Session 2 Follow Up - What is the Learning Process

I really enjoyed seeing you all in AEE 295 and AEE 412. Thank you for continuing to bring positive energy every day!

The response to your ticket outs from session 2 can be found below  [Note: be sure to check out the “labels” (like tags) to the blog on the far right side! Laura put some GREAT stuff in there!]

Course session materials can be accessed on CoP here: http://communities.naae.org/docs/DOC-11403

To address the Ticket Outs from Session 2:

• What are we curious about?
• Productive Reflection
• I would really love for you to check out this great example of a reflective teacher blogging: http://misscalculate.blogspot.com/. She is a math teacher, but how awesome would it be to have agriscience teachers and AEE majors from all over sharing great things like this? Obviously, she has been blogging since 2009, so it is very well developed. Scroll down to the labels and click on the First Year Teacher Label …very interesting.
  
  
  How do I start?
  I recommend going to http://www.blogger.com,  creating a Google account, and going at it! Here is a how to video from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP68-mIpBO0 (2 minutes 20 seconds long)
• Here is a short 4 page flyer:
• http://www.naeyc.org/files/tyc/file/TYC_V3N4_Reflectiveteacherexpanded.pdf
• Here is a great article from Educational Leadership on Productive Reflection or Fostering Reflection: 
• http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb09/vol66/num05/Fostering-Reflection.aspx
• Here is an article that identifies how to start the process: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/reflective-teaching-exploring-our-own-classroom-practice


• Do you need to do your AEE 295 hours with a teacher that has IEP kids or an IEP Teacher?
• Talk to the 49-2 Instructional Coaches!
• How will the new evaluation performance review of teachers with test scores impact local ag teachers?
• To be discussed in AEE 313
• Where/How am I going to get IEP hours?
• Talk to your 49-2 Instructional Coaches
• Do I or don't I have to redue the IEP 15 hours? 
• Talk to your 49-2 Instructional Coaches
• How can I be super creative with lessons?
• Focus on hands on engagement. NAAE CoP is a great resource and the Strategies book will help!

• What did you learn?

• New Teacher Evaluation System
• We have a bigger team behind us than we knew!
• Productive Reflections
• Reflection --- Good Ol Dewey!!
• 49-2 Information! Very helpful and fun to put a face with a names and who grades moodle assignments
• Passion and Enthusiasm can be similar
• Productive Reflection can lead to productive learning.
• We probably should not be so harsh w/ the moodle. It is just an adaptation for us
• What supervisors will be looking for!

• What do you want to learn more about?
• More about the New Evaluation System!!
• We will discuss in AEE 313 (Spring) and AEE 413.
• Different ways to assess student success
• We will have an assessment class session October 25th 
• Everyone's Summer Readings
• We will do in AEE 295 throughout the semester
• Effective Teaching
• Coming Monday!
• Observations and Lesson planning
• Stay tuned!
• Danielson's Framework!
• Check out all of your AEE Syllabi. We will plan a blog post later on more!
• Doing a Tissue Culture!
• haha! Look on NAAE CoP for more info and watch for workshops at National FFA Convention

For next time (Wednesday, September 4th):

1. ·         Please bring the Characteristics of Effective Teaching Worksheet competed with your definition and an example
2. ·         Continue to review the Blue “Effective Effort Rubric” (Hint: the Wednesday Do Now will be in regards to it!)
3. ·         Complete your Weekly Writing #1, pay close attention to the Understanding By Design White Paper (Found here: http://communities.naae.org/docs/DOC-11383)

Remember, ALL of us meet in Ferguson 003 on Wednesday from 8:00am-9:55am (you do not have lab that day)

Lab 1 - First Day of School

The first contextual teaching lab each of you will perform is September 18, 2013.  It's hard to believe but that is only three weeks away, and will be here before you know it!

Our goal is to help you in as many ways as we can on your journey to becoming the best ag teachers in the nation.  In this post, we are providing some great resources that may help in your planning.

The following video is a great example of Lab I - First Day of School from 2012 graduate Robyn Bechtel.

You Only Get One "First Day of School" was shared via Facebook by Edutopia.  The content of the post is useful for teachers of all disciplines.  It will reinforce many of Lab 1 requirements, but it may also be a source of inspiration for first day of school planning and student activities!

Be sure to carefully read through the characteristics of success for Lab 1 found in your Lab Packet.  Utilize the rubric while preparing for the first lab as well!

Have questions?
Stop by, shoot me an email (sankey@psu.edu), call, text, or tweet!! (@LauraSankeyRice)

AEE 412 Lab Update

Who sighed a big sigh of relief after completing your first teaching assignment for the AEE 412 Lab?!

You all did a great job!  Use each experience to learn and develop as a future teacher!

We are so excited to watch you grow and develop as you embrace each contextual teaching experience.  

A part of your professional and personal growth as a teacher occurs through productive reflection. Each week you will participate in reflection activities that will aid in your development. You will be utilizing VoiceThread to provide constructive peer feedback, and you each will be writing on your professional blog about your experience(s).   

I know things were rushed in lab, so I wanted to reiterate a few things we discussed.  First off, you need to activate your VoiceThread account.  Login at http://voicethread.psu.edu to activate your account.  Once you have signed in, log back out!

A private group has been formed in VoiceThread just for your cohort to upload videos and constructive, reflective feedback.  In order to become a part of this group you must click on the below link:

https://psu.voicethread.com/groups/subscribe/110953/35848d5e2/

Once you have activated your account click on the above link, you will then have direct access to the PSU AEE 412 Lab Reflections – 2014 Cohort group!

This year we are trying a new way for each of you to capture your reflective thoughts through blogging. Blogging is encouraged to foster a sense of community through dialogue and discussion to facilitate personal growth in your teaching.  We are requiring you to establish your own personal blog website.  We highly recommend you utilize www.blogger.com to create your blog website.

Here are a few things you need to remember: 

*You MUST have your professional blog website established by September 11, 2013.  A link to your professional blog must be sent to the lab instructor on this date.

*You will post your reflective blog entry each week and email the link to the lab instructor.  

*You will be required to comment on at least five of your peers’ reflective blog entries. This requirement is to foster a tuning protocol in improving teaching strategies, classroom management, and student engagement.

CHECK THIS OUT...

Never blogged before?  Click on this link - 13 Blogging Do's and Don'ts
It is a great blog addressing the "Do's" and "Don'ts" of blogging.  I found it incredibly insightful and though it could help some of you overcome your hesitation to blogging!  Enjoy!

Please never hesitate to ask questions if you do not understand!  We are here to help!

I'm looking forward to working with all of you this semester!  It's going to be fun!

Make My Classroom Rock!!!

I love making my work space colorful, fun, and functional.  When you visit my office, you can find my desk to be the most decorated of the ten located in Ferguson 012.  I want the environment I work in to be conducive and welcoming.  Well, high school students are no different.  Students LOVE entering classrooms that are more exciting than puke green walls.  Utilizing the physical and cognitive space in your classroom can lead to multiple learning opportunities and increased student engagement.  Bulletin boards are one of the greatest ways to utilize wall space (physical space) to increase student engagement (cognitive space).  And, well, bulletin boards are fun!

The following video provides some tricks of the trade when conceptualizing and implementing bulletin boards into your classroom.

Be creative, have fun, and remember, bulletin boards can serve a decorative purpose while being functional purpose too!

Check out NAAE CoP for creative bulletin boards captured through photographs from previous Penn State AEE Alum.  Check out the photo below, 2013 graduate Mackenzie McCollum designed both of these boards!

This bulletin board was developed by Mackenzie for AEE 412 and utilized during her student teaching at Central Columbia!

The above photos were taken by Mackenzie just days before the start of the new 2013 school year in her classroom at Danville Middle School!

Lanca what? Who is Lancelot and what are his principles?

Okay folks, let's face it, no one wants to sit in a class so boring you would rather be picking toe jam from between your grandmother's toes.  You know as an aspiring teacher it is your responsibility to make your students WANT to engage and ENJOY learning. I bet some of your worst fears are that you are going to be a less than thrilling teacher.

So, where do you start?  What do you do?  What do you need to know about fostering interest? Well, have no fear, the following video gives you the breakdown of William H. Lancelot's Principles of Interest that have been found to be true and effective. Lancelot's Principles of Interest play an important role in creating a learning environment that is fun, engaging, and, well, interesting!

The video will help in understanding the principles behind creating interest, but its up to you to spend the time required to plan lessons utilizing the strategies.  I'll be honest, its not always easy. Scour resources found online (NAAE CoP), utilize the resource room, engage in peer collaboration, and reflect on personal experiences to help in the lesson planning and development process!

What is an Interest Approach? (And, what is not?!)

A challenge faced by many high school educators is figuring out a way to ignite interest and excitement in students about the upcoming lesson for any particular day.  Engaging students has been found to promote retention of material and increase awareness of the relevance and applicability of the material being taught.  The following video focuses on how to foster interest from the very beginning of a class through the use of an interest approach, also known as the anticipatory set, set induction, or hook.  Grabbing the attention of the students from the get-go is the whole goal.  You want to make sure students see the importance of the lesson they are about to learn, and this can be accomplished by an interest approach.  Interest approaches are short activities, between 5 and 10 minutes, that 'hook' the students and have them sitting on the edge of their seats.

This video was developed to not only provide specific information on what an interest approach is, and is not, but to help in your Lab II - Interest Approach planning.  I won't lie, sometimes figuring out an interest approach is difficult, but utilizing some of the resources provided by the PSU faculty and using your own creative ingenuity, I'm sure you will be developing interest approaches in no time!

But, as always, never hesitate to come to one of the AEE Teacher Education team with questions! We are here to help you develop and become one of the nation's best Ag Teachers!

Session 1 Follow Up - Where are we going!

Great session today! I will work to make sure we stay on time.

I wanted to share one more picture showing the difference between Growth and Fixed Mindset. I know that all of you will be focused on not only developing a Growth Mindset for yourselves, but also exploring ways to develop it in your future students!

To address the Ticket Outs:

• What are we curious about?
• How the semester will play out?
• It will be a transformational learning experience! We will grow!
• Changing my mindset about education
• Here is a direct link to website to learn exactly about that (it is pretty awesome): http://mindsetonline.com/changeyourmindset/firststeps/index.html
• Can we Record Class Sessions?
• Unfortunately, we do not have that capacity right now (but we LOVE the idea), but we do have the following digital homes for each class session of 412.
• A link of materials will be on NAAE CoP. Example: http://communities.naae.org/docs/DOC-11397
• This Follow Up Blog Posts for every session!
• We were give a lot! Not sure!
• No problem. We are very easy to connect with when you do have questions. You can:
• Email (foster@psu.edu)
• Tweet (@FosterDanielD)
• Cellphone (814-753-2102)
• Comment on Blog: http://psuaee412.blogspot.com   
• Post Question in NAAE CoP: http://communities.naae.org/community/prodev/preservice/pennstate/2014-teacher-candidates
• Leave Note in Folder on Class Sessions
• Stop by Ferguson 211
• Everything we are going to do this semester and how we are going to apply our new skills!
• It will be fun!
• More information on discipline of students.
• Make sure to talk to your cooperating teacher about specific procedures at your cooperating center (this is why you get a student handbook for AEE 295). We will do discipline derbies every Friday and we will have a session on Friday, December 6th just on classroom management.
• Our different perspectives (drawings) of what makes us a great ag teacher!
• Will I be ready in the Spring?
• Without a doubt!
• Lab Sessions
• Talk to Ms. Rice!! sankey@psu.edu; @LauraSankeyRice
• The Semester!
• Awesome..stay curious :)
• I am just ready to get started!
• We are too!

• What did you learn?
• What will be taught! 
• Wonderful, be sure to closely review all syllabi!
• I Got this!
• Wonderful, We believe in you
• It is possible to make it through the semester.
• It is not only possible to survive, but to thrive! This could be the most applied semester ever!
• Assignment Procedures, the importance of NAAE CoP and Course/Year Expectations
• The expectations of the semester and how we are going to try to connect all of our classes this semester and beyond to student teaching!
• I learned that we need to have the expectations, consequences and procedures postes for our final presentation.
• Growth vs. Fixed Mindset
• Teaching Ag is Intense!
• Because it makes a difference!!
• Enjoyed the 9 thoughts!
• Classmates expectations
• If we work together, we will have better results.
• Dr. Foster's background

• What do you want to learn more about?
• Being a Rock Star!
• Every day buddy, Every day!
• NAAE CoP
• What do you need to know? Feel free to schedule a time with Foster via Renee (rgm13) to set up a private tutorial session.
• Proper Unit & Lesson Planning for clear instructions!
• We will discuss on 8/30, 9/4, 9/6, and 10/4
• When would you like us to have our required books by?
• Yesterday!
• How to handle school administration/parents?
• There are some specific learning activities in AEE 413 with Dr. Ewing that address that!
• A complete fall semester schedule of days we are expected to go somewhere/need to miss other classes including finals week.
• You should be able to create this yourself after attending all classes this week!
• Finding ways to keep students engaged!
• Read ahead in "Strategies for Great Teaching"
• What is required of me this semester...
• Read all of your course materials!
• RTL
• This is a lab question for Ms. Rice! Find out what you need to ROCK this Wednesday!
• How do I handle difficult Student Situations?
• Make sure to talk to your cooperating teacher about specific procedures at your cooperating center (this is why you get a student handbook for AEE 295). We will do discipline derbies every Friday and we will have a session on Friday, December 6th just on classroom management.
• Learning to teach!
• Yep, every day, all day :)

For Next Time:

1) RTLs on Wednesday in Lab

2) Have your Two Letters, Sealed/Addressed to Foster on Friday

Don't Forget your parting gifts:

• Crayons - Be Fundamentally philosophically sound, have joy in your work, color boldly and brightly

• An Eraser- NEVER be afraid to risk boldly and perhaps make a mistake :) That is how we learn!

See you on Friday,

Df

49-2 - Moodle Modules - Help!

The Pennsylvania Department of Education passed the modifications to 49-2 Teacher Certification on September 22, 2007 requiring all instructional and educational specialist preparation programs to include the following by January 1, 2011 [Read More Here: 49-2 Mandate for Students with Special Needs & ELL]

1. At least 9 credits or 270 hours regarding accommodations and adaptations for students with disabilities in an inclusive setting (instruction in literacy skills development and cognitive skill development for students with disabilities must be included); and 
2. At least 3 credits or 90 hours regarding the instructional needs of English language learners. (22 PA Code, Chapter 49, §49.13(b) (relating to policies)).

To achieve these mandates without increasing the course credit requirements for agricultural teacher education candidates (thus ensuring a timely graduation), the PSU TeachAG! program opted to utilize WFED 413 for 3 credits and to integrate competency based modules into existing AEE teacher preparation courses.

Moodle Modules are integrated into the following AEE Courses:

• AEE 100
• AEE 295
• AEE 311
• AEE 412
• AEE 413
• AEE 495

To assist you in completing these, there is are 49-2 Instructional Coaches who are certified teachers in ESL/ELL and Special Needs. They would LOVE to talk/assist and help you.

1.         Dr. Marybeth Morrison, Assistant Professor, msm11@psu.edu; Keller Building 409
2.  ·     Ms. Jennifer Nicholas, Instructor, jun149@psu.edu; Keller Building 409
3.  ·     Ms. Debra Herman, Instructor, dxh271@psu.edu; Keller Building 409
4.  ·     Ms. Cathy Thomas, Instructor (cmt133@psu.edu); Keller Building 303 

To complete the PDE 49-2 mandate, course materials for select assignments will be accessed and uploaded to: http://psucteonline.mrooms2.net/. 

You should have a student account created at the above link. The default password is moodle123+. You will have to change the password upon logging in for the first time. 

If you have difficulty logging in, please contact Cathy Thomas (cmt133@psu.edu) or Thomas Hunt (tah258@psu.edu) 

Good Luck!

· 

A Growth Mindset - In preparation for Day 1 of AEE 412

I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with each of you to prepare you for the most impactful experience of your undergraduate education: your Student Teaching Internship.

This year brings us all so many opportunities to grow and learn. We are all being challenged to have high expectations for ourselves. As  your instructor, I expect you set goals for yourself and work hard to reach them, while I set very high goals for myself as well. My dream is deliver to you to best Agricultural Teaching Methods class in the world.

Reaching your goals can be scary and sometimes frustrating. It takes a very long time to become proficient at something you are not yet so good at. In fact, it has been evidenced by research that the only way to learn and get smarter is to attempt something new and work really, really hard art it.....even if you make a lot of mistakes.

YES! I SAID IT! I WANT YOU TO MAKE A LOT OF MISTAKES!!!

Do not be afraid to try something because you think you won't e good at it. Chances are, YOU WON'T! AND THAT IS GOOD! In order to be successful, you will need to make mistakes and learn from them. Easy is BORING. Effort is what makes us smart!

Please keep your "Mental Eraser" handy! Remind yourself to ACCEPT Challenges, to MAKE MISTAKES, and to LEARN from those mistakes. Most importantly, promise tot yourself you will KEEP TRYING. When it gets tough, as your instructor, I promise to help you along the way.

Remember: 

"The worst mistake anyone can every make is to be afraid to make one."

Course materials for AEE 412 (Syllabus, Assignment Handbook, and Lab Packet) have been uploaded to your private NAAE Communities of Practice (http://communities.naae.org/docs/DOC-11382)

Mindset book by Carol Dweck

Please take time to review the materials closely as time will be given on Monday for questions and clarifications. The entire semester plan is provided to you before hand so that as adult professionals you can plan your time accordingly.

One of the Concepts we discuss on the first day is having a growth mindset. This is a concept introduced by Carol Dweck (Stanford Psychologist) in her book MINDSET: The new psychology of success. [Learn more here: http://mindsetonline.com; Book available for $11 on Kindle]. In her own words, Professor Dweck describes a growth mindset as follows: Individuals with a fixed mindset believe that their intelligence is simply an inborn trait--they have a certain amount, and that's that. In contrast, individuals with a growth mindset believe that they can develop their intelligence over time.

Here is a video of Dr. Dweck Discussing Mindset (There are a lot out there if you want to search!):

I was really interested in how teachers use specific strategies to foster a Growth Mindset in their students. Here is  a blog of teachers providing their feedback: http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2012/10/response_classroom_strategies_to_foster_a_growth_mindset.html

One cool thing was this video of a 5th grader discussing the concept:

Again, WELCOME to the Journey! Welcome to your Methods Course and  your gateway to becoming a WORLD CLASS professional educator. Let's get to work!!

Daniel Foster

2013 Methods Instructor