Week 12, Here's to Short & Sweet

Lucky, our pygmy goat guest

It hardly seems real that we're this close to wrapping things up here. Week 12 was a short one, Easter break took up a few days as did another trip to State College to meet back with the cohort "fam" and work on refining our interview skills.

The two day week was no less crazy then any others. Mrs. Gouger (fellow #psuaged16 member) came by to visit, pygmy goats wondered through the class and the marking period came to a close.

Just like normal, I'll be sharing a high (some of the top notch, #thebestofmiddwest and other dynamite moments), a low (the not so glorious, wish it couldn't been better or those "you'll have that" kind of moments) and a tip (something of the Teac{HERR} Way that I learned or heard that should be shared with #psuaged16 and friends).

High: I can now say I have successfully completed my first course. Our Agriculture Education 8 (entry level course for eighth graders) runs on a marking period calendar, I had the privilege to pick up the third marking period section on day one and spend the whole marking period with them. This class in particular taught me SO much. Not only about social dynamics of middle schoolers (yikes!), but about diverse learners, differentiation strategies, importance of variability and much more.

In honor of Dr. Ewing, the four cycles of an engine dance!

Low: The end of the marking period brought a crazy tall pile of grading for Ms. Herr. In the midst of teaching a full load of classes, navigating through meetings and Easter break and a long list of other items I allowed for the grading pile to get way out of control. Every waking moment this week was surely spent evaluating students, adding grades to the gradebook to make the end of the marking period deadline. Lesson learned! I surely won't be letting the stack get that tall in the future!

Tip: Here's my tip for #psuaged16 this week, as we near the last 20-some days of our student teaching internship and we prepared to continually wrap up units and classes to pass back to our cooperating teachers, enjoy the bittersweet-ness of the moment. Enjoy the fact that there's a few extra minutes to catch up on other assignments and tall grading piles. But also enjoy the moment to celebrate student success that was accomplished in the time that you "owned the class."

Simply put, this two day week has been a short, but a sweet one. I'm thankful for the uniqueness of the week and of course the chance to dine with fellow Northern regional agriculture teachers and acquire new resources. 

Simply put, here's to the last 20-some days of this crazy experience. May they be full of celebratory moments of accomplishment, student success and progress. 

Until Next Week, K. Janae 

The Top 10 for Week 10

Here's 10 crazy things that happened during Week 10...

1. New Classes

2. Tractor Driving

3. Rabbit Breeding

4. Maple Syrup Production

5. Running Engines

6. Career Fairs

7. Growing Grading Piles

8. Teach Ag! Essay Contest Preparations

9. Burning Shop Towels

10. Oh, and Burning Maple Syrup

No joke, that all happened. And all in one week. Let's break it down. I'll be sharing a high (some of the top notch, #thebestofmiddwest and other dynamite moments), a low (the not so glorious, wish it couldn't been better or those "you'll have that" kind of moments) and a tip (something of the Teac{HERR} Way that I learned or heard that should be shared with #psuaged16 and friends).

Testing the sugar content of our
sap sample

High: Student progress. I am a firm believer in holding students to a high standard; pushing them to focus and to put their best foot forward. Here's what I've learned about possessing that philosophy, sometimes students don't appreciate the pushing. Until the end. As we neared the end of our engine overhaul unit, this week has been full of lots of engines starting up. One group in particular was ready to get up and running on Monday. This particular engine team needed lots of reminders to stay focused, but when they buckled down they could be quite productive. When Monday rolled around and they had acquired the proper fluids for their engine and were ready for the big start-up, my heart smiled big time when they weren't going to start the engine without me. Maybe this is just my sappy interpretation of the moment, but it seemed as though my constant pushing had paid off as they wanted me to share in their victory of accomplishment. I'm proud of these kids and the progress I've got to witness in the last 10 weeks.

Boiling the sap down
(Be careful, it burns fast!)

Low: Here's the thing, don't write your lesson plans in pen. They'll change. I picked up our Agriculture Biology class this week and we jumped, both feet into our genetics unit. Starting things off with the infamous concept of punnett squares, I was reminded of the importance of knowing your students and intentionally planning those formative assessments to gauge where they're at and what specialization they may need. This Agriculture Biology class is a unique course and is preparing students to take the Biology Keystone Exam in May, because of that it is so crucial that I am constantly checking for understanding. I owe it to them to lead them into this somewhat daunting exam prepared.

Tip: Here's what can get frustrating with the public school system... today's students never have an opportunity to express themselves. They sit in their cookie cutter desks with their cookie cutter laptops and listen to cookie cutter lessons to prepare them for this big (dare I say cookie cutter) test day-in and day-out. No wonder we see behavioral issues or unmotivated students? It's unfortunate; however, that what seems to be the only class that allows student to express themselves; to learn in whatever way best suits them, is in our elective courses. It's as if our students desperately need these classes and too often then not our administrators deem them "invaluable." This observation made me want to fight for these students even more, to express the uniqueness and value of my program to my administrators and co-teachers and to ensure that I'm daily teaching to the audible learner, the visual learner and the kinesthetic learner.

Get those kiddos outside!

Simply put, I love the adventures that each week here sends my way. From fires, to student projects, to crazy count-downs telling me we're almost done with this wild ride, I'm just really thankful.

Simply put, each week brings new challenges to the table, week 10 was no different. Here's to providing my students with may the only opportunity they have to express themselves, to learn the way they do best. 

Until Next Week, K. Janae

All aboard the struggle bus!

It was just one of those weeks. Each day more crazy and exhausting then the last. But these kids. I tell you what. In amongst these wild, crazy days I'm thankful for their continual reminder that this is why we do this thing. Not for an income, for an outcome. It is not about getting your students to "like" you, ain't nobody got time for that! It's about being that one teacher, that one person they interact with that day that gives them a chance. And far too often to we " do not have time" to offer that second chance, this week was a solid reminder that I want to be the teacher that gives a second chance.

Week 8 was rightfully a wild one. Sidenote... how is it even possible to be finishing week 8 already?! We kicked things off this week with strawberry delivery, birthday celebrations in judging practice, ridiculous amounts of speech and creed repetitions, I advised my first FFA meeting (totally geek out moment), an impromptu mini petting zoo form in our classroom and exciting moments of student-driven learning.

Just like normal, I'll be sharing a high (some of the top notch, #thebestofmiddwest and other dynamite moments), a low (the not so glorious, wish it couldn't been better or those "you'll have that" kind of moments) and a tip (something of the Teac{HERR} Way that I learned or heard that should be shared with #psuaged16 and friends).

High: Proud FFA advis{herr} moments this week... I advised the last meeting of the 2015-2016 officer team. That was a mildly surreal moment; one that I had dreamed about for quite sometime. I also had spent most of my week helping prepared speakers and creed speakers prepare for the SUN Area CDE contests. Three of my eighth graders had committed their supervised study's to the preparation of the FFA Creed. Hard work pays off friends, one of the three of my creed speakers will be joining a few other Midd-West FFA members to compete in regionals.

Low: Here's the thing about Fridays... everybody struggles. Especially when this weird snowy mix is falling from the sky, people have been out for FFA trips, some crying kiddos oh and a dog and five rabbits roll into your room. Welcome to Fridays in room 312! Ms. Herr was driving the hot mess express first period! The bell rang, class was over and I was feeling a little bit defeated. But we shake it off and take some time to revisit content the next class session. Fridays do not mean your given a pass to ease off and not take advantage of learning time. These kids still deserve my best effort despite tears, substitute teachers and a mini-petting zoo.

Tip: This week I witnessed my cooperating teacher have one of those "flop lessons." Students (teacher and student teacher) left confused and frustrated after spending the class running all over through supplemental content to a previously performed lab. It took all but fifteen minutes for the teaching train to derail and the rest was history. But here's the thing, despite the absolute craziness of the day before, I also had the chance to witness my cooperating teacher make the rebound. I've blogged about it before, it's okay to have to re-do lessons, we owe it to our students to give them the best possible learning experience. But we also owe it to our students to be authentic. At the start of the next class session, my cooperating teacher didn't start the lesson without a moment of "hey, listen. I'm sorry." He apologized to students he was openly frustrated with, he apologized for causing such frustration and then together, we all "erased" what we tried to learn the day before and start fresh.

Simply put, authenticity is respected. Students crave it. I'm thankful that my cooperating teacher wasn't afraid to own the lesson that was derailed and guide his students through a restart. Students need to know that we are human too, that we do absolutely do care about our students engaging in a successful learning experience.

Simply put, the day-to-day variety of this job is my favorite. I can't predict what animal will show up in my room, what problems will need solved or how my students will surprise me. A seasoned teacher once told me "invest in your students and they will invest into you." I love that the day-to-day variety of this job allows me to invest into different students and surprisingly receive investment back.

Until Next Week, K. Janae

Wooaahhh, we're half way there...

It was a typical start to the week, I was participating in my normal Monday-morning review of my agenda planner. During that particular moment, my eye was drawn to the weekly count down written beside each week. A seven was scribbled on the left hand side. Seven, which is half of fourteen and fourteen which is the total number of weeks I spend here at Midd-West High School.

[insert minor hyperventilation moment]

You people, we are half way done with this student teaching internship; this capstone experience of my college career. It doesn't even seem real. No doubt, it will get harder before it gets easier. My class load will keep increasing, classroom management issues will surely not disappear and it will most definitely keep getting harder to say goodbye to this place and these kids.

Week seven meant National FFA Week, a quiet week for Midd-West FFA as energy was focused on a school-wide food drive for families in need in the school district, the annual awards banquet in two weeks and the teacher appreciation breakfast to be held in conjunction with an upcoming teacher in-service day. Agriculture Education 8 had a week full of labs, Horticulture, Welding and Small Gas Engines diligently worked on cumulative projects and self-directed learning. My newly acquired Forestry class jumped in both feet, to our Maple Syrup Production unit, mastered the art of putting out student "fires" Our first full week of school in a while was a good one, full of exciting learning.

Week seven will be no different, I'll be sharing a high (some of the top notch, #thebestofmiddwest and other dynamite moments), a low (the not so glorious, wish it couldn't been better or those "you'll have that" kind of moments) and a tip (something of the Teac{HERR} Way that I learned or heard that should be shared with #psuaged16 and friends).
High: Disclaimer: I by no means have figured this teacher-thing out; but I've certainly come to the realization that there is not worth stressing over the minor details. I am here to cultivate growth, a learning environment that is safe, engaging and meeting all of my students needs. This week was full of "ah-ha!" and "ohhhhhh's" and "that was actually really fun!" coming from student mouths. All of which I count for small victories in a week that was tiring and long. 8th graders are challenging, high school boys are a little bit crazy, but nonetheless I'm so proud of these students and the progress they're daily making even when I end my day quite beat.


Low: My challenge this week has most certainly be this growing need in my class for differentiated groups. With a week full of plant science labs for my eighth grade students, I've been testing grouping students by their ability, if you well. Allowing my higher performing students to dig deeper at their own advanced pace and giving me more time to work with my lower performing, or behaviorally challenged students. Differentiation requires extra planning on my part to ensure that the rigor of my lesson is appropriate for all of my students. It's challenging to gauge the best way to execute this in all my different classes, each with a more diverse range of students then the last.

Tip: Seek out the small victories. The next seven weeks will probably get a little more stressful before the get a little easier. This week and the next few weeks following I'll be jumping into some units with content that I am not familiar with. Of which is a humbling reminder that I most certainly do not have to know it all but is also a reminder that I need to actively seek out those "ah-ha" moments for my students, not letting myself get stressed and exhausted in the content that is unfamiliar territory for me.

Simply put, it's still blowing my mind that we're half way done with this experience. Only seven weeks left with these kids! I'm feeling the pressures of "did I really leave a lasting impact here?" "do they know and understand how passionate I am about their success?" Here's to seven more impactful weeks! For both them, and me.

Simply put, I certainly say it every week, this job is exhausting but oh, so very rewarding. So very thankful that the Lord has called me to this place; to this field. 

Until Next Week, K. Janae

Time Flies. Good news, you're the pilot.

Time surely does fly, here we are less then a hundred days away from graduation, a quarter of the way through the semester and I'm pretty sure just yesterday I was setting up my desk. This week basically looked like this... It's barely 9 in the morning and my desk is already covered in papers, small dogs running across the floor, transplanting pansies, influx of strawberry and spring flower order sales, FFA committee meetings, acquiring two new sections of a class and a winter pep rally. It is so crazy to think that we've made a quarter of the way through this experience!

With week four in the books, I'll be sharing a high (some of the top notch, #thebestofmiddwest and other dynamite moments), a low (the not so glorious, wish it couldn't been better or those "you'll have that" kind of moments) and a tip (something of the Teac{HERR} Way that I learned or heard that should be shared with #psuaged16 and friends).

A week for growth in the greenhouse
& growth in my students!

High: As I get further into this experience I am able to witness continued growth in my students. Not only to I get to witness progress on various projects and get excited about upcoming opportunities. I so loved watching one of my students put on his FFA jacket for the first time this week, helping prepare anxious prepared public speaking competitors and watch some aspiring welders daily improve. This job is hard, but oh so very rewarding.

The student "certifier" system at work in
Mr. Bittner's Forestry Class

Low: Differentiation is hard. Especially in a lab setting. This week has been a stretching one; the further we get into lab assignments the more diversified my student needs become. I would argue my biggest challenge this week has been discovering ways to master managing a classroom and lab setting where my students are working in different areas in the classroom, making varied levels of progress on their assignments and ensuring that the learning environment is safe and influential for all students. As I sought out strategies to better improve in this area, my cooperating teacher suggested a student "certifier" system, asking higher performing or more advanced students to teach and/or evaluate their peers through the learning process. Looking forward to week five, I'm hoping to implement this strategy in both my Introduction to Welding and Small Gas Engines classes.

Tip: Teac{HERR} Observation 34,756: Students are actually not digital natives. Despite assumptions on this generations abilities, we cannot hand them a laptop and expect them to know how to operate it efficiently. In fact, during my time student teaching at school that is one-to-one with student technology, more often then not my students don't know how to use various tool on their device and/or they are tired of using them, almost as if they crave paper and pencil. Schools that move forward to establish a technologically advanced infrastructure have to provide their students and teachers with the training and assistance that they need to operate their machines so that it can be used as a learning tool, not simply a note-taking, email-sending, expensive mix of plastic and motherboards. My cooperating teacher and I have daily witnessed this challenge as we seek to discover collaborative and innovative working spaces that utilize these devices for more then the sake of classroom routine and word processing. I'll keep you posted on what I continue to observe here as the weeks progress.

Simply put, there is this existing love-hate relationship with technology. It holds the key to so much potential to enhance learning in the classroom; however, only if both the teacher and student have been provided with the training and support to do so effectively and efficiently. 

Simply put, I so love the daily challenge that this experience presents for me. It is exhausting, but the most rewarding type of exhaustion I have ever experienced. I daily thank the Lord for carrying me here, carrying me through. I am so blessed by this journey.

Until Next Week, K. Janae

The Teac{HERR} Way - Invest so they can be their best

The National FFA Organization publishes some pretty neat lessons related to personal growth, premier leadership, and career success, commonly referred to as "LifeKnowledge." For the last of our formal contextual lab experiences, we have an assignment to choose a LifeKnowledge lesson and teach it to one of the classes at our cooperating school.

I packed up my car and headed eastbound to Mustang Country to teach the 8th Grade Exploratory Agriculture class a lesson on defining personal growth. So like always, I'll share my Gems (the good stuff), Opps (areas where I need to work on) and my Targets (my goals for next time).

Gems -

• Adaptability and Flexibility. I'd argue I'm getting fairly decent practice in this area recently. Proving also the value of knowing your plans for the day so that you are comfortable enough to go where ever the wind takes you. Timing and diverse learners required me to adjust a few things today, but as I shared before "keep calm and pretend its on the lesson plan."
• Ya' Follow. I have this strategy that I like to use, essentially asking for motions to show that you're done. So "thumbs up if you got me" or "I'll know you're finished when you put your hands on your head." I am not afraid of making myself and my students look kind of goofy with this strategy, but it's so much more fun with 8th graders! They get all squirmy and stuff because they don't want to look weird, I love it!
• Depth. This lesson was about personal growth, so I may have not stretched my students capability to reach new levels in scientific concepts or philosophy or mechanical engineering, but I had the opportunity to influence 20 8th grade students to become the best version of them they can be. Of course, I capitalized the opportunity to bring my friend, Kid President, along which naturally made for an even better Monday.

Opps- 

• Timing. I am confident that some day I will be able figure out this timing thing. Right? Thankfully I was sure enough in my lesson content that I was able to adapt and change due to the minutes that were flying by. I look forward to more practice that will help me gauge how long students need to perform activities and assignments.
• Diverse Learners. I am fairly certain that this lesson was the first time I taught in a classroom with such a wide range of diverse learners; learners who struggled to communicate verbally, learners who needed the assistance of an classroom aide, learners who socially could not accept norms. I would argue there could never be enough training for this, but today was a very eye-opening experience
• Communicating With Every Student. This kind of ties in with this whole diverse learners situation. I want to create a classroom culture where everyone feels that their voice can and should be heard. I don't want to "avoid" students because they fall under a category of diverse learners. This certainly will be easier to do when I am in a more consistent classroom and have an opportunity to really invest into my students.

Targets - 

• Classroom Management. A lofty goal, it seems, but the more confident I become with my abilities to deliver content, the more I know I need to continue to read up, observe and develop better classroom management skills so that I can better serve the needs of my students and create a productive learning environment for all.
• Teach to the Modalities. I was pleased with my ability to incorporate variability into my lessons on a regular basis, this lesson included but even still I want to make sure my various learning activities in my lesson are reaching the needs of my audio, visual AND kinesthetic learners.

Simply put, I'll leave you with the same power message I let my students, said by my man Kid President... "a poem: two roads diverged in the woods and I took the one less traveled. It hurt man! Really bad! Rocks! Thorns! Glass! Not cool Robert Frost!" When we're working to make ourselves better, sometimes it means taking the road less traveled, don't be afraid of it - it's worth it!

Simply put, these were good kids and Midd-West is a great school. I am so fortunate to get to spend 15 weeks investing in those students and learning from Mr. Bittner and Mr. Erb. Bring it on!

Until Next Time, K. Janae

K. Janae's High Five - Secrets to Group Success

Okay, okay. I really do not know the secrets to group success. But, I have found five little nuggets of knowledge that will likely be helpful to those who want to ensure success in small group settings in their classroom. So, without further ado...

1. Size really does matter

• Just like grandma's pie recipe; it's all about the perfect recipe. For grandma, its mixing the right combination of sugar and flour and baking soda. For the teacher, its about determining the perfect combination of like or different abilities and the right number of students for each group. Most people say three is lucky number, but according to a study done by University of Florida faculty, four seems to be the secret ingredient. Four gives just enough for active participation by all members and works well when the groups need to be split up smaller into pairs.

2. No, sorry you can't just sit back and put your feet up

• As the educator, small group work is not an excuse for you to enjoy a few moments of peace and quiet at your desk. While your students are working together, the teacher should also be actively engaged in the process. This is best performed in three stages...

Observation - Intervention - Evaluation

• When observing the educator assesses the efforts of all students so that they can provide feedback if necessary. 
• Intervening is on necessary if the observation leads the educator to believe that students are off task, confused or there is unnecessary group tension.
• When evaluating, teachers should remember to look at both the progress and contributions of the individual and the group as a whole. 

3. It's all about the aesthetics

• If your classroom is not set up for group work, or designed in a way in which it can be easily adapted to accommodate small groups of students working on material, it could be argued that it will more difficult for your students to preform the desired group tasks. Pods, or tables are super fantastic for this purpose! I kind of drooled over these several classroom designs that Edutopia shared on Pinterest. (Nerd moment, I know!)

4. Don't do it just to do it

• There's a lot of power in group work. Nobody said that it had to be done where everyone turned their desks into a square and worked together on a worksheet. Group work should be designed to empower students. It should help add variability to instruction and help reach students with varied learning modalities and multiple intelligences and maximize their learning.

5. DIFFERENTIATION

• Small group work swings doors wide open for classroom differentiation. Classroom differentiation is about teaching to meet all students needs. By distributing students into groups they can be designed that like (or different) students can be placed together to work at their own pace. Check out this sweet infographic on differentiated instruction!

Simply put, group work allows the educator to create a learner-first environment and encourages them to master content at their pace, in the best way that suits them.

Simply put, I don't ever want to use group work just to use group work. And when I do, I want to wholeheartedly engaged in the learning process alongside my groups of students.

Here's a high five from You to Me, K. Janae