some students spent 15-20 minutes look at the seeds under the microscope while some checked it out and were done in 5 minutes or so. I saw the same experience when we planted seeds in the greenhouse the next day. Keeping students engaged was one skill I strengthen through this week.

This week I also took a look at how I can take what another school is doing and show my students another view point. I had seen on the Ag Ed Discussion Lab a teacher post about her live stream of piglets. This was a perfect opportunity to connect what they were doing at that high school with what we could do at Weiser. I showed the video, although it had nothing to do with plant science, and got great discussion from my students. This opened up to some great ideas for what to do with our piglets that will be coming in a few weeks. I may not be teaching animal science in the Intro to Ag class but, taking what is currently going on in the industry and showing it off was a great way to show the students that "You are only limited by their lack of imagination" as Mr.Serfass would say.

Questions I still have...

1. How often do you do SAE check ins with your students?
2. What are some pro tips on integrating technology? (I need to do better at this)