Zone of Proximal Development

This past week the students have been working on writing an extensive lab report on the nutrition experiment that they had been conducting the previous 4 weeks. They were engaged in an experiment using rats as research models to test the influence of sugar water vs. milk on the growth and development of adolescent rats. Their final project was to write a lab report with an introduction in which they described what research they conducted and why it was important followed by a literature review which consisted of creating a table with major macro and micronutrients that they studied and how each nutrient influences the rats growth. They created graphs from the data that they collected and did an analysis of the data for both qualitative and quantitative that was collected. Finally, they had to write a conclusion in which they restated their hypothesis and either affirmed or rejected it as well as made recommendations for the public based on the results of their data analysis.

Did I mention that these are students in 8th grade? Needless to say some were a bit overwhelmed. To make things a little more challenging, they had to learn how to use technology to enter data and create graphs as well as create a research poster that could be used to share with others significant findings from the experiment.

I have been reflecting on what I had been taught concerning the Zone of Proximal Development. The Zone of Proximal Development helps teachers conceptualize the learners needs based on where they are. It is essential to understand as we strive to differentiate instruction so that no matter where are students are in their learning ability, they can be empowered to learn to do something new.

There were quite a few students who I could tell were getting a bit frustrated and overwhelmed at the task before them. As a teacher I needed to recognize that this was in fact a difficult assignment and that many of them had never written a lab report before.

It was a learning experience for me as well. I got to see how some students struggle with collaborating with their peers to complete this project and how others got really frustrated by the technology that they had to use. It was my responsibility to discern the individual needs of each student and provide them guidance as needed. Over all, it was a great experience, at least for me. I personally loved to see the learning that occurred and to see the students struggle a bit before figuring something out.

There is always a balance that we need to be aware of and strive for when it comes to learning. I never want students to feel that they are not intelligent enough to accomplish any assignment that I give them, but at the same time, I want them to struggle a bit, because I know that that is when real learning is happening.

I have included a file of a group of students final research poster for your enjoyment. It was created on Google Slides that was enlarged to be 48" x 36"

Link: The Influence of Milk and Sugar Water on the Growth of Adolescent Rats

A Visit to Greenwood High School to See My Old Friend Miranda Kane

Today I had the opportunity to see Miranda, or Ms. Kane aka Sugah Kane aka Raw Kane, impart some knowledge to her students at Greenwood High School. I saw some presentations designed by students in the Plant Science class in which they became the teachers, developed a PowerPoint lesson along with a guided notes sheet, quiz and a Kahoot game. That class period ended with students checking on their aquaculture and greenroof projects in the greenhouse.

Following that class we went down to the shop where students were working on finishing their welding/soldering projects and I had chance to work on improving my welding skills (which are in need of significant improvement) which I really enjoy and would like to get better at. 

Furthermore, I got to see Ms. Kane teach a lesson on Parliamentary Procedure, another content area in which my experience is lacking. I am always amazed to see students truly engaged in learning about the rules for running a meeting. Ms. Kane did a great job facilitating that lesson and making sure that all students were actively participating. 

We have come a long way. At this point the psuaged17 cohort has been teaching for 14 weeks and it has been a journey.

It is nice to see that we have made a lot of progress and that we still have a lot of the same struggles. I didn't recognize, and I think that still many people who are not involved in the educator community, do not recognize that being an educator is much more (or should be) than teaching. An exemplary educator must plan, effective and engaging lessons teach and assess those lessons as well as be competent at managing conflict, helping students on their rough days, discerning learning abilities and tailoring instruction to help students who are struggling with the content, and that is just when students are in school. Now as we are in home stretch, that understanding does not discourage or overwhelm me, but I feel that my experiences are preparing me to be a better teacher and a better person. And that thought is very encouraging.

The Spring 2017 Northern Region PAAE Meeting

Why are teachers spending their Thursday evening at a Hoss's listening to budget reports and business minutes? Honestly, at this point, I don't know, but I am thinking it has something to do with a feeling of duty, of maybe it is the  bottomless french fries and soft serve ice cream. I am really impressed with the organization and collaboration in the spirit of service. It is so easy to take for granted all of the professional development opportunities and the myriad of other experiences that, as Ag teachers, we get to experience. It is important to recognize that there are many, many passionate individuals working long hours, behind the scenes to make this occupation what it is, and to ensure that it continues to progress and meet the needs of the ever changing industries of agriculture and education.

I am sure that the teachers that sat around me at the table tonight had many other things that they could be doing, but instead they chose to spend their evening ensuring that their passion and their profession is preserved and continuously moving in the right direction.

As I prepare to enter this career, I realize that agricultural education is where it is today not by chance, but because passionate people chose to sacrifice their time and energy so that as many individuals as possible could have opportunities to learn about agriculture and be enriched by the lessons learned along the way.

On Being A Connected Educator

I remember my university professors stressing the importance of being a "connected educator." I remember being sort of annoyed hearing this for a number of reasons. When I heard "connected," I recalled articles that I had recently read about the devastating effects of social media on today's youth as occurrences of cyber-bullying was on the rise and more young people were spending more and more time fostering "relationships" with people on the internet and were reportedly inept at carrying on a normal, face-to-face conversation. I was annoyed because, in my mind, "being connected" was synonymous with being active on social media and other media outlets that to me were suboptimal in so many ways.

As my first real teaching experience comes to a close, I have been reflecting often on what being a connected educator really means and why it is important. Being connected doesn't mean that you are a social media guru of sorts, although I have found that if you know where to look, social media provides a medium for which some pretty amazing and innovative people can share their experiences and insights that are exceptionally beneficial to a new teacher. Being a connected educator means that you are open and actively pursuing new knowledge that you will use to improve whatever it is you are trying to improve. It is not limited to pedagogy or content knowledge, but all aspects of life. It includes current research that is so relevant to educators as advances in neuroscience and psychology shed new light on how we learn and the processes associated with the development of our brains.

I know recognize that it is a tragedy that many people enter the teaching profession, many times fresh out of college, with their heads full of the training that they just received and a diploma in their hands and think that the best way to teach is the way they were taught and that it will never change. "The only thing that never changes is that everything changes." I know that what I have been taught as part of my educator preparation will most likely change and change more quickly than it has in the past. For that reason, I know firmly believe, it is essential to be successful in any career and especially in education, that we are connected with great people who are passionate about their work and willing to share their successes and failures and current research that can help make our teaching more effective and empowering. I don't want to ever have a closed-mind or a fixed mindset for if I do, I can no longer progress.

With Everything, Be Deliberate

These past few weeks have gone by really fast. There was a week that my cooperating teacher was sick and I got the full experience of running an ag program followed by a week in which I only taught one day due to attending a conference, snow days, and a training at Penn State, and finally this past week in which I had to juggle preparing for and teaching classes with conducting research for my masters degree. Now with only four more weeks left of the student teaching experience it is surreal to think that after so much preparation and anticipation, I am closing in on the end of my pre-service training.

I have a lot on my mind at the moment and I want to write about many different things but I will focus on something that I feel that I have learned, and that I believe is valuable, not only to me, but perhaps to many others. I have learned that it is important to be where you are. What I mean by that is, where ever you are, whatever you are doing, make sure that you are conscious of your thoughts and deliberate in your actions. It is so easy to be distracted, especially from the very important and often times obvious things in life. I believe that that is why it is increasingly important to be deliberate in everything we do.

I was very anxious about being able balance work-life with the rest of my responsibilities, especially because "work-life" and everything else sometimes gets blended together in the life of an ag teacher. I was worried that I could not be a great ag teacher AND a great husband and father. It seems like it is always one or the other. But I have found that true balance comes from being purposeful in the way we conduct our lives. When I am at school, I am 100% at school. I am focused on what I need to do, I am aware of the needs of my students, and I am conscious of my responsibilities that I have as an educator. When I am at home, I leave my phone on the bookshelf and I try to do my best to be a great father even if that means playing "monster" when I really want to fall asleep on the couch.

People say all of the time that you have to "find a balance" and I used to believe that. Now, I'm not so sure that "balance" is something that you find, but instead, something that you create. It is a conscious decision as to what is important and how you are going to spend you life. At this point in my life, it is an active endeavor, meaning that it does not come naturally. My hope is that through this practice of living deliberately, that I will always be able to create a balance in my life that will lead to my own happiness and more happiness for those around me.

Classroom Management

I never want to think about certain students as "bad kids." I believe that some students have so much going on in their lives that teachers do not know about and they don't need another person in their lives telling them that they are not doing something right. That being said, I also recognize that I have the responsibility to create and maintain a classroom environment which is conducive all students can learn and grow both academically and affectively.

I have had some issues with one of my classes this semester. It is an eighth grade Introduction to Agriculture class the last period of the day. They are wild. It was getting to a point in which I really dreaded having to deal with them. I decided to implement a different strategy this past week and it seemed to be very effective. I created a spreadsheet with all of their names and a space for each day to give them strikes or plusses based on their behavior. Three strikes and they get a call home. Originally, I had thought that three strikes would mean that they would get a detention, but after a conversation that I had with another teacher I decided that it would be better to contact the parents first to include them in on the issue before it became a real problem. Also, if I catch them "dabbing" they have to do 10 push-ups because I find that annoying. Finally, to address excessive talking I make all students who want to answer a question or make a comment raise their hand. This ensures that the only conversation that is happening in the room is focused on what we are talking about unless they are working on a group activity.

So far, the results have been great. I don't dread that class, behavior issues have drastically declined and the students think of it as a game. It is funny how much kids like games.

It is definitely not the class with the most "freedom of expression," but unfortunately, some students prohibited it for the rest of the class from being such. Once I believe that I have complete control over the class I will start to experiment with giving students more freedom to attempt to find that balance.

I also want to try this strategy to see if it really does work.

Just Get Through to Week Seven

At our Pre-Internship Seminar I remember Dr. Foster saying these words, "Just get through to week seven." Well, at the end of week seven, I can honestly say that this past week was the first week that I actually thought to myself, "I may be actually able to do this." Maybe the university supervisors actually know what they are talking about.

This is also approximately the halfway point of the student teaching experience and a good time to reflect back on how far I have come and what I need to do to get to where I want to be as an educator.

First off, I'd like to talk about areas in which I believe that I have grown. I remember being a single college student and thinking to myself, "I have so much to do and not enough time." Now, I am wondering what the heck I was doing back then that was taking up so much time. I really think that it may that our culture has conditioned us to think that we are always too busy to get everything done. I believe that in reality, as we take on more responsibility and more of our time and energy is required to complete certain tasks, that we have to learn to manage our time effectively, recognize priorities, and focus on what is important. I believe that I have gained valuable skills in being able to manage my time effectively to be able to complete that which is required of me and that this will help me in my future endeavors.

Now, looking forward, I recognize that the area in which I need to improve is in classroom management. I have been battling with how to approach classroom management since before I started student teaching and I am torn. I don't want to be an authoritarian figure in the classroom that demands compliance and conformity from my students because I don't believe that that is how I will gain that rapport with my students and be able to empower them. That being said, I also recognize that sometimes students, especially eighth graders at the end of the day, need structure or they will, for some reason, turn into a group of lawless dissidents. Finding a balance is key and then adapting pedagogy to the circumstances is the challenge.

I use a lot of purposeful questioning to encourage the students to think critically and engage with me in the lesson. I believe that with all of my classes, with the exception of the eighth grade students, it has been effective. With the eighth graders however, it is just an opportunity for the students to blurt out the first thing that comes to their minds and then continue to chat with their peers about something tangential and very distracting.

Therefore, in the coming weeks, I will start to experiment with adjusting my pedagogy to meet the nuances of each of my classes to ensure that my interactions with my students are both empowering and conducive to task-oriented behavior.

Closing thoughts. I am not going to lie, student teaching has been tough and at certain times I questioned if teaching was right for me. But looking back I can see that I have come a long way in a short period of time and that is exciting to me. I am looking forward to being able to reflect back at the end of this experience and see how far I will have come.