PAAE Western Regional Meeting

-
I was able to participate in the western regional PAAE meeting last night. This meeting looked different then what it was supposed to look like due to COVID-19. But, it was still very beneficial. I enjoyed listening to all of the different Ag teachers talk about their role in PAAE and in their region. Everyone comes together as Ag educators and dedicates even more time to making this community better and stronger. As much as I would have enjoyed seeing and meeting all of these western Ag teachers in person, the Zoom meeting was a good alternative. There are a lot of different things that I think PAAE does really well at. All of the committees and subcommittees seem to work great with one another and really accomplish a lot. The organization is impressive. I also think it is really cool how supportive Penn State's Center For Professional Development is in supporting the Ag Teachers of Pennsylvania.

The western region has some great leaders in Ag Education. The term "West is the Best" is starting to make sense now!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Problem Solving Approach Reflection

-
Image
I used the Problem Solving Approach to introduce a new topic of invasive and exotic pests that are impacting our Pennsylvania Forests. This would be done in lesson 10. The first 9 lessons will be based on dendrology and learning common Pennsylvania tree species. This lesson then leads into the forest management part of the unit. I brought in real examples for students to feel and see first hand what hemlock woolly adelgid and emerald ash borer really look like. Then we were able to connect this to the actual problem-solving approach. Students were asked, How can we manage our forests and ecosystems today when we are losing our ash and hemlock? What is the solution to this problem? The students then broke up into partners and began to research different possible solutions to this real-world problem. I really liked using the problem solving approach to introduce this topic and lesson. I thought the lesson went well but there are three major things. One is how I can better pre...
Read More

Advanced Biology Class Observation

-
Image
I had the opportunity to sit in Mr. Bocain's Advanced Biology course this past Friday. I was expecting a typical biology classroom and a lecture. I soon realized how wrong I was to assume that. I was beyond impressed by how well that classroom worked throughout the period. The biggest surprise was that students wanted to be in that classroom!  The students are broken up into groups and they are given two mice at the beginning of the year. The students must monitor the genetic traits and knowledge of the mice through each generation. They change their diet and evaluate the mice through a series of tests. Students take daily measurements and weights to look at the change. This assignment may seem really cool but if you ask me, the coolest part of this assignment was seeing how much the students enjoy it.  As soon as the bell rang and the students began to arrive in class, they immediately went to work. Mr. Bocain did not have to give any instructions, the students k...
Read More

Week 1 - Remain Calm and Teach On

-
Image
It's hard to believe that week 1 of my student teaching internship is already complete! The week flew by! It was an enjoyable week just simply learning the system and planning out the entire 15 weeks. Most of all, I had so much fun. I had the chance to learn from some of my students. To hear their passions and see learning! The highlight of the week was watching kids have fun making butter. Something so simple and yet the students had such a great time and learned a lot. If there is one thing that this week has made me realize, is to remain calm and teach on. I have been worrying and stressing about student teaching for months. Now I look back and all I can do is laugh! There was nothing to worry or stress about. Having that growth mindset and being willing to learn through this process makes a world of a difference. Now that I have my bearings, I can't wait to start teaching classes. Week 1 is designed to be an observation week, to learn your role as a student teach...
Read More