Reflecting on Cool Experiences and Looking to Future Growth.

This week was a whirlwind- full of new opportunities.  Just when you think you have things figured out, something new pops up, but I am loving these new experiences.The opportunities our students and the staff I get to learn from daily are incredible.  This week we had Lancaster Co. Leadership Development Events and Small Gas Engines contest- which our students did well in!  It also included two big highlights of the week: Technology training and Lasata Farms visit.


Technology Training
This week we were also out on Thursday for a technology training called iTLC.  Our career and technical education team chose to learn about how to use technology tools to do formative assessments- assessment for learning.  I love that Pequea Valley embraces technology and they support teachers with using technology.  We were challenged with exploring and sharing certain tools along with discussing how these tools can assist with challenges in our classrooms.  A few of the tools we explored included Flipgrid, Plickers, Playposit and Google Forms.  All of them are useable for certain times and places.  Although I love using technology in the classroom it can come with
frustrations....this is why 'sandbox time' is necessary- we need time to play around with a technology and determine it's usability.  Thursday when we were done we taught our 5th period class, during it I decided to give Plickers a try quick, and one of the students said "I feel like this is really inefficient" and you know what in some ways it is- it takes time, trying to find ones that are worth the time it takes to adjust and teach and are useable for reviewing, introducing and summarizing lessons. On Monday we have inservice and have the choice to receive Mac or Google training- I'm looking forward to it!

Lasata Farms
Community development and involvement is extremely important to me.  It is like that phrase- it takes a village to raise a family, but more so it takes a village to create, enhance and run an agriculture program.  We were able to experience one community partner that is making a difference in our entire school.  After our half day and faculty meeting the Principal, assistant principal woods shop teacher, STEM teacher and Mr. Masser and Ms. VanSant and I loaded up in the van and headed to Lasata Farms.  The woman that runs Lasata Farms has a heart of gold and truly wants to make a difference for students- and she wants to work with the ones that might struggle a little more, have a few more needs or challenges or just need a place to call home- something that tends to be uncommon.  The partnership that has started and will continue to grow is incredible- I'm excited to see part of that, and jealous I can't see it all!  Experiences like this teach me the importance of listening to the needs of the community and the school as a whole so that the agriculture program can be an asset to both.


Instead of Gems and Opps for this week I want to take some time to highlight a few areas I want to focus on for the next part of my student teaching experience- including goals and areas of improvement or continued strength.

1. Summarizing strategies and formative assessment:  I am guilty of doing a poor job of this, or rushing it.  Taking the five minutes at the beginning and end of a lesson to put 'book-ends' on it, are important. I want to use new technology tools to do this, along with paper and group tools.

2. SAE: I am continuing to see the importance of SAE and it's awesome. This week I was able to help one of my students start to create his SAE.  I look forward to walking through this process at the beginning and hopefully be one of the visits I go on.  I want to continue to encourage this in my classes and follow up with students on them.

3. Continue to think of ways I can continue to make sure learning is happening even if I am not there.  Creating lesson plans and learning experiences that still challenge students while I am not there is a challenge, and is something I need to do a better job at.

4. I am excited to own this flower arranging unit and the community based project that will go with it.  The workshop the students will create will be April 21st, and this is the type of project I want to continue to implement in my future program.

5. Timely grading.  Grading is challenging and time consuming- but it is necessary.  Not the points part but the feedback that it provides and the assessment of and for learning it provides.  I need to continue to be timely and efficient with this.  I know it comes with time...but have some catch up to do!

6. Differentiation.  Technology, purposeful grouping, projects and student choice all play into this- and it is something I want to continue to increase.  This week I am going to try stations to do this in an effective way in one of my classes.