Cumulative Reflection

Wow! This semester went really fast! I enjoy my time in lab and learned a lot. My lab group was very interesting and had a lot if neat ideas and approaches to the different types of labs. Each lab was challenging in its own way.

The early labs such as first day of school and interest approach were nice to learn how to do fundamentals of teaching. These first few lessons really made you think about what you wanted your students to take away from in the lessons. The interest approach lab was unique because I think it is a struggle to find good ones to use. Because of this lab I was able to take away from others ideas as well as find good resources for them.

The demonstration lab was fun because it was practical but challenging in such a limited setting. This was where for the first time my classroom management was clearly tested. My lab included fire and handling distractions in serious situations. I think I handled the situation decent but definitely seen evidenced why it is important to have smaller groups and select the groups to prevent issues. I learned a from this lab that j have used elsewhere.

In general I found the labs to be practical and relevant to good teaching strategies. The interactive labs is the type of teacher j strive to be. The problem solving labs were a good way to implement this into our teaching.

I an thankful for my lab experiences in addition to the real classroom experience as it has better prepared me for spring!

AEE 412: Lab 7 reflection

For our creativity lab we went to dollar tree with $5 of spending money in order to buy items to enhance our lessons. This was quite a challenge to me because I don't think of creative things to add to lessons on the spot.. this typically happens when I drive or through the night. I think browsing the store and being aware of what they have will help in the future to come up with ideas. I did get a few things to use for team building in my leadership course as well as creative items to use in floriculture. I am excited about the ideas of my cohort and look forward to adding more creative ideas into my lessons.

AEE 412: Life Knowledge Lesson

I recently presented my Life Knowledge lesson at Cumberland Valley High School to the first period Advanced Leadership class. The freshman leadership class also joined us making a total of twenty students. My Life Knowledge lesson was called Defining Teams which compared the difference between group work and team work. It was a very interesting topic and the students reflected on successes and things that didn't go so well in their chapter. It encouraged students to think about how they approach tasks with other students.

To add to the lesson I had the students do two team building activities both very similar to each other. The first was the students were in groups of four. I provided them with a piece of paper and a sponge and asked them to all maintain both hands on the paper and then flip the paper over without dropping the sponge. After a few quick trial and error attempts every group was successful. The next team building activity was I divided the class into two groups. I laid two blankets on the ground and instructed each group to flip the towel over just like previously but without anyone stepping off. Their methods of attacks were interesting. After having to have one group restart they determined a new plan. The students were challenged to be outside of their comfort zone to complete this task. After both activities were completed I asked them if they felt they were working as a team or a group. Both groups felt they needed to support each other to accomplish the task and that it was team work.

I really enjoyed my lesson at Cumberland Valley. I was nervous going in because I was concerned the material would be hard to keep the students engaged which for parts of it, it was. Many students said later they really liked the team building activities despite how challenging it was. I defiantly pulled some great ideas from their reactions to incorporate into my Spring leadership class. It gave me a better handle on how the senior class needed to be taught because they are harder to keep engaged. They really enjoy independent work that they work in small groups on.

When comparing this experience to mine at Tyrone I felt both were enjoyable experiences that were good ways to develop my teaching. I think I maintained the same style in my teaching not changing too much. I really like doing something hands on that keeps the students physically engaged because it results in having to do less classroom management in terms of talking or behavior. Both experiences gave me insight on how to be prepared with students on both ends of the spectrum of understanding the content which was good. I think it will help be focus my teaching to meet the needs of all students. One big difference between the students are that at Cumberland Valley it was a greater struggle to halt some of the talking between the older students. Overall it was a good experience and  I am looking forward to working with them in the Spring.

Lab 6 Reflection:: Micro Teaching at Tyrone

My Micro Teaching took place in Mrs.Hoy's 8th period Vet Science class at Tyrone High School. The class had 13 students. I covered injections focusing on how to draw up syringes properly and the three main types of injections- intramuscular, subcutaneous and intravenous.

I sincerely enjoyed this class and enjoyed teaching more than I expected. Many students were interested but I defiantly struggled with a number of them to stay involved.

The first day didn't start out as I would have liked but I felt rushed for some reason. Once I got settled into it and started to connect with the students it went really well. Unfortunately I went through my first portion of content quickly since I was nervous but also a few students knew the content. I continued to switch the content so the students would stay engaged and it worked. There was a group of students that half were working but the others were more concerned on social aspects. I was running low on material so I implemented an e_moment. I was trying to have them write a parody or rhyme but only one group (out of 3) actually worked on it. Being the very end of the day also put me in a tough situation.

On day 2 I handed students a post card with their table and for their bell work as they entered. Not only did the actually do the bell work I had less issues with talking!

Day three was putting all the skills they had been working on together. I started our with a jeopardy review game but struggled to get students involved I could tell right away they were ready to be done for the day. Once we got through the game I passed out chicken legs and wings as well as a scenario to test their knowledge of all the skills I taught. It was very successful but this time we ran out if time to do the last activity. It felt sort of unorganized for me because it wasn't my lab but otherwise I think it went well. For the first time I had every student engaged right up to the bell.

I asked the students to provide feedback from the three days, only a few students responded because we ran short on time but they said they learned a lot and enjoyed the approach with hands on learning.

I thought this was a great experience and I learned a lot about classroom management.

Lab 5 reflection

I struggled coming up with a lab for Inquiry Based Instruction. I felt it was hard not to give away too much information as I was planning. I ended up selecting a lab that was not as complex in what the students were to do. My lab serves as more of interest gaining lesson for the start of the subject of soils.

I think my lab went well. I ended up giving the students parts of the question but I left it very open as to what they were to do. There was many ways they could have approached it, all of which would have been fine. I just ultimately wanted them to look at the soil and recognize differences in the soil samples.

I told the students to start working and after 5 minutes I would take questions. I thought this was fair and successful. Questions that were asked I was able to answer back in a question to keep the students thinking.

Because this lab was engaging I didn't really have behavior issues but I also have found that labs in general are more successful when the instructor selects the groups.

AEE Reading Reflection #4: Inquiry Based Instruction

Inquiry based instruction is a combination of student interest and prior knowledge incorporated into the scientific method. It requires critical thinking but provides the opportunity for the teacher to serve as a facilitator and students learn from others on different levels because of their individual strengths and weaknesses.The teacher is able to help guide thinking and scaffold the student to think critically.

As students work through inquiry based instruction they are:
1) Questioning
2) Investigating possiblities
3) evaluating evidence to create predictions
4) analyzing the data collected with prior knowledge
5) identify results and findings 

The teacher should implement inquiry based instruction between the mid-point and end of instruction so that the students have prior knowledge and are able to analyze the situation with more detail and thought.

The teacher should:
1) start inquiry process
2) promote student dialog and discussion
3) make the transition from classroom discussion to small group and vise verse
4) clear up misconceptions and scaffold thinking 
5) model the scientific method
6) utilize student experience and knowledge allowing them to expand on their horizons

As a teacher, inquiry based instruction should be gradually introduced so the student builds up the level of thinking desired. Starting with more structure that utilize more step by step instruction is a place to start so the students understand how this type of thinking works. Next, more guided instruction should be implemented by providing materials and procedures but allowing the student to design the methods. As the students experience advances more open instruction can be done. This is when materials are provided and very basic instruction. Lastly, the learning cycle allows more detailed concepts to be incorporated with only vital procedures being known. This will maximize critical thinking and force the student to design the plan.

I think it is important to gradually build up to the different types of inquiry learning so the students are trained to develop their critical thinking. To help teach students how to collect accurate data and interpret it, pre-designed tables could be presented to efficiently collect the data. I think this is a good tactic however I find it to be similar to the problem solving approach and I'm not completely sure how to distinguished the difference based on the topics I am thinking of.

Lab 4 Reflection- Problem Solving

My lab this week was designed for my leadership class as they will help take charge of planning their Spring Trip to Maine and participate in a college visit. I felt my lab went really well, it was calm and laid back. I started off by spitting students into groups that they would later use to work on their assignments. This worked out well as an early classroom management.
I presented the scenario but left any additional information out. I then allowed for time for the students to think about what information they needed. I felt this made the students begin to start processing the activity and then when they would be released to work in small groups would already be on task.
I really like problem based instruction as I think it offers the opportunity for students to take personal ownership of their learning. As a teacher I believe the less I talk, the more a student needs to think for themselves thus resulting in a higher level of thinking.
One thing I need to continue working on is avoiding filler words as well as projecting my voice. Overall I thought this was a good lab that definitely gave me ideas for Spring!

AEE 412 Lab 3 Reflection

Wow, my lab this week was chaotic! I think my lab demonstration went well, I accomplished what I set out to do and the students completed the task at hand. However, the behavior issue in my class is relentless! :) The students were installing irrigation systems and utilizing lighters to warm the rubber tubes so they would be easier to attach to the fittings. With no surprise looking back on this, some of my students tried to race using the lighters. For the future I think after I demonstrate the task I will put students into groups myself and then have them spread out so they are not so close together. I think/ hope this will help prevent students from all joining into the misbehavior. The big challenge for the teacher will be helping students and being able to offer that individual attention. Does anyone have any recomendations for that delma? Provided the opportunity is available, I would like to teach students is small groups. With my cooperating center I feel this will be possible, as students work at their own pace and on a variety of projects.

AEE 412 Weekly Writing: Taking Content to a Higher Level of Thinking

In the text, Myers discusses how classroom content is put to reality by utilizes field trips. Field trips are successful when the logistics behind the field trip are well planned and appropriate instruction is provided prior to the trip. I feel it is timely but most effective to really time take to plan and formulate the trip in good plans. Myers refers to making sure the trip takes place in good sequence to make the information learned in the classroom make sense. I found it interesting how it was stated that students should be as familiar or exposed to the trip location through media for pictures as much as possible to reduce anxiety. I never thought about the added stress from a different learning environment effecting the students exposure.

Groseta discusses how a higher level of thinking is explained when the student needs to use the information for a purpose. A purpose such as, teaching another student or discovering the information and then having to explain it. I feel by working with the material in a different way than just hearing it more information is retained. The regurgitation and repetition of information makes a more impactful use of knowledge. A great way to incorporate this in the classroom is through cooperative learning in groups. The group dynamic brings a variety of backgrounds and approaches to the knowledge. Information is processed and looked at differently with new prospective. However, with group work complications can arise. Making groups smaller will help reduce these issues. I feel it is also important to state that the cooperative learning is also related to the hands on visual approach gained from field trips.

Questioning students during a lesson also helps to process information and reach those higher levels of thinking. Teachers can quickly facilitate questions to the students as a whole or individually. Not only does this keep students on their toes and thinking but also evaluates where they are at. Questions can be lower levels of thinking or higher. Depending on how the question is formulated a student may need to think more or less. I feel the level of question depends on how much knowledge the student has prior and where they are at with the lesson. With questioning it is important Dyer says not to move to quickly. It takes a student three seconds to comprehend a question but a teacher should not wait more than seven seconds for a student to start to answer.

AEE 412 Lab 2: Reflection

My lab this week was on an interest approach or anticipatory set. I elected to create mine for a floriculture class introducing oasis. First off I had a hard time finding an interesting and capturing approach. My desperate search lead me to the Georgia Agriculture Education teachers site- AKA my best friend! The site has tons of awesome ideas to use for a variety of subjects. I ended up finding an entire page devoted to unique interest approaches.

Things I liked about the one I chose was that it was used with materials that you would have at a school and requires minimum prep. It also can be very flexible in how you actually present it.

I felt like my presentation went well. The behavior issues I had in the previous lab were minimized as the students were much more engaged and interest. I tried it facilitate questions for the students to guess what I was using. A student immediately guessed what my mysterious material was, which halted my guiding questions for the students to think about what it was. Next time, if a student knows an answer right away, I will ask them to help explain more of how the material works for the benefit of the other students.

AEE Reflection #2

Utilizing the principles of teaching allow for higher levels of thinking from students.

Provide Clarity. Students are able to take more away from a lesson when it is structured with meaning and logical sequencing. The teacher should take into consideration how a lesson is provided to the students. If they are obviously not understanding the material it should be presented in an alternate format. Teacher preparation also has a lot to do with how clear the information is presented. By providing students with a course sequence of all of the courses offered in the department they will be better prepared for the level of knowledge in the current class says Newcomb. I think highly of the fact that personal motivation and interest are incorporated in the principles of learning. Those are direct drivers of how much a student gets out of a particular lesson. This is also why it is important to keep students directly engaged in learning, however the engagement should be challenging to maintain interest. Going along with interests, practicality and transferable skills add in learning retention and provide the foundation for future skills. My opinion of these principles that when combined they target direct student motivation. While it is challenging to incorporate so much into each lesson they incubuses all factors that make up a great learning atmosphere. The one principle area I do partially disagree with is the disciplinary factor. I feel that if students are engaged and motivated this factor is minimized. However with that being said, discipline needs to be addressed right away to prevent hindering the learning environment.

To maximize a teachers time and classroom effiency, teaching must be adapted for groups but individualized and diverse enough to assist each student. When teaching to an entire class it is important to keep practicies varied and utilizing all senses. I feel and understand that each student learns differently, as well as that being subject dependent. For example, I can understand animal science information by either simply hearing a lecture or reading a passage, however when it comes to mechanics, I learn best by hands on experiance.

Lecture needs to be consice and clear as stated in the principles of learning. Class discussion and teacher questioning will allow the teacher to see what information the students are taking in and understanding as well as providing additional clairity. The manner of discussion and size of participating group should be dependent on content and depth.

A teacher may target other students learning needs through demonstrations and field trips. These are both more complicated to plan and require more time, they can be the most beneficial to some students.

The role playing scenario I find is very interesting yet more challenging. My personal feelings are that the students participating need to have a good understanding of what they are doing as well as a good attitude towards the activity. This strategies' outcome is probably dependent on the comfort of the class with each other and their understanding of content.

I feel overall that the teaching techniques a teacher utilizes in the classroom are very dependent on his or her personal conformance. A vast variety of resources are available to assist students and teachers in the learning process.

AEE 412 Lab 1 Reflection: First Day of School

Our first lab was an interesting to prepare for as we also work on developing curriculum for the semester. I felt it was challenging to only present ten minutes off the lesson because prior activities help build up to the main point as well as set the attitude towards the information. I didn't present my interest approach but I think I would opt to change it to better set the mindset of the students for the year as well as to set the expectations for the class.

I felt it was challenging to address negative behaviors in all of the labs I watched because all of the class members were so persistent in their identified behaviors. With that being said, now that we have an idea of the class behaviors it will provide more opportunity to better fit the needs of the class. The biggest obstacle in my lecture lab is talking. To prevent this in the future my plan is to rearrange seating so those students are sitting closer to me. I also need to make sure in my lesson students are immediately engaged in the material.

Overall I think my lesson went well. I was able to cover the material like planned. My hope is future lessons go smoother as we become adapted to how we want to present and classroom management.

Accomplishing tasks via Learning Objectives- AEE Writing

Good Afternoon!
Let me start out by posing you a question, Without your 'to do' list, how do you know what to accomplish? You are possibly thinking about the many things that you have to do, but can you easily put emphasis or priority on them? By creating your to do list you are able to provide clarity and organization to the tasks at hand.

This is a similar analogy to developing learning objectives in the classroom. At the beginning of each class announcing the days objectives to the students puts them in the mindset of what they will be learning. They will have an idea of what to focus their learning on and what to pay particular attention to. M. Susie Whittington gives advice on developing learning objectives in relationship to Bloom's Taxonomy by utilizing action verbs to help students hone in on what they should learn. Whittington states that verbs categorized under the following categories also are equivalent to the Bloom's Taxonomy of learning. Remember in relation to Blooms' Knowledge, Processing is equivalent to Comprehension, Application to Analysis, Creating equivalent to Synthesis and Evaluating to Evaluation. The action words let a student know exactly what they should take and be able to do from each lesson.

In the text, Methods of Teaching Agriculture, it is discussed that posting lesson objectives also allows a teacher to determine the best timeline for students to learn things or do activities. It is also recommended that after the objectives are stated to do an interest approach with the students. This will allow for the students to become engaged in the subject in a non traditional lesson to captivate and gain their attention. This can be done in a variety of ways or as a bell work to start the class.