The Plant Crisis of 2015! (Problem Solving Approach Lab)

This week for AEE 412 Lab, we conducted a Problem Solving Approach Lesson.

I chose to create a lesson for my Horticulture Class. This specific lesson is situated directly between the Greenhouse and Integrated Pest Management Units. Thus, I wanted to create a felt need to learn more about how plants can become "sick" and also, what a well functioning greenhouse looks like.

Thus, I created a "Plant Crisis Scenario" where students could see a healthy Spider Plant, and compare it to some pictures of sickly plants.

I think it was fun for students to see, smell, touch, and interact with a real plant, and it made the scenario more realistic.

Then, the students developed questions to try to figure out what was wrong with our plants in the greenhouse. After establishing some questions, the students were provided with a list of experts. After reviewing this list, and coming up with more questions, we held a TRIAL! That's right, the students were provided with cards with information for each witness, and then we got to ask some questions.

Ideally, with 24 students, what will happen is each "witness" will stand in front of the class, and answer their questions. I altered the activity slightly to accommodate the small class size, and I think that it made the process more difficult.

GEMS:

- I think that I demonstrated a strong rapport with my students. I was in tune with sleepy and frustrated students. These observations allowed me to act accordingly and get everyone on track and paying attention
- I let the students drive the discussion! I was nervous but excited for that aspect of the lab
- I was prepared with the cards, plant, and pictures etc.

OPPS: Opportunities for Growth

- Body language! After reviewing the video, I was very distracting during the lesson (Pacing when students were brainstorming, fidgeting while listening to responses, etc.)
- Clarity of instructions! Have students reiterate directions, and don't rush through giving instructions. It's okay to take the extra time to explain this.
- Kinesthetic... ideally with more students and an actual greenhouse, students would be able to move around more
- Provide other ways for students who are struggling (in class or to stay awake!!!!) to be engaged.
-Specifically for Problem Solving Approach
1) Having a handout or worksheet for students to complete
2) Having directions written out somewhere for the students
3) ASKING HIGHER LEVEL QUESTIONS! Forcing students to reach deeper into the recesses of their learning and knowledge to answer the questions. I fear that this lab was too superficial. However, this class is primarily 9th graders, so I wanted to keep that in mind.

I really enjoyed utlizing the Problem Solving Approach for this lab. I am also excited because I think this lesson could be adapted for a lot of different ideas! Can we say... recycle?

Best
-Sb

Such A Neat Lesson! ... How Do I Assess My Students?

In agriculture education, every day is different. We could be welding in one class, cleaning rabbit cages in another, and learning the FFA creed in a different period. With so much variability, how can we effectively evaluate or assess our students? So much of what students are gaining and learning cannot be accurately portrayed in a formal written exam. (And no one wants to read 26 papers on why students think the Creed is important, we want to HEAR it right?!) There are many examples of ways to assess students.

I personally found this weeks reading assignments to be VERY VALUABLE, and am going to share my top 4 "Nuggets" of awesome that I am going to take with me as a student teacher, and hopefully in the future in my own classroom!

1)  PORTFOLIOS aren't just to hold resumes

Students might turn in a portfolio as a final assignment. This could include concept maps, photographs, journal entries, evidence of investigation, a short literature review, etc. This suggestion, in an article written by FL extension, suggested protfolios as a summative assessment for laboratory learning. This could be from a field trip, in the shop, in the greenhouse, etc. Students could also verbally present their portfolio to the class.
What a great way to hone skills in writing, presenting and speaking!

2) Students can have more than one grade

 Wait what,... this is a little mind boggling to me! Not all learning is the same, nor can it be measured the same, so WHY do we try to give students one CUMULATIVE grade?

In an article presented by Jung and Guskey about "Grading Exceptional Learners," they discuss how to grade English Language Learners (ELLs) and students with disabilities. They introduce this novel idea to me... three separate grades... on:

- PRODUCT: ex. final reports, projects, portfolios, presentations
- PROCESS: ex. effort, behavior, work habits, punctuality, class participation
- PROGRESS: ex. student improvement (educational growth)

This is very intriguing to me, and I am curious to see what this would look like for all learners!

3) RUBRICS: aren't just for the teacher!

Rubrics not only help teachers to grade students fairly and efficiently, they also guide students. By providing a clear structure of expectations for students, they can focus on the real objectives of the assignment. THEREFORE, it is vital to have rubrics that accurately portray the goals and expectations for the project, presentation, assignment, etc.

Aaaaaand super neat that I can design my own INTENTIONAL and PURPOSEFUL and CONCISE  rubrics online: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=NewRubric


4) CONCEPT MAPS! simple yet effective concept!




So we have all certainly heard of concept maps, but I would be lying if I have ever considered them as formative or summative assessments. I LOVE that students can be INDIVIDUALS and CREATIVE in concept maps. These help to link up prior knowledge to new information to experiences, etc. Very simple, yet effective concept... concept maps.

Wow, learning so much, and have so much more to learn!
Thanks for Reading

-Sarabeth 

#TeachAgChat Reflection

Leading Up to the Event: #TeachAgChat!!!!!

So my initial thoughts were... wait, we are leading a National Twitter Chat... what does that even mean. After discussing the particulars in the class, I started to feel more comfortable with the idea. Then, my teammates (Katie and Mason) and I all participated in a National Twitter Chat to see what they were like. After this, I started to get more excited. The sheer amount of resources shared and connections made in one hour blew my mind.

Once we established our objective, we were ready to go!

Objective: Connect and familiarize educators and industry personnel with the needs and preparation of students to ensure career success

So then... we were just waiting for #TeachAgChat ... #Oct15 ... #BeThereOrBeSquare!

The Event:

GEMS
- I think that we did a good job of promoting the #TeachAgChat. We sent emails, tweeted, facebooked, talked and did everything we could to promote the event. We were very happy to see educators, students, and agricultural industry people attend the event!

- We also did a great job preparing beforehand. I think that we all had great responses and resources to share. This helped the #TeachAgChat night go more smoothly

-Having TweetDeck up allowed us to see the whole conversation, and made it easier to retweet, respond, like, and see where the conversation was going.

- I also thought that we had enough points and questions because there seemed to be little lag time.

- Roles: I think that Katie, Mason and I shared the responsibilities very well. The night of, we each had specific roles to make sure that everything was covered.



OPPS

- I think it was too confusing to have designated questions for Teachers versus Industry personnel. Also because many people we contacted beforehand to participate had never been in a Twitter Chat, having the questions geared towards the two groups was probably confusing!
So HINDSIGHT: clarify questions

- It seemed like we had more educators than industry people. It would have been nice to have more voices in the discussion. So HINDSIGHT: get more industry support in the #TeachAgChat

FINAL THOUGHTS

I was very impressed by the engagement of the participants! We had very thought provoking questions and interesting ideas shared. I really enjoyed the experience. Thanks for reading!

Best

sb_royer

Well, the Problem is...

The Problem Solving Approach to Education

 

Problem-based learning (PBL), according to Phipps et al. "activates learners by posing real problems for them to investigate and solve." One could argue that agricultural education is especially ideal for problem based learning! Similar to scientific experiments, students are tasked with a  problem, given time and resources to come up with possible solutions, test these ideas, and then evaluate the solutions and reflect on the experience. PBL in the classroom can not only reiterate content learned in class, but can also be a way to gain new learning experiences and integrate new learning standards. With problem-based learning or problem solving techniques, students are learning through interactions with peers, teachers, new resources, and sometimes even community members. Four things I want to keep in mind for PBL in my future classroom:

 

 

 

1) Teachers Role

 

As the teacher, what is my role?

Through this weeks readings, I have compiled a list of roles for the teacher

- Guide, motivate, and encourage students

- Challenge students with additional questions

"Questions asked by teachers determine the amount, direction, and quality of students thinking," Lancelot as quoted in Phipps et al.

- Feedback and Reflection

 

2) Scaffold

 

For PBL, one method is to introduce smaller challenges or problems throughout previous lessons. Then, providing one cumulative project, problem, or challenge. This scaffolding will empower students to take charge of their own learning, and be more confident in coming up with possible solutions because they have completed smaller problems before.

 

3) Community Involvement

 

"Students find projects more meaningful if they are asked to conduct real inquiry..." (Eight Essentials for PBL). How neat would it be to connect with local businesses or farms and develop real-life questions or problems. This would help students apply their learning to problems that are realistic, and applicable.

Additionally, if students are tasked with then creating a presentation, or poster, or speech at the completion of the project (or problem) it would be very beneficial to have special guests come in. These could be community members, other teachers, parents, etc. By adding this twist, students will take the project more seriously (and also know that I as the teacher take them seriously because I invited guests!)

 

4) Complexity of Problem

 

Problem solving is more that just solving a riddle or math equation. It represents a “complex mental activity consisting of a variety of cognitive skills and actions,” These higher order thinking skills include but are not limited to “visualization, association, abstraction, comprehension, manipulation, reasoning, analysis, synthesis,” etc. (Principles for Teaching Problem Solving). It is important to challenge students, but also not describe an impossible or unrealistic problem.

While I want to stretch my students, I also want them to be excited and encouraged by the problem, not discouraged.

5) Student Choice

Student choice is so important for this! How often throughout the school day are students allowed to decide what and how they are learning? For PBL, students might be able to choose their own problem, create their own solutions, and/or choose their own way of displaying the results. This can help increase student ownership of the work!

"In terms of making a project feel more meaningful to students, the more voice and choice the better," (Eight Essentials for PBL).  

 

These are five things for me to keep in mind when teaching PBL!

 

Best

-Sb

 

 

 

 



Reporting Live From FLC

PRESS RELEASE:
On October 5th, 2015, students from across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania arrived in Altoona, PA for the Fall Leadership Conference. Otherwise known as FLC, students engaged with teachers, PA FFA State Officers, and pre-service student teachers from Penn State. Students learned different skills relating to communication, teamwork, leadership, and their specific roles as leaders in the FFA............

REPORTING LIVE:
"This just in ... Mrs. Gouger, Ms. Kane, and Ms. Royer led a workshop today for 23 students. It seems these students, who are all Reporters in their home FFA chapters learned about the 9 different duties of an FFA Reporter. From practicing interviews, drafting questions, creating scrapbooks, and outlining POA Public Relations timelines, students spent 2.5 hours learning about and practicing important skills for reporters. Live from FLC, back to you at the station.

TWEET
#PAFFA students attended FLC conference! Thanks @ teachagpsu for helping! #FFArocks #reporters #bytheflag
________________________________________________________________________________

WOW, so FLC was truly an incredible experience today! While I have facilitated workshops before, and helped with FLC workshops in the past, today had added pressure. As a pre-service student teacher, there is the added "oh, they are student teaching next semester..." and "Oh they are going to be at this chapter in the Spring..." and "oh, they are seniors at PSU!" I can honestly say that I was more nervous to facilitate the workshop today than I feel I have felt in the past.

However, today exceeded my expectations! Stacia, Miranda, and I truly had so much fun working with the incredibly talented, funny, and engaging Reporters from across PA. We performed skits, turned off the lights and used flashlights, ran around the room finding puzzle pieces, danced to open ceremonies, and made scrapbook pages... and our students were right alongside us the whole time. We had so much packed into our 2.5 hour session (which is a LONG time) that we actually ended up shortening two activities and getting rid of the last activity. I think this was a smart decision (versus rushing through everything) because we really wanted students to learn the intended items for each activity etc. I am also glad that we maintained our questions and transitions at the end of activities to really solidify why we completed an activity, etc.

GEMS:
- Energy, I think we had a fun, engaging and dynamic workshop, and that students felt comfortable with us.
- Transitions, I think we as a group were good at passing off the reigns "next Mrs. Gouger is going to talk about Scrapbooks." This helped the students direct their attention (and minds) to a new, BUT related topic. I also think that we asked thought-provoking questions of the students.
- Activity and variety! I think that we were moving along and students (for the most part weren't bored.)
- Dance through opening ceremonies! One of my favorite parts was having the students create a kinesthetic dance to the Reporters part of Opening Ceremonies! It was fun, lighthearted, and EFFECTIVE! We wanted to make sure student left the workshop knowing their part.

OPPS:
- Preparation of materials... We were still writing on posters as the students walked in! Whoopsies
- TIMING! We definitely planned too much (which is better than not planning enough, but can be frustrating and difficult.)
- Questions... me personally, I had great questions written down in the plan and in the moment I asked different ones. In my head I was like "yeah! Ask this it's a great question!" when in reality I should have gone back to the pre-planned ones that were more clear, and emphasized the main point of the activity! Ha ha, so for me this means... don't get carried away!
- Another personal one for me... "let it go!" As one of three facilitators today, I feel really badly because I think I interrupted my co-facilitators in parts of their activities and objectives. NOT COOL SB, not cool! While I may have thought I was clarifying or helping, it probably just confused the students!

I truly enjoyed our workshop today. I am so proud of our students, and feel blessed to have worked with Stacia and Miranda... great job ladies! :)

-Sb

Not All Questions are Created Equal!

"The art and science of asking questions is the sources of all knowledge."

 ~ Thomas Berger

Questions are such a common, everyday occurrence that I think we rarely take time to consider their significance. A question might roll of your tongue as simple as "what's for dinner?" or as complicated as "how does a Selenium deficiency in the soil affect late-corn in South-Eastern Pennsylvania." We ask questions all the time, to our peers, to our mentors, even in our own heads. The multitude of questions that we ask daily are not the same, and they are not created equal!

"We get wise by asking questions, and even if these are not answered, we get wise for a well-packed question carries its answer on its back as a snail carries its shell"

 ~ James Stephens

For educators, asking questions is akin to breathing. "Johnny, would you please help Susie clean up the materials, "Jane, where are your safety glasses" and "class, who can tell me four different cow breeds." So since we ask questions all the time, why do we need to talk about them? 

Well, there are different types of questions. According to the Center for Teaching Excellence at Cornell University they are Solicitations (which require a direct response,) Rhetorical Questions (which stimulate thinking without requiring a direct response,) and Low Risk Questions (which have no right/wrong answer and help initiate discussion). It is very important to PLAN out questions. This allows the instructor to have more time to thoughtfully consider, do I want to start a conversation, gage students understanding, try to get students to see another viewpoint, etc. The intention of a question may alter how and when the question(s) are asked. Simple yes/no questions won't spark a conversation. Also, rhetorical questions might not allow one to truly gauge students' learning if there is no response. It is also important to avoid loaded or conversely vague questions. 

I truly believe that if we as educators want to create an environment where students feel comfortable and safe, having appropriate and well thought out questions can help. By scaffoding easier to more difficult questions, students will feel more comfortable answering. Also, by being very clear when asking questions, students will have less anxiety for answering (or being called on) to answer questions. This might also motivate them to ask more questions themselves. 

Effective Teaching Techniques (Dyer J. E.) also had some helpful hints for relaying questions. 

1) Call on students to answer a question AFTER stating the question. This ensures that are listening and paying attention

2) Similarly, don't follow a pattern when calling on students to answer a question. This might make some not pay attention at all becuase it's not their turn, or be so nervous for their turn they don't hear other questions and answers etc. 

3) THIS WAS REALLY INTERESTING TO ME:

- “Try to avoid repeating all student responses. Teacher repetition causes students to learn to listen to you, not their fellow students.” Wow, this is pretty mind blowing to me

Also, one of the comments from my last lesson in AEE 412 lab was instead of saying correct, or great job to a students after answering a question, is to have a Power Clap (etc.) This shows the students that not only do we all appreciate and respect your response, but that it's not just the teacher who thinks so! Be having the students involved in recognizing someone doing something well, it can boost confidence, make students feel valued, and create a postive classroom environment. While this Dyer paper discussed ways to answer questions, it did not truly capture different ways to encourage/congradulate the students after sharing.

So, yeah, questions are not all created equal.

“Questions can do more than measure what students know. Appropriately challenging, engaging, and effective questions stimulate peer discussion and encourage students to explore and refine their understanding of key concepts.”

~ Cornell University Center for Teaching Excellence