Receiving Feedback to Improve the Unit Planning Process!

           For my Aquatic Resources class I will be teaching this spring at Elizabethtown Area High School, my first unit of instruction will be Earth’s Water Resources. This unit will be two weeks long and will cover the hydrologic cycle, aquatic ecosystems, water resources, and watersheds. The unit will be assessed with a hydrological cycle poster. Other assignments in the unit include worksheets, color identification maps, case studies, and an in class debate. The unit is designed for an 11th and 12th grade class with 25 students enrolled.

       There are several items I hope to accomplish by the end of this unit. First and foremost, I hope to increase student learning and understanding of Earth’s water resources. I hope to promote student interest in aquatics and agriculture. I hope to increase student appreciation for the environment and Earth’s natural resources while keeping students engaged during class. I also want my students to feel like they have a purpose and can accomplish anything.

          As far as personal items I hope to accomplish by the end of this unit, I have several as well. First, I hope to improve my instruction. This will be the first class, and first unit, I will be teaching in the spring. I hope to discover my teaching style and find what works for me. I also want my students to want to come to class. I want to be the teacher whose class every student wants to attend. I am also hoping to experience the “aha” moment when a new idea or concept clicks for a student.

        The two peer reviews I received for this assignment proved to be very helpful. One reviewer suggested I add the content area under the agricultural standards, which is one thing I will do when I edit my unit plan. I also had a typo under the one section of my unit plan which this reviewer also pointed out. I received a lot of positive feedback from this reviewer as well. She liked several of my lesson ideas and thought my students will too. She felt that I put a lot of time into my unit plan and my passion for the subject showed.

         The other peer reviewer suggested I review my daily student learning objectives and make sure each of the three required parts were present. I reviewed these objectives and found that most were missing the criteria under which the objectives should be reached. I worked through each daily learning objective and made the appropriate changes. This reviewer also suggested I write which day each of my learning assessments will be used in class. This information is found in the beginning of the unit plan so I did not feel it was necessary to repeat myself. I did appreciate the suggestion and will keep it in mind as I write future unit plans.

        Overall, I have a better understanding of unit plans and see them as a necessity in the planning and preparation process. Feedback from my peers has been beneficial as well. I put a lot of time and effort into my first unit plan and I feel that this was evident to my classmates who peer reviewed my plan. I believe that if I put all of the hard work and time into these planning assignments now, I will be better prepared for the future and will have to spend less time making corrections later. With that being said, I know there is always room for improvement and I appreciate any feedback and suggestions I receive!

Writing Objections and Looking Ahead at What is to Come!

         What a busy week this week! In AEE 412, we talked about learning objectives and introduced the idea of group teaching techniques. I enjoyed this week because learning objectives are very important. Not only do they provide guidance for unit plans, they give lesson plans meaning and purpose. Without learning objectives, what would be the point of a lesson? On both Monday and Friday of class this week, we had several opportunities to practice writing our own learning objectives and were given feedback. This was a blessing because it will be very helpful as I continue to write lesson plans.

         I learned the three parts of a well written learning objective this week: the performance, criterion, and condition. The performance component of a learning objective is what should be achieved, what the students should be able to do. Another part of a well written learning objective is the criterion. This includes the level of achievement or how well the behavior should be performed. The last part of a well written learning objective is the condition, the circumstances under which the behavior will be achieved. When practicing writing objectives, I struggled with the conditions component. We were provided readings and practice worksheets in class throughout the week and I found these very helpful.

           As I look ahead to next week, we will focus on group teaching techniques and transition into effective questioning during instruction. From Newcomb’s reading on group teaching techniques, I learned that there are seven different group teaching techniques: lecture, discussion, demonstration, field trip, role playing, resource people, and cooperative learning. Of these seven, I am least familiar with demonstration, resource people, and cooperative learning. I am most familiar with lecture because I have sat through plenty of them. One question I have regarding lectures is how do you make them engaging and keep student interest? I definitely do not want to talk at my students while I student teach and often worry about that.

          Also in the upcoming week, we will focus on effective questioning during instruction. I am very excited to learn how to accomplish this and put it to use in my classroom. I really like the idea of using thought provoking questions during instruction and encouraging students to think, rather than providing them with answers. I have witnessed this during several of my observations at Elizabethtown and also at an IEP observation at CPI. As the Dyer article on effective questioning states, questions are important to assess student comprehension level, establish relationships between concepts, develop students’ thinking skills, and create student interest and motivation.

          Dyer also explained the difference between lower level and higher level questions. I am beginning to pick up on the way my professors and teachers I observe differentiate between the two. Lower level questions are used to determine student comprehension and review or summarize content. Higher level questions encourage deeper thinking, encourage discussions, and allow students to solve problems. According to the University of Wisconsin’s Cooperative Extensions, open ended questions are questions that do not provide response questions while closed questions do provide response choices I am interested to see how I can incorporate each of these into my lessons and when each type is most appropriate.

         Looking back on the week and anticipating what is to come in the next week have me more excited than before! I feel like we are really digging into effective instruction and learning more details to consider in the planning and preparation process. Everything is finally starting to come together and I am picking up how topics are related and intertwined through my core ag ed classes. I am learning new concepts and skills, practicing them, and putting them to use in my unit and lesson plans. I am anxious to learn more about generating and using effective questions because I know these will work wonders in my future classroom!

When Should I Use Open-Ended Questions?. (2004). University of Wisconsin  Cooperative Extension. Retrieved September 27, 2014, from http://www.uwex.edu/ces/tobaccoeval/resources/surveyquestionstype.html

Hooking Students with Interest Approaches!

           In AEE 412 lab this week, I prepared my lesson around an interest approach that I had to deliver in class. I chose to carry out an interest approach for a lesson in my aquatic resources class. The unit was water calculations and the lesson was titled: How much water is used in the U.S. per day? There was an allotted 5-10 minutes to carry out the bellwork, interest approach, and learning objectives for the day. Similar to our last lab, each of my fellow classmates were given a role playing card and had to role play the assigned student for the duration of lab.

           Our lessons were again videotaped and then sent to each student to review and reflect upon. I just finished watching my video and I feel that lab went about as expected for me. My interest approach lab fell short of the 5 minute mark, which was slightly disappointing. Watching my video, I know I still have a lot I can improve upon. That being said, I do not want to beat myself up over my performance today. Instead of bringing myself down and being so hard on myself, I want to reflect on my time in lab and work to improve my future lab performances. I want to view this as a positive learning experience.

            I didn’t feel that my total lab experience was a bust. I feel like I have a warm and friendly presence in the classroom. I feel like I make my students feel comfortable and know that they are in a friendly, inviting learning environment. This is my hope for my future classroom. I also did a better job with my objectives in this lab. I had them posted and went over them at the end of class, which is an improvement from my previous lab. I also noticed that I did not say “um” or “uh” as much as in previous labs which was a plus!

           On the other hand, I know I still have improvements to make. For this lab, I feel like my interest approach was more interesting and engaging as I was writing it out and planning it for my lesson compared to when I actually presented it. I noticed that I should interact with students more while they are doing their bellwork rather than standing at the front of the room. I think I made slight improvements since my previous labs but there is still room for improvements. I also noticed that I need to work on my transitions. They weren’t as smooth in this lab and I must continue to work on them.

           After reviewing and reflecting on my interest approach lab, I know that I still have my work cut out for me. I know that I won’t become a great teacher overnight. It will take time, patience, and lots of practice. I find the thereNow videos very beneficial and I am glad I have the opportunity to watch my lab presentations. I still get a little nervous standing up in front of my peers and teaching but I know I have come a long way. I need to stop being so hard on myself before lab and just stand up there and teach! I need to have more confidence in myself and be more enthusiastic. I love the material I am teaching and just need to let that passion shine through! As the semester progresses, it is my hope that my lab performance and reflection will advance as well.

Writing Learning Objectives to Promote Student Thinking!

           One month in, three more to go! I know I say every week how fast time is going but boy is it ever true! This week in AEE 412, we learned about interest approaches, hooking students, and Lancelot’s Primary and Secondary Principles of Interest. I thoroughly enjoyed this week because “hooking” my students and creating motivation to learn is something I hope to do with every lesson I will teach. Utilizing interest approaches was also the focal point of lab this week, something that gave me practice as a pre-service teacher and also generated new ideas for future interest approaches.

         As I prepare for the upcoming week, the focus will be on learning objectives and teaching in groups. Whittington’s article on writing objective’s provided some great insight into writing learning objectives as a teacher. One point from the article that really stuck out to me was the idea that when writing objectives, we as teachers want to encourage students to think and form connections, not simply memorize information. She gave an example of an objective stating that students will be able to “list the compartments of the ruminant digestive system” versus students being able to “explain the compartments of the ruminant digestive system.” This is something I will keep in mind as I write objectives. What cognitive level of thinking do I want my students to reach?

           I also took a lot of information from the Groseta article on cooperative learning and hope to incorporate it into my future classes. As Groseta states, cooperative learning, a teaching strategy in which learners work in small groups, allows students to develop social skills including the ability to listen to others, explaining oneself clearly, taking turns, and respecting others opinions or ideas. I really like the idea of cooperative learning and promoting small group work. I have already incorporated small group work into some of my lessons. This group work will range from simple tasks such as creating a poster to more in depth tasks such as reading an article and working through a case study.

            Newcomb also provides seven group teaching technique ideas in his book as well. These include lecture, discussion, demonstrations, field trips, role playing, resource people, and cooperative learning. As I read this chapter, I felt somewhat ahead of the game so to speak because I have already incorporate most of these teaching techniques into my lesson plans before completing this reading! One article I found online from Iowa State’s Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching described seventeen creative learning techniques. Some overlapped with Newcomb, which demonstrated their importance and effectiveness.

          Reflecting on the week and looking ahead to the next, I understand the importance of learning objectives and their need to encourage students to think. In my lab this past week, I neglected to include learning objectives in my presentation, which did not enhance the effectiveness of my lesson. I want my students to do more than simply recall facts or memorize lists. I want them to form connections, draw conclusions and understand why or how things work the way they do. Effective learning objectives are arguably the best start to promote these levels of thinking!

References: Techniques for Creative Teaching. (2014). Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. Retrieved September 21, 2014, from http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching- resources/classroom-practice/teaching-techniques-strategies/creativity/techniques- creative-teaching/

What to Expect on the First Day of School!

             For AEE 412 lab this week, I prepared my lesson and instructed my classroom as if it were the first day of school. As part of the lab, I had to create an introductory activity for me to get to know my students. I also had to create classroom management posters: classroom expectations, procedures, and consequences. In the 10 minutes allotted, I had to complete my introductory activity and go over all three classroom management posters. Oh and one more twist was thrown on us: my fellow student teachers were each given a random card which described potential types of students we may have in our future classrooms and had to role play this student for the duration of lab.

            Each instructional lesson is videotaped and then sent to the corresponding student teacher. I received mine today and just finished watching it. I must say, it went better than my first lab. I felt more comfortable in front of my peers. That being said, I still have a lot to work on. The first thing I noticed is that I said “um” and “uh” entirely too much! I think it’s a nervous habit but it is something I need to work on. I almost wanted to pull out a pen and paper to keep track of how many times I said it. This will definitely be at the top of my list of things to improve upon.

            I also thought that I just awkwardly stood at the front of the classroom while students completed their bellwork. I feel like I should have interacted with the students more, even by simply walking around and observing what they were writing. As far as my introductory activity, it would have helped to have the M&M’s prepared ahead of time rather than taking time to give the M&M’s to each student, one by one. For the PowerPoint I used in class, I should have posted learning objectives for the day. That is something I will be sure to do next time. One other major thing I recognize and need to work on is my enthusiasm. I was kind of bored watching my own video! How can I expect kids to be excited to be in my classroom if it doesn’t even seem like I am?

            That being said, I believe there were some positive aspects about my lab performance. I did like the M&M idea as a way for students to introduce themselves and for me to get to know a little bit about them. I also think using the M&M’s was a good idea because who doesn’t like candy?! I think I did well with explaining my posters. I didn’t just read word for word each individual line and then move on; I expanded on the ideas and gave examples as well. Also, I asked students if they had any questions several times. I hope that this gesture shows students I do have their interest in mind and that my classroom is inviting and open.

           Overall, I know that I have my work cut out for me this semester in lab. I am trying not to be too hard on myself but am being critical enough to recognize the improvements I need to make as I develop into a young professional. I hope that I can work through this awkwardness that I bring upon myself when I stand up in front of my peers to teach. I feel that I put too much pressure on myself and as a result, I do not perform as well as I would like. I hope to reach a point where I can stand up in front of a classroom, feel confident in what I am about to teach, and make it through my lesson with enthusiasm, clarity, and confidence. I know lab will continuously provide me with the opportunity for growth and I cannot wait to experience it as the semester rolls on!

Diving into Planning Instruction

        Week 3 is over already?! The semester sure is flying by! Despite my allergies acting up this week, I think it was one of the best weeks I have had as an undergraduate at Penn State! This week in classes, we really started to dig into planning effective instruction; pretty much the foundation of teaching! We started off the week by examining five research approaches to learning including Understanding by Design by Wiggins and McTighe, Significant Learning by Fink, Depths of Knowledge by Webb, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Student Centered versus Teacher Centered approaches to learning.

            It was interesting to see how even though the five approaches to learning were distinct in their own ways, they seemed to overlap and all fit together. This proved to be good background information as the week progressed and we learned how to design a unit and lesson plan. We learned that there are three types of lesson plans: informational, which teach new content, operational which teach a demonstration, and managerial which teach how to make a decision or answer a question. Working hand in hand with the three types of lessons are the three domains of learning: cognitive, psychomotor, and affective.

          From a teacher perspective, I can see the relationship between an informational lesson targeting the cognitive domain of learning, an operational lesson targeting the psychomotor domain of learning, and a managerial lesson targeting the affective domain of learning. As a future educator, I feel that it is important to identify these relationships and how the ideas work together. As far as learning styles, this week we learned about three in particular: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. It is important to teach to all three learning styles as not all students learn the same. Also, it adds variety to your classroom!

         Speaking of variety, we learned about a variety of intelligences that our future students will possess. These eight multiple intelligences as identified by Dr. Howard Gardner include: spatial, linguistic, interpersonal, musical, naturalistic, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, and logical-mathematical. As Dr. Gardner stated, students typically learn through multiple intelligences and this must be taken into consideration when teaching. An article by Anne Guignon in Education World suggests teachers approach and adapt to this idea through their lesson plans, student projects, and student assessments.

         I must admit that I feel like I “get it.” I feel like I see how everything I am learning is coming together. I am starting to view things from a different perspective. I observe my professors and their actions in class and think to myself, “how I can incorporate what they just did into my classroom?” “How can I modify this to make it work for me while I student teach?” I can sense some personal growth starting to occur and I honestly could not be more excited! I know I have a long way to go, and that’s okay, but everybody starts somewhere!

References: Guignon, A. (2010). Multiple Intelligences: A Theory for Everyone. Education World. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr054.shtml

Cooperating Center Video Presentation!

     As you may or may not know, I will be student teaching this spring at Elizabethtown High School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I will be under the guidance and supervision of my cooperating teacher Mr. Mark Anderson. As part of an assignment for my AEE 295 Observation of Teaching course, I was required to create a three minute video displaying my cooperating center while providing details and information about the agricultural program. My video can be viewed via the link below! Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSDeGFl5awc

First Attempt at Teaching...Ready, Set, Go!

         On Wednesday, August 27^th, 2014, I took part in my first AEE 412: Methods of Teaching Agriculture lab. This lab, the reflective teaching lab, was a basic 15 minute laboratory exercise that allowed the instructors to gauge where we as pre-service students stand at as far as basic teaching ability. On the first day of AEE 412, Monday the 25th, we randomly drew a lesson out of a packet and this was our assigned lesson to teach during lab on Wednesday. We were not given real specific instruction but were expected to teach the lesson to our peers to the best of our ability.

            I had to teach an informative lesson about tiki gods and the shape of their eyes. Each of the three shapes represented a different sentiment. After teaching the lesson, I had to give an assessment to my classmates, who were acting as my students, and determine if they were able to successfully identify the eye shape to its matching sentiment. Lastly, I had to hand out a learner satisfaction form for my classmates to complete and assess my teaching ability.

            I was really nervous to watch my video once they were uploaded on thereNow. After lab was over that day, I reflected upon the whole experience. I did not think I did a satisfactory job in lab. Watching my video reiterated this belief. The first thing I noticed was that I have a habit of saying “um.” I did not realize I said it as much as I did. I know this is a habit I will need to break. I think part of the reason for this was because I was not very comfortable with the material I was teaching. Yes it was a short lesson but I did not have previous knowledge of tikis. To help guide my lesson, I think a powerpoint would have been useful.

            Personally, the biggest reason why I feel like I did not perform well in lab is because of my lack of self-confidence. I have always struggled with this for as long as I can remember. I’m typically a shy person and I have a hard time believing in myself. I know this is one bad habit I need to break, especially before student teaching. I think that if I let my personality shine through and stop worrying so much, I will be just fine. I have come a long way since beginning college, with the help of professional organizations and other opportunities I have participated in. I know that AEE 412 lab will help me grow as a future educator and “break out of my shell.” Becoming an excellent teacher does not happen overnight but with every experience and opportunity, I am one step closer!

Designing and Planning Instruction...Penn State Style!

          The end of week two…even though the week was shorter, I feel like I learned so much more and was more productive this week. Things in my classes started to pick up and we really started diving into effective teaching and principles of teaching and learning. In AEE 412 this week, we completed different tasks and experiments that demonstrated one of the six most crucial identified characteristics of teaching. Through the completion of these tasks and from exercises in class, I have learned and stored these six characteristics in my mind: enthusiasm, clarity, variability, opportunity to learn, business like behavior, and task oriented.

            This was a continuum of the first week of classes but I feel it is important that we as pre-service teachers learn and understand the importance of these six characteristics. We also discussed and completed an activity about the sixteen principles of teaching and learning according to Newcomb et al. (2004). Actually providing examples of how each of these can be found in an agriculture classroom put the characteristics in perspective. After class, I thought about how I can apply each of these characteristics in my future classroom.

            Towards the end of the week, class shifted gears and we started talking about how to design and plan instruction. I’m ready to dig into this topic because this is “meat and potatoes” of teaching. Without planning and preparing coursework, units, and lessons, how can one even begin to teach? One source that comes to mind regarding proper planning for effective teaching, and one I referenced in my undergraduate research project, is the Danielson Group Framework for Teaching. The framework consists of four domains, the first being Planning and Preparation. This domain includes six components necessary for effective planning ranging from demonstrating knowledge of content to designing instruction and student assessment (Danielson Group 2013).

            Reflecting upon class and the readings, I realize there are so many things to take into consideration when designing and planning instruction. First, there are standards that I as a teacher must address and meet, according to the PA Academic Standards and Assessment Anchors article on Moodle. Like the Understanding by Design Framework article states, teachers must identify desired results, determine how to assess learning, and plan lessons to achieve the desired outcomes. Bloom’s Taxonomy Chart also provides six levels of cognition that students should strive to exhibit with the assistance of teachers.

            After reading and trying to comprehend all of the information I have read regarding instruction and planning, I do not feel overwhelmed. Yes, I do know I have a lot of work ahead of me as far as planning and preparing for my upcoming semester of student teaching. However, I feel confident that I will continue to work hard and apply the information and ideas I am learning into my student teaching preparation. I have great literature resources at my fingertips, along with a great teacher preparation team. I can also utilize my cooperating teacher during this process. As I reflect on the past week, I find myself realizing the importance of establishing the courses I will teach, along with the instructional units prior to the fall semester. Everything is bit by bit, piece by piece, and I am realizing how the work I am in the process of completing fits together and is just a piece of the student teaching experience puzzle!

 

 References:

The Framework. (2013). Danielson Group. Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http://danielsongroup.org/framework/

What is Teaching and Learning? Reflections from Week One.

             Week one of classes…complete! I still am in shock that my senior year of college is finally here. This is what I have been waiting for. I am working hard this semester to prepare for my student teaching experience and become the best agricultural educator I can be. What better way to accomplish that than the agricultural education program here at Penn State?! I have already gained so much insight from this first week of classes. I have also learned a great deal of information from the first week’s reading assignments in AEE 412: Methods of Teaching Agriculture and I can't wait to see what the rest of the semester holds!

            “Methods of Teaching Agriculture” by Newcomb et al. is definitely going to be my life saver throughout the next year. I started reading the first chapter and right away started processing the information I was reading and how I can apply it to my student teaching experience. The first chapter discussed what it means to be an agricultural teacher and objectives these teachers should strive to meet while teaching. Having gone through an agricultural education program, I understand that there is more to teaching agriculture than standing in the front of the room spitting out facts.

            As Newcomb et al. suggest, agricultural teachers must provide instruction about agriculture and assist students in developing agricultural literacy, provide exploration of possible agricultural careers, develop skills and knowledge that can be used in those occupations, and prepare students for further study in agriculture. While these are basic objectives agriculture teachers must accomplish through teaching and instruction, they also serve as FFA advisors and SAE supervisors. Agriculture teachers must also work with administrators, advisory councils, and the community in order to have a successful program.

            Knowing all of this, the topic for AEE 412 this week was “what is teaching and learning?” I do have some background knowledge of teaching and learning from my undergraduate research project: Boyer’s  Scholarship Reconsidered (https://depts.washington.edu/gs630/Spring/Boyer.pdf). However, I was interested to read how Newcomb et al. described this idea. The first chapter concludes with the idea that principles of learning are translated into the practice of teaching by agricultural teachers. In the second chapter, Newcomb et al. describe sixteen principles of effective teaching ranging from organization of material to motivation to enthusiasm to clarity, just to name a few. Rosenshine and Furst have identified ten principles of effective teaching as well. Many of these overlap with principles Newcomb et al. have established.

            After completing the assigned readings and attending classes for week one, I find myself often reflecting about what I have learned. Which of the principles of teaching and learning do I feel that I understand and will demonstrate well? Which of the principles do I need to learn more about and learn how to apply to my future classroom? I have thought about how I did or did not apply these to lab on Wednesday. I have pondered future labs and considered ways to improve my upcoming labs.

            Is this change going to happen overnight? No. I know that. I will not become an effective teacher in just a few days. I understand that the process of teaching and learning, and becoming an effective agriculture teacher, takes time. I must continue to take the weekly readings seriously and make the information I am learning applicable to my life. I have awesome agricultural education resources at my fingertips and I know I must use them to my advantage. Effective reflection will become a necessity this semester and will help me grow into a great agricultural teacher!