K. Janae's High Five

Throughout the semester I'll be asked to review a set of readings and then "show what I know." I'm reading some great articles and learning some really interesting things. I'd love to share all the goodness with you but and as much as I would love to have you spend your whole day reading about the teac{herr} way, let's keep this one short and sweet. I'll be leaving you with a "high five," you know like the top five coolest things I read today. So...

High Five: What is Teaching & Learning?

1. The first day of school is extremely pivotal and plays a very important role in setting the scene for the rest of the year.

• Actually, scratch that. The first minutes of the first day of school are the most pivotal in influencing both mine and my students expectations for the rest of the year. I'm excited to test out some ideas for my "first day" in my next lab. Stay tuned to hear how it goes!

2. Teacher behavior and methods directly influence student achievement.

• You can find lists of characteristics of a high-quality teachers all over the internet. (Like this one!) The article I read today suggests that these 10 characteristics of a teacher, if present, positively influence student achievement: Clarity, Variability  Enthusiasm, Task Oriented/Business Like Behavior, Positive Reinforcement, Student Opportunity to Learn, Avoided Criticism (in reverse), Structuring Comments, Effective Questing, Humor. Looking forward, I am hoping to improve in the areas of structuring comments and effective questioning.

3. I need to strive to be an efficiently, effective teacher.

• The efficient teacher does things right. The effective teacher does the right thing. I want to do things right, give them my all and take pride in my work. But even more than that, I want to be a teacher and an individual of integrity and in that, being a role model for my students. "The effective teacher affects lives." 

4. There is actually one, definitive secret to achieving success as a teacher. 

• Beg, Borrow, Steal. So with that being said, I am now currently accepting donations to my "teacher box!" I am so very thankful to be a part of a field that generously shares resources and encourages new teachers. Consider this fair warning, all of you current teacher friends! I'm coming to beg, borrow and steal!

5. "Students must be motivated to learn. Learning activities should be provided that reflect the wants, needs, interests, and aspirations of students." 

• Here's something you should know about me, I'm a Pinterest junky and 100% not ashamed of it! I'm a big fan of collecting classroom ideas and lesson materials there (you can follow my #agedu board, on the right hand side of my blog.) and here's an infographic I found that gives some great ideas to get students motivated and increase classroom participation.

Simply put, I've definitely learned a lot more about teaching and learning from this reading assignment and you'll surely hear more about my efforts to become the most effective teacher I can be throughout the rest of this year. 

Here's a High Five to you from me, K. Janae

The Teac{HERR} Way: Lab Reflections

Us agriculture teachers, we love application. We love learning by doing. So of course, by default our teacher preparation programs incorporate lots of opportunities for contextual or experiential learning for us, pre-service teachers.

At Penn State, we commonly refer to these practice sessions as "labs." My cohort and I participate in these (almost) weekly mock classroom experiences. Following our lab time, we are assigned the task to draft a reflective blog on our time on the other side of the desk. Hence...

The Teac{HERR} Way - Lab 1.0

Our first lab was a "Reflective Teaching Lesson (RTL)" and I had assignment to teach on the common parts of a flint arrowhead, in 15 minutes. Looking back, here's what was good (gems), what could be better (opps or opportunities) and targets (areas I hope to improve on for next time)

Gems:

• I was able to provide my students variability by providing different types of activities to present the material. I like to think that I structured my activities in such a way to give my students ownership of the activity and their learning
• I was able to provide examples that asked my students to infer and think critically in order to connect the pictures I provided to the vocabulary words.
• I feel confident in my ability to use the entire room as a teaching space.

Opps:

• Transitions. After watching the recording of my lab it was very evident to me that I have a lot work to do in the area of transitions from one part of my lesson to the next. 
• Fluidity. Not just from activity to activity in my lesson but also in my ability to explain content, and descriptions and give directions.
• Energy Level. Granted, it was 8 in the morning but my coffee was about finished by the time I began teaching; however, I felt as though if I would have increased my energy level that would have definitely helped to keep my students more engaged
• Conclusion. I was quickly running out of my 15 minutes this time around but, it was evident to me that I failed to review and conclude in a way that really round out my lesson.
• Check for Understanding. My lesson included some vocabulary words that were difficult, even for me to comprehend! I realized the importance of being intentional about checking for understanding continually throughout my lesson. I need to find creative ways to do that other then simply asking a question to receive a verbal response.

Targets:

• Review Objectives
• The learning objectives will posted every day, so they are easy to find and are an easy way to gauge whether or not we maximized our educational time and met our goals.
• Increase Fluidity
• This will take practice, by intentionally designing and incorporating these into my lesson plans I will (hopefully) develop the habit of being more fluid in my instructions and transitions.
• Energy
• Our next lab is a "First Day of School" session, a crucial day to be sure to set the bar for what my students can expect from me in the upcoming days but also to help get them excited about what the class has in store.

Simply put, I know I have plenty of areas to improve on but I am confident in the ability of my professors to best prepare me for my student teaching internship and my future classroom.

Simply put, I can't wait to see the growth that my cohort members and I will experience this semester! Let's do this thing!

Until Next Time, K. Janae

Miss Herr's 10 Best at Midd-West

Happy Wednesday! The semester has started off with a bang and with each day that passes, I get closer to my student teaching internship at Midd-West High School.

You've been able to catch a few quick glances at Midd-West so far, but so you can understand why I'm counting myself so incredibly blessed to spend my last fifteen weeks as a Penn Stater there, watch this clip that I affectionately like to call "Miss Herr's 10 Best at Midd-West"...

Simply put, it will surely be a wild ride this spring, but I'm excited to learn alongside Mr. Bittner and Mr. Erb in efforts to best prepare myself as a future agriculture educator.

Simply put, I can't wait for the chance to influence these students lives, even for just a small period of time.

Until Next Time, K. Janae

This is one goes out to the first day of school.

Faithfully, at the end of every summer, I ask myself "what did I do these past three months?"

I mean obviously I did stuff. Like I got my appendix out, adventured to Mississippi, spent time with my favorite blue corduroy jackets, worked (a lot). But what did I actually do. Who did I invest in? Did I spend my time wisely? If it was my last summer ever, did I make it count?

Faithfully, at the end of every summer, I am ready to start fresh. I crave the routine of school, a change in social atmosphere, the chance to learn new things. 

Faithfully, at the end of every summer, I boldly declare lofty goals and work to realign my priorities to get the new semester off on the right foot. 

So this one goes out to you - whether its your first day ever, your last first day (that's me, yikes!) or your first day in your own classroom - if you're like me, busily attempting to crank out a "plan" for this next chapter in your life in efforts to make it the best one yet, this goes out to you. 

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Dear, freshmen, seniors, parents sending them off, teachers, and all of you in between. 

May your new semester, new year, new environments be challenging. May it require to think, and think hard. May it push you further and grow you exponentially. May it encourage you to take risks and to not be afraid to fail.

May your new semester, new year, new environments be full of people who not only build you up but fill you up. May you stand beside people who call you to a higher standard of life. May you be joined by people who make you laugh and laugh often. 

May your new semester, new year, new environments call you to "stay humble, but hustle hard." May it require you to be authentic and transparent. May the stress of what may lie ahead not pull you under. And in the midst of it all, may you not forget to live fully. 

May your new semester, new year, new environments be led by these wise words from my man Kid President... "Try this, take a breath. Isn't that amazing? It's called breathing! You're going to do it a lot, but no one knows exactly how much. So enjoy it! Pay attention! Take brain pictures! Because amazing things will happen every day. You're going to do so much! But it's not about what you do, it's about who you are. You, you're awesome!"

Simply put, remember this in your new semester, new year, new environments, whatever it may hold...

you are capable

you are brave

you are significant

you are strong

you can do it.

Simply put, here's to a new semester, new year and new environments. Here's to stretching and learning, laughing and life-doing.

Let's rock it out, K. Janae

Catalyst of Impact

And then I said to myself...

"I cannot wait to be agriculture teacher."

Okay, honestly I say that quite often. It's true, though. I can't wait to have my own classroom, my own tomato plants growing in my greenhouse, my own engines roaring in the shop, my own students discovering, inquiring and developing.

I hopped in my car after completing surgery on a the fence that made up a goat's new home, hit the southbound highway back to Lancaster and through a nerdy ear-to-ear grin I said it... "I can't wait to be an agriculture teacher."

I can explain more about the fence-surgery situation; however, it will make more sense when you understand why I ended up on this farm in the first place. In the life of many agriculture teachers, a summer surely looks very different then other teachers in the building. From conventions, to conferences and meetings to fairs summers go flying by. Throw in SAE visits and the calendar fills up fast. That's where it all happened for me, fence fixing and all - my very first SAE visit.

First things first, Midd-West FFA members are rockstars. You should also know that there is incredible power in the SAE visit. Allow me to explain...

• They allow me to meet my student, in some cases, where they are most comfortable. But also, right, smack dab in the middle of what they are most passionate about. Take Levi for example. A rising freshman, most all that Levi knows and loves revolves around dairy cows. (I of course, was in my element on the Landis farm!) Maybe you missed it, but Levi is a rising freshman and he, along with his uncle operate the family dairy farm which includes two Lely robotic milkers. Levi's SAE visit turned out to be the first time, I, a former dairy princess even, saw robotic milkers in action. But the best part was when Levi excitedly led us into the barn office to explain how the robotic milkers allow for him and his uncle to collect data on the cows production. As Levi maneuvered the windows to show us various stats, he screamed potential!

• It reminds me to be flexible. Mr. Bittner and I started the day out with intentions to visit three students and finished the day visiting five students. I must say, it is terrible convenient when siblings end up being home at the same time! But things change, students don't answer their phone and record-keeping gets neglected over summer. So flexibility it is! Also, being flexible helps make the transition from talking about egg production to white tailed deer production much easier.

Big shout-out to Carly for earning a National Silver medal for her Speciality Animal Production Proficiency Award! 

• My favorite part about SAE visits isn't the chance to see all of my students projects or jobs. It's the fact that I, Miss Herr, not only am their educator but a catalyst of impact. As much as SAE visits are about the here and now, they are about the future. So, while mending the fence for a very curious goat Sam, Mr. Bittner and I discussed the value of a post-secondary education and expanding professional networks. Then Rhode Island Reds turned into SMART goal setting and business planning all around a picnic table in the comfort of their own home. I read this quote shortly after my experiences at Midd-West which I felt summed it up well... "Instruction does much, but encouragement does everything." I want to encourage my students to do more, to be more and SAE visits create a great environment to do such.
  

Simply put, SAE visits are for relationship building, for adventure, for learning (for both teacher and student!), for practice and for planning. Simply put, SAE visits are powerful platforms to serve as a catalyst for impact. 

Simply put, I can't wait to be an agriculture teacher. 

Until next time, 

K. Janae