Week 11: Is Technology Helping or Hurting?

One of the unique opportunities that I have here at CASH is the chance to use a lot of technology in the classroom. The school is one to one which means that each student has their own iPad! I also have access to my own iPad and an Apple TV which means that I can project my iPad on to the screen so everyone can see it.

This has given me the chance to do a lot of cool things in the classroom and make my lectures a little more exciting. However, the iPads can also have some problems in the classroom. Check out this chart below of some of my observations! 

Overall the biggest struggle has been the distraction that using iPads in the classroom can create. When we are using them for research or to take notes, students can quickly open other tabs. 

On the other hand, the awesome things that you can do with iPads has been so fun to utilize. I have loved using NearPod instead of showing PowerPoints. The other nice thing is that I can easily divide students up into groups for research!

Having iPads in the classroom can be challenging at times but has been an awesome experience!

Week 10: Learners Today, Leaders Tomorrow

What an exciting week this has been! To begin, I started out my week by attending my first ever SLLC (State Legislative Leadership Conference) in Harrisburg! 

On Saturday morning we loaded up the van and headed east to work the Keystone Truck and Tractor pulls at the farm farm show complex. Our boys got to be down on the track dragging the exhaust bag and our girls worked at the doors, VIP areas and sold 50/50 tickets. This was a great activity because not only did the students get to attend the pulls, the proceeds benefit the FFA!

On Sunday morning we began the conference. We had 3 Juniors, 1 senior and a senior who was selected to be a second year scholar on the trip with us. Throughout the conference the students had the chance to learn more about parliamentary procedure and different aspects of the legislative system. It was awesome to see how excited the students were and to see so many different FFA chapters come together. 

On Monday we spent the afternoon doing community service at a local church. We cleaned windows, walls and everything in between. It was a lot of fun to be able to give back to the community while attending the conference.

Being on this trip was a great learning experience for many reasons. I was able to see all the behind the scenes work that has to take place in order for a trip to be successful. Everything from making sure the students knew what they needed to pack, making sure we were registered properly and planning out where we were stopping to eat along our five hour drive.

When we got home on Tuesday I was exhausted but knew I had to get to work on my lessons for the rest of the week. In Ag 1 we continued working on our benches on the shop days and while we were in the classroom we talked about swine. This week instead of lecturing and having the students take notes, I assigned them a breed of pig and they had to look up the information and present it to the class. This worked well becuase the students were more involved and took more ownership over the lesson.

In Ag 2 we are perfecting our Arc welding skills but running beads and finally doing some butt joints. This was a fun activity because after the students welding their metal together we would bust it apart and see how deep their penetration was and how good their weld actually was. 

In regards to the FFA chapter, our busy week continued as we had the chance to go out into the community on Thursday night and perform for the local Lions Club. A group of our square dancers traveled to the meeting and did a demonstration of three songs and ate dinner with the members of the Lions Club. It was great to meet more members of the community and show off what the FFA has been up to.

Next week will be another busy week because our fundraiser will be delivered, our new jackets are coming in, and we will be attending the local livestock committee meeting and the western region PAAE meeting! 

"Some people dream of success, others wake up and work hard for it."

-Winston Churchill

Week 9: Classroom, Greenhouse & Shop, Oh My!

This week was exciting because it was the first time in a while that we had all 5 full days! It was a fun week where we spent time in the classroom, the greenhouse and the shop! It was also a very exciting week
because the snow is beginning to melt and I have seen grass for the first time in Crawford County!

The Ag 1 students are almost finished with their wooden benches we are working on in the shop. We also have continued our animal unit by talking about breeds and uses of beef cattle and dairy cattle. We have a unique shop and classroom schedule because we will spend 3 days a week in the shop and 3 days in the classroom. I enjoy this because it breaks up the week and keeps the students more interested in what we are learning. However, it can also be challenging because it can cause some disconnect within the lessons. 

In Ag 2 we are working on Arc welding. The students started to get really comfortable and maybe just a bit over confident with their ability to make a bead with a 6013 electrode. That sure changed once we switched to a 6011 and they were a little more challenged. The geraniums that these students planted are continuing to grow very well in the greenhouse! I am looking forward to seeing the final product as the center piece at the banquet! We also worked on a cool project in the greenhouse involving sunflower mats!

The juniors and seniors in Ag 3/4 are continuing to make their lifesize cowboys out of flat steel and sheet metal. I am really excited about this project and love watching this small group of students work so well together in the shop. On the days we are in the classroom we have been discussing monogastric digestion.

In agriscience we are continuing to learn about plant reproduction. We did many different things this week from vocabulary quizzes to taking notes and taking the exam for this chapter. One of the cool things I've got to experience here is giving exams through a system called 'My Big Campus'. The school is one to one and therefore all students have an iPad. I am able to upload the exam and the students just need to log-on and take their exam during class time. Using the iPads in class has been a really enjoyable way to enhance my lessons! I am especially fond of the NearPod app and use it quite frequently!

This week was also another exciting week for the FFA chapter. We had a meeting on Monday and because the weather is starting to get nice we had a lot to talk about! We planned for spring roundup, our food booth at the school sporting events, the banquet and our upcoming trip to SLLC!

On Wednesday evening the FFA chapter had the opportunity to go to the school board meeting for an awesome check presentation. The Conneaut Area FFA Chapter was nominated by a local farmer and received a $2500 grant from Monsanto! It was awesome to not only attend the board meeting but to see the FFA members making the school proud!

I am looking forward to our trip to SLLC this weekend and for what the upcoming weeks of teaching will bring!

"Sometimes you will never understand the value of a moment until it becomes a memory."

-Dr Seuss   

Week 8: The Highs & The Lows

I can’t believe that my student teaching experience is over half way over! I can truly say that this has been a great experience so far and I am looking forward to getting the most I can from the last 7 weeks! 

I was looking forward to this week because it was actually a full, five day week. Well that was the plan... As the school day ended on Tuesday, I ended up over top of the trash can not feeling so hot. With that being said I got to experience my first sick day on Wednesday lying in bed trying to conquer the nasty 24 hour flu that’s been going around. Thanks to lots of sleep and a visit from my dear mom with a delivery of juice, crackers and medicine, I was back in the saddle on Thursday!

The Ag 1 students moved forward on our animal science unit where we are doing an introduction to livestock! This week was also the week where students had to recite all 5 paragraphs of the FFA creed. This was quite the challenge but I’m happy to say we have made it through!

This week brought about my biggest challenge I’ve had with classroom management! After having some rowdy students who did not want to listen in the shop on Tuesday I decided that we weren’t quite ready to be in the shop again on Thursday. This was hard for me because I have a hard time being mean but I knew it had to be done. I was able to talk to the students about my expectations of them both in the classroom and in the shop and I think that next week will go much better! 

In Ag 2 we have been working on our Arc Welding skills which is going great! I am always impressed at how great this small group of students work in the shop and I have to say that their welding skills are pretty impressive as well! In Ag 3/4  we have also been spending some time in the shop working on making metal cowboys! This involved using the plasma cutter to cut the flat steel for the legs, arms and torso of our cowboys. One of my favorite parts of this project so far was watching one student go from being scared to death to use the plasma cutter to being the first in line the next day as excited as she could be!


In Agriscience we are continuing to work on our plant reproduction unit. I have been able to increase the enthusiasm in this class by breaking up the days we take notes and trying to add some different activities to spice it up a bit! We also have been having a blast watching all of our plants grow in the greenhouse.

Outside of the class, the FFA chapter has been preparing for the lip-sync competition that takes place this weekend! On Friday night we had dress rehearsal and I’m very excited to watch them perform! I also need to find some leg warmers and a sweat band for the faculty lip sync routine that I get to be a part of!

“Live each moment from your own inspiration, not from your desire to look good in the eyes of others”

Week 7: National FFA Week!

Dine with a State Officer!

What a crazy week here at CASH celebrating National FFA Week! In the classroom we continued to work on woodshop projects, welding and plant science. The greenhouse is getting fuller and fuller as our geraniums, tomatoes, peppers and marigolds grow! While we stayed busy in the classroom, shop and greenhouse, the exciting and busy part of the week happened after 3:45!

Pie for the teachers!

Each day this week we had a theme for clothing and an after school activity that many members of the FFA participated in! To start off on Monday we had "dress like a farmer day" and Lip Sync practice after school. Here at Conneaut, the school hosts a lip syncing competition as a fundraiser.

The FFA chapter put together a group and we are working on getting our singing, dancing and pedal tractor routine perfected!

Tuesday was Official Dress day and in the evening we drove to Meadville to eat dinner at Hoss's with the FFA State President Katie McLaughlin! It was great to see other FFA members, advisors and even a student teacher from this area all come together!

Volleyball!

Wednesday we wore our FFA T-shirts and had the chance to show our appreciation for the faculty here at Conneaut Area Senior High. After school, the FFA member serve cherry pie and ice cream to the teachers to thank them for all of their support throughout the year!

Thursday we wore a shirt from our favorite college! I of course represented Penn State and was excited to see so many students representing the blue and white too! (We won't talk about the ones that wore Ohio State!) After school we got together to work on our "She Think's My Tractor's Sexy" lip sync routine then headed to the gym for some intense games of
volleyball.Thursday was a fun day too because Ms Deanna Miller came to visit for the day to see that CASH was all about!

Bowling!

On Friday we wore shirts that represented Agriculture related companies! In the evening we rented out the local bowling ally and had the chance to spend a few hours laughing, hanging out and bowling with many FFA members. I have to say that I did kick some butt at bowling!

Selfie Contest!

All week long there was also a selfie challenge going on! Students had a different theme for each day and at the end of the week we picked a winner that had the best selfie 3 out of the 5 days! The winner got $25 and we had some awesome candy bars for honorable mention! Throughout the week we also had our spring fundraiser going on. Students were going around to family, friends and neighbors selling pizza, pretzels, flowers and much more!

Even though this week was crazy busy and I was totally exhausted by the end of it, it was incredible!
This week showed me how blessed I am to have the opportunity to work with great teachers and amazing students! There are only 8 weeks of student teaching left and I have to say, It's gonna be hard to leave CASH!!

Week 6: Short, Sweet and to the Point!

Week 6 here at Conneaut Area Senior High was a week like none other. We had a four day weekend which was a great break to recharge and prepare for some more awesome days in the classroom! This four day weekend meant that we had Monday off for Presidents' Day.  On Tuesday we braved the cold and got back into the swing of things in the classroom.

The  Ag. 1 classes continued working on their 5 board benches in the wood shop, Ag 2 and Ag 3/4 students got finished up with their Arc welding review and safety and the Agscience students continued our unit on plant systems!

Wednesday is creed day here at CASH! All three of the Ag 1 classes are learning the FFA creed and the older classes are working on memorizing the S.W.E.A.T Pledge. The S.W.E.A.T pledge ( Skill and Work Ethic Aren't Taboo) is an awesome pledge that was written my Mike Rowe. We are coming along well on the creed but realized the fourth paragraph was causing some problems. Therefore, before students are allowed to go into the shop, they must increase their creed score by at least 5 points.

The week was going along great but on Thursday I got to experience my first snow day after the temperature and wind chill fell to below negative 20! While it was nice to get a little break and get caught up on some school work, the snow day meant that our after school square dance demonstration for the local lions club was also cancelled. It also meant that this week was gonna be a 2 day week for me because on Friday I spent the day in Happy Valley with the rest of my student teaching cohort!

Getting back together with the other student teachers and the advisors at Penn State was great! We covered so much during our day together. We shared how our student teaching experiences were going, talked about interviewing for jobs and having our resume and cover letter ready to go and so much more.

While this week was very short it was still another week of great learning experiences! I'm looking forward to next week because we have a loaded schedule full of awesome FFA experiences in celebration of national FFA week!

"Teachers can change lives with just the right mix of chalk and challenges."

- Joyce Meyer

Checking out the Science Wing!

Last week I had the opportunity to observe a Science Class here at Conneuat Area Senior High! I sat in on an Environmental Ecology class made up of 14 freshmen. The objectives for the day focused around the vocabulary for the next chapter. 

They started the class by going over their weekly agenda. Next, the students took a daily quiz which was then graded by their peers. The rest of the class period was spent going over vocabulary words and their definitions on the over-head projector. All of the students took notes on their iPads however they did not seem to be fully interested in the lesson. 

The teacher tried to focus the students’ attention on the presentation by asking questions and getting them involved in the lecture. I feel the students would have been more likely to be interested if there was some variability to the lesson. Students spent the entire class in their seats either taking a quiz or taking notes. This may not be how every class goes but you can tell that the students were not fully engaged in what was going on that day. 

Even though the students were not super active, the teacher tried to capitalize on student interest or experiences by relating the subject matter to things that the students would know more about.  He also showed a lot of enthusiasm for the subject matter which helped to make the lecture more interesting. Also, the teacher had great clarity when discussing what he wanted each student to do. For example, he was also checking for understanding to make sure each student was following along and understood what they were doing before he moved on to the next item of business. 

Overall, observing this class has helped me to realize the importance of variability in the classroom. Getting the students up and moving or even switching up the way you are conducting class can keep the students interested and more engaged in the lesson. It was great to see another teacher at work!