Destination: Effective Teaching

Stop 1: Monday Monday

21 Ways to Create Student Enthusiasm (TeachThought)

6 Methods to Ignite Student Enthusiasm (Busy Teacher)

Stop 2: Bonus Money Wednesday

Characteristics of Effective Teachers (Stanford University)

Supporting Effective Teaching (Council of the Great City Schools)

Stop 3: Flashback Friday

5 Highly Effective Teaching Practices (Edutopia)

Students Need Multiple Opportunities for Learning (Education Week)

Destination: Growth Mindset

This week #psuaged19 began their journey in AEE 412.  For #psuaged18, this blog has served as a detailed recap and discussion about their cohort class sessions in 412. This year, it will be slightly different and will highlight instructional resources (websites, videos etc.) for the topics being covered in 412, and will also feature different guest bloggers from the virtual mentoring program.

Over the course of the next 16 weeks, #psuaged19 will embark on road trip to pre-service agricultural educator success. Each week's blog post will highlight the learning destination (ie. major class topic) for that week, and resources for each stop (ie. class meeting) on the journey to that destination. Join in the weekly adventures and share the learning experiences that are encountered along the way. The journey begins as #psuaged travels into the realm of the growth mindset.......

Stop 1: Money Monday

Exploring the Growth Mindset (The Medium)

Stop 2: Work It Wednesday

Growth Mindset Learning Activities (Khan Academy)

Contextual Teaching and Learning (Purdue)

Stop 3: Flashback Friday 

Developing a Growth Mindset in Teachers and Staff (Edutopia)
Contextual Teaching and Learning Toolkit (CORD)

Looking Back and Moving Forward

Today is our last session of AEE 412 for the semester. Over the past few months, we have been on an amazing adventure of growth and learning. Through "money Mondays", lab Wednesdays, reflective Fridays, National FFA Convention, field trips, and field teaching experiences, the 412 students have had many unique opportunities to develop the skill set they will need for a successful student teaching internship next semester. 

This week the focus of 412 was on the importance of reflection and how it is crucial for growth as an educator. To practice this skill, we had a "kiva" discussion. A kiva is an underground room that was built and utilized by the Puebloans for important meetings and ceremonies. Those who sat in the center of the room in the "inner circle" had the power to speak, while those who sat on the edges of the room were asked to listen. The roles would switch, so that everyone had a chance to listen and to speak. 

Prior to the kiva session, the students wrote down discussion points on index cards. As they took their turn in the center of the kiva in small groups, the points were read aloud and discussed.  Through reflective discussion, the kiva took us on a journey that recapped the adventure we have been on and what we have learned.

At the end of the kiva session, each group drew a picture of their interpretation of the 412 experience this semester. Here is what was shared:

Our week of reflection continued on Wednesday with a workshop from Matt Reutlinger. Matt is a PSU graduate who served as a PA FFA State Officer. His workshop focused on maximizing the use of effective reflection. Through a series of fun and interactive activities, the AEE 412 students practiced the skills that are essential for proper reflection as a component of experiential learning. 

This semester of AEE 412 has been quite the ride! As we look back on what we have done, we use what we have learned to prepare for the future. We can't wait to see what lies ahead!

IQB? Yeah, You Know Me

IQB, IBI, IBL. All of these acronyms refer to inquiry based learning and instruction, and in this blog post, we will use IQB. IQB is  a form of active learning that incorporates questions, problems, and scenarios. WNET has an extensive definition of IQB that describes it in more detail.

Edutopia has an extensive library of resources that show how IQB can be successfully incorporated into the classroom and tips and tricks for lesson design and implementation. How to write student learning objectives for IQB can also be challenging. Penn State's Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence has a great resource for how to do this.

As agriculture teachers, we often incorporate many IQB type activities into our classes. For classes that are very hands-on, this can be easy to do. For other classes, it can be more difficult. Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom  has ideas for many different types of IQB ag lessons.

IQB has five major steps: question, investigate, use evidence to describe, connect evidence to knowledge, share findings. To introduce IQB and explain how it works to students, this clip from Apollo 13 serves as a great example.

1. Question: How do we fit a square peg into a round hole?

2. Investigate: Determine what materials are available in space capsule and what is causing air leakage

3. Use Evidence to Describe: Figure out how materials can be used in combination to stop air leak

4. Connect Evidence to Knowledge: Use available materials from space capsule to construct new part to stop air leakage

5. Share Findings: Guide astronauts through process to build new part

IQB takes time to implement successfully, but it has the potential to make the classroom a much more student-centered and engaging place. Next time someone asks you, do you use QB? You can say "yeah, you know me".

The DL on the DL (Differentiated Learning)

When these words are put together, we get two common educational terms: differentiated learning (DL) and differentiated instruction (DI), which are often used interchangeably.  Carol Ann Tomlinson provides a great definition for the educational context of DI/DL: the process of "ensuring that what a student learns, how he or she learns it, and how the student demonstrates what he or she has learned is a match for that student's readiness level, interests, and preferred mode of learning." In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis of incorporating DI/DL into the core framework of teaching and learning.

DI/DL has a long history that dates back to the beginnings of formalized education. Dr. Carol Ann Tomlinson is one of today's leading advocates and experts on DI/DL. Dr. Tomlinson encourages teachers to differentiate in four major ways: content, process, product, and learning environment. She, as well as many other educators, emphasize that DI/DL has many different components that should be utilized and mastered in order to make it successful.  Edutopia has multiple articles, blogs, and videos that explain and highlight ways to make this happen as well as a Resource Roundup.

There are many strategies to successfully implement DI/DL. Many of these strategies, such as using inquiry, incorporating the five senses, and utilizing variety are things we have already learned or will be learning in AEE 412. Other strategies like peer buddies, open-ended questioning, and group work, are easy to build into classroom procedures from day 1. Effective teachers will also rely on student feedback, focusing on essential concepts instead of minute details, and tiered assignments to help DI/DL work in their classrooms. This great resource from TeachThought provides a list of 50 easy to use DI/DL strategies.

While at first the idea of DI/DL might seem intimidating, it is easier to implement once it is put into practice. Through purposeful planning and effective activity selection, DI/DL can be successful in all classrooms. There are many more resources out there on the subject, but hopefully this concise "DL on the DL" sums up the basics of this valuable educational topic! 

The Asset of Assessment

Assessment: something that can either be an asset to teachers and learners or something they detest. When many people hear the word assessment, they automatically think of tests. But, assessment is so much more than that and can come in many forms that cater to a variety of learning styles. It can be used in many different ways, and for many different purposes. 

When choosing the type of assessment to use, it is helpful to keep the learning audience in mind. Some things to consider are the ages, maturity level, learning styles, class size, and prior knowledge of material of the learners. Another thing to keep in mind is the purpose of the assessment, and what it's results will indicate or be used for. Access to technology can also be a contributing factor, as there are many new and exciting types of assessment that incorporate videos, smart phones, iPads, and computers. 

Many teachers will choose to design their own assessment, which comes with an additional set of challenges. Besides just choosing the type of assessment to create, they also need to think about how it will relate to the goals and objectives of the content being assessed. The best types of assessments are authentic in the fact that students are able to acquire and use content on the same level of Bloom's taxonomy that they will be assessed on it. A common mistake is to teach material at a lower level of Bloom's and then assess students on a higher level, which leads to frustration on the part of both the teacher and the learner. 

The videos below give some great insight into how to effectively use, choose, and design assessment.

Overview of Assessment

Introduction to Assessment

A key to keeping assessment as an asset is to use variability, and to use it often. Through incorporating various types of assessment on a frequent basis, learners are able to show what they know in many different ways. This also keeps assessment stress down, and give the teachers more options and opportunities to check for student understanding. 

The term assessment does not have to bring a feeling a dread to teachers and learners. By keeping it constantly used, varied, and authentic, assessment can become a positive term. Let's make assessment a true asset to your classroom!

Digital Resources for PBL

Intro to PBL

PBL Success: Start to Finish

5 Keys to Rigorous PBL

Real World PBL: Projects

Group Problem Solving

STEAM PBL