Final Reflection...

Looking back at this semester as a whole it's safe to say I have never been more challenged in my college classes. It was a whole new set of challenges as I faced the transition into becoming a teacher. Labs were filled with trial and error, attempting different teaching strategies, some working and some epically failing.

I was not always happy with the result of my teaching but at the end of the day it was all about giving it your best attempt and learning from your experiences! I can say I think that I have come a far way in my teaching abilities this semester.

I believe that best way to improve more is just through continual practice. We will get a lot of that next semester as it's now time to head back to high school....only this time I'm the teacher!

Here is a video I made from this semester that outlines some of the labs and the teaching strategy of clarity.

Life Knowledge Lesson

How can students take part in civic life?

     Today I headed to West Perry High School! Interrupting an animal science class the day before Thanksgiving break gave the students a break from what they were learning and allowed them to focus on using what they learn in school to see the big picture in this game called life. I think too often high school students get stuck in a funk of focusing on their own lives or even just that of their local community. It is our job as teacher to constantly keep making those connections to the real world.

The objectives for the day are simple:
1. Define the four levels of community 
2. Identify ways to get involved in the community.

Do we see our whole community
or a small part?

     To get to know my students a little bit first we did an introduction bell work activity of just stating a favorite class and hobby. This allows me to make connections with the students and maybe remember a few names. Next we dove in and tried to define the words "my community". This was interesting as the students were really just focused on their local community and hardly wanted to share. Who knew that such an easy topic would be so difficult. After a few more activities the students lightened up and really got into sharing ideas for more participation both at the local, state, and even national level. At the end of class I gave a small quiz and also asked for feedback on the lesson to be written on the back of the quiz. We had about a 90% average on the quiz and the students said they enjoyed the lesson.

     I learned a lot from visiting my school and teaching this lesson. As anticipated the word diversity is a new one to my students and I even got a few laughs when I asked about how they view their community. As a very rural community I think learning what exactly the definition of diversity is something we can work on. I also learned that Mr. Hines doesn't really have bell work. This really got me thinking about how difficult it might be for me to step into the classroom next semester and implement some new rules. I never want to step on my teachers toes however I think that bell work is a really important classroom management tool. Last I learned that the students are great! I am really looking forward to spending time with them next semester and teaching at West Perry.











   

Inquiry Based Instruction

This weeks lab was all about letting the students learn on their own! This one was tough to facilitate as the teacher.

I choose to do my lesson on biofuel since my cooperating teacher has the lab aid kit and I will be teaching a unit on alternative energy.

I started off the lab getting the students thinking about biofuels with an article. We talked about different fuel options and the positives and negatives to each. Next looking at the materials on the table the students had to decide what they were testing and how they would complete the task.

They did an excellent job connecting the article to the supplies given. The end goal being to test which fuel burned cleaner, kerosene or ethanol.

I learned a lot as a facilitator from this lab. It is really scary first of all. What if the student's go a completely different direction then you want them to? What if they don't know as much as you think they do? It takes a lot of planning to make sure you are prepared to help the students reach the end goal you want them to. I also learned the lesson go a lot slower then I had planned. I probably had prepared three days worth of lessons that I thought would be two.

Overall I was pleased with the lab. If I could redo the lab I would have started at a different point because I was hoping the students would get to try their experiment on camera. However they were on the right track and I believe they would have got good results from the procedures they set up. I would also try to point out the question or hypothesis more.

I'm excited to use the whole kit at my cooperating center next semester and use this as a part of the entire lab kit. I think that while IBI is challenging it is also a lot of fun to really gauge your student's learning. I get really excited when I realize they are understanding what I want them to and came up with the answers all on their own.

Demonstration Struggles

This weeks lab was on creating a demonstration that could be used in the classroom. The demonstration had to be for an ag mechanics class. Since I will be teaching a whole class on small gas engines I decided to use one of my lessons for the beginning of engine tear down. Needless to say this was not my best lesson ever and everything that could go wrong did.

I started off the class with bell work after the students walked in to class for the day. Everyone was a little tired at 8am. In previous classes we discussed safety and lab procedures so I had them talk with a partner to practice what was previously learned. To simulate a real class situation I also had the students pass in the safety procedure sheet they would have gotten signed by their parents. For the interest approach I asked a student to show the class how they would start the 2 stroke engine. When the rewind cord broke (on purpose) we talked about why this might happen like weathering or overuse.

Next I demonstrated how to replace the rewind starter cord. The demonstration was going well until I couldn't get the cord through the holes in both the shroud and spring. No matter how many times I practiced it the night before it didn't work during class. This however turned out to be the least of my problems because when I had the students demonstrate to the class the spring inside the shroud broke. (not on purpose)

I thought I handled the situation as best as I could by watching the students technique and then when I realized it was actually broke and they were completing the right steps I positively reassured the students that they were completing the right steps and that we could move on to practice in the lab.


Oh well better luck next time.

Designing an Interesting Interest Approach

How do we get students excited about a unit or a lesson? Students must have the need to want to learn about the topic you are teaching to really engage in the lesson. Lets call this an interest approach. A five to ten minute engaging activity or demonstration that gets students curios about the lesson and excited to learn more. This week in lab was all about creating that exciting interest approach that you can use to kick off a lesson!

I chose to do my interest approach for a wildlife, fishery, and forestry science class. The class is for tenth and eleventh grade students. I will be teaching a unit on fish in Pennsylvania. Along with this we will be studying habitats and human impact. My interest approach was focused on this. I completed a simple demonstration for the students to show an example of a fish habitat and the impact humans can have on streams.

The class started off with bell work to review the lesson from the day before. Next I asked the students to quietly come to the front of the class. I had a container full of water with rocks in the bottom to simulate a clear stream. The students were asked to write on a piece of paper observations from the stream. Next I added sand to the stream. Again I asked the students to make observations on the stream and write them down on their paper. They were told to also consider the animals living in the habitat. Using straws I blew into the water to show the movement and amount of oxygen in the water. Following the same process I then added silt.

Overall this was a simple demonstration that had a big meaning. The student's were able to see what was happening and make observations on their own. Depending on the class I could modify this to have helpers and get the students more involved or have more of a discussion while the students are out of their seats. I also got the feedback from my peers that this could be used as a group experiment the students could preform, which is a great idea! I think the lesson went pretty good. I felt comfortable with what I was teaching and I got the students up and interested in the lesson. One thing I would improve would be getting the student's more involved in the lesson but I was a little intimidated they would mess up the demonstration. Suggestions are welcome on how to correctly facilitate the situation by getting the students as involved as possible and have the demonstration be a valuable learning experience.

If anyone is also teaching on fish habitats or needs a cool project here is video on making fish habitats and spawning ponds.

1st Day Jitters

Oh boy! Twenty five high school students just walked into the classroom shouting, running, tackling each other. Not one of them has a pencil, paper, or even a backpack. Instead of taking their seats they continue to talk to one another and move about the classroom saying hi to friends. The bell rings and there are not nearly enough students in the classroom. Students continue to trickle in loudly as the teacher is trying to begin the lesson. Two minutes into class five students already ask to use the bathroom. As you can guess it's the first day back to school and the first day for a new teacher! 

This can be a tough day for students and teachers because the teacher doesn't know the students and the student's are still in summer mode and ready for school. For our first lab we had to design a lesson that would help to take some of the stress away from the first day teaching! 

Step 1-Get the students in the room and get them doing something other then talking!

Bell work is a great way to get student's started on the class and keep students in order. Since it is the first day I had students write down on a notecard some important information that I might need as a teacher, and also a few things about the class. 

Step 2- Get the student's engaging with each other and also getting to know the teacher!

example

After introducing myself as the teacher I had the students do an engaging activity I like to call full card person bingo. The students are given a bingo card that has short descriptions in each block. They must move around the room, meet each other, and sign one of the blocks on a classmates card. Some of the blocks can say fun things like enjoys camping or rides horses, while others can have meaning to the teacher about the students learning like is good at math or likes reading. Getting everyone a little more interested in the class the teacher can jump back to the bell work and talk about what students want to learn and why the class is important. 

Step 3- A successful classroom needs structure! 

By having expectations, procedures, and consequences students will know how they are to act in your class and what they shouldn't do. By outlining this at the beginning the school year, students know what is expected of them. While I realize this will not make classroom management a walk in the park hopefully it will help a little. These will be outlined in posters and hung on the wall so that every time students walk into my class they are reminded of the rules set forth in my classroom. I will also have a mailbox system set up for the students so that I can return papers quickly during class. 

Step 4- Get the parents involved! 

Start the contact off on the right foot with the parents by sending information home. I think it is important to send home the expectations and procedures or a letter home to the parents explaining what you expect from students in your class. Hopefully this letter makes it home to the parents and doesn't become part of a science project in their locker. Being an ag ed teacher its really important to have the parents support of the program because of all the extracurricular activities their kids could partake in and this is a great starting point. 

Reality Check! The first day or week or month isn't going to be easy. But the labs and class this semester will help prepare to be successful and we will figure what they can't teach us on our own!