Student Teaching: Week Three

This week was wild from start to finish. With having MLK Day off, to having my first 2-hour delay, to having a visit from the State FFA Officers, to my first school cancellation, this week was one wild ride!

Learning to Adapt

As I mentioned above, my week did not go as planned. Due to the 2-hour delay and the school cancellation, I was only able to teach for one day this week. Right now I have only taken over two classes and due to other scheduled things and surprise plans by the weather, I have only been able to teach for three days since the start of my internship. This has caused me to adapt and overcome the many challenges I have faced so far.

How Do You Know if Things are Working?

Since I have not had many days teaching in front of my two classes, I am struggling to figure out if things are actually going well, or if the students are still warming up to me. Classroom management isn't an issue but I wonder if students are actually enjoying the content I am teaching? Everyone stays on task and participates in class but I can't help but feel that things just aren't jiving as well as they could be. My cooperating teacher has been supportive of how things are going and we are able to talk about certain things that have flopped but also things that have gone really well but I can't seem to shake this feeling that things should be better between me, my lessons, and the students.

Advice Wanted!

I would greatly appreciate words of wisdom to help answer the questions below!

• Should I continue my plans and see if this week gets better?
• What should I change to help overcome this issue?
• Am I just over thinking things?
• Is this a common feeling when student teaching?
• Should I be this worried about what my students think of me?

Student Teachng: Week 2

This week was quite busy with many exciting things happening. I chose to title this blog post with "more questions than answers" because I feel that this week has brought about questions that I am searching to find the answers to.

First Exciting Thing 

I started teaching my first class, Ag Science 1 which mainly consists of freshmen. On my first day teaching, I chose to do a bunch of ice-breaker activities to let the students warm up to me before going straight into content. The students seemed to really enjoy the activities I had planned and over-all I feel that starting fun activities was the way to start off before going straight for content.The next exciting thing that occurred this week was getting to go over welding safety with Ag Mechanics 1 & 3. I only had a few minutes to teach this as both sections are still finishing their current projects before we fully kick off into welding!

Second Exciting Thing

The second new thing I got to experience was attending my first in-service day. I participated the entire day in the professional development that the school selected to focus on. It was fascinating to hear the views on education from all the other teachers employed at the school. One of the biggest topics discussed was teacher centered vs. student centered learning. This sparked many deep conversations amongst the teachers and myself. Even though I enjoyed my first in-service day, I couldn't help but feel that I was left with more questions than answers.

Burning Thoughts

This week I have been evaluating myself based on my lessons and my performance in front of the classroom. I am constantly over analyzing things and I feel that that was definitely the case for this past week. Below I have shared some of my most burning questions that have been playing in my mind throughout the week. As I continue my student teaching journey, I hope to find the answers to these questions.

•  With so many different techniques, theories, and activities out there, how do you know what to implement and what to leave out? 
• Should you try as many different things as you can? 
• Can there be such a thing as too much variety within a lesson? 
• How do you make sure that things are cohesive for the students?  
• The most important question that I find myself struggling with is, how do you find your teaching identity?
• Should you change your teaching style based on the new education fad out there?

Mid-Winter Convention

For the first time, I was given the opportunity to attend the Pennsylvania Farm Show and Mid-Winter Convention! I attended with my Cooperating school, Bellwood-Antis High School with Mr. Webreck and 30 eager students. I got to experience the Farm Show first by trying potato donuts and the famous Farm Show Milkshake! It was fascinating to see the many exhibits and to watch the animals being shown at such a large scale.

While at Mid-Winter Convention, I was able to witness six Bellwood FFA members receive their Keystone Degrees. It was truly a rewarding experience to see so many students receive recognition for their hard work. I hope to be able to witness my own students experience Mid-Winter Convention and receive recognition for their efforts.

Bellwood FFA also had three students receive their jackets. It was indescribable to see so many students be officially inducted with the coveted blue corduroy jackets!

Attending Farm Show and Mid-Winter Convention is an experience I will never forget. I was fortunate enough to see the experience through a teacher's eyes and learned a very valuable lesson. Set up expectations for students before you leave the school, make sure you give them something to hold them accountable for their learning such as a fun and short assignment to complete while at the event, and most importantly, make sure you have the correct contact information for all students before embarking, just in case someone gets lost!

Student Teaching: Week One

My first week at Bellwood-Antis flew by very quickly. I started my week off by attending my first ever Farm Show and Mid-Winter Convention. I was given the opportunity to witness six Bellwood FFA members receive their Keystone Degrees and three members receive their jackets!

My first day at the school was spent meeting faculty members and getting acquainted with my space within the classroom and the shop. During my observations, I was able to get a sense of the students and get to see dome really cool projects that they are working on!

My high-light for the week was learning about the tractor restoration project that is underway by two seniors. I was able to ask questions and inquire about the project such as how the project started, what work had to be done to the tractor, and what the final plans are for it once it is finished.

Over-all my week was packed with getting to know faculty and students. I was able to learn a lot about the school and the agriculture program just in the few days that I have been there. I am looking forward to continue to learn and grow as a person and an educator in the next coming weeks!