The Chronicles of Becoming an Ag Educator

As we continue on our teach Ag journey, we continually look to fill our teacher toolbox with instructional methods. This week were taking a further look at inquiry based instruction (IBI) and how to properly incorporate IBI into the classroom. Inquiry based instruction is a unique form of instruction allowing for a combination of student curiosity and the scientific method. This method teaching allows students to cultivate their own knowledge without formally being "spoon fed" the information. Students have the opportunity to gain a whole new level of learning by seeking answers, creating a deeper understanding for what is being learned.  "Teachers play a vital role in adapting the inquiry process to the knowledge and ability level of their students." This past week I had the opportunity to attend a workshop based around implementing agri-science with inquiry based instruction at the National FFA Convention. Through this workshop I was able to create a better un...

"Choice makes the young adolescent's desire for control and freedom possible- without the power struggle. Choice builds confidence and fosters independence. Choice tells students their interests are important and allows them to demonstrate responsibility." - Hume. No two students are the same, their learning capacity and style mimics those differences. Allowing students to make choices in their individualized learning helps to reach of their learning needs. Student's learning can be catagorized through readiness, interests, and learning preferences. Student readiness. Each student needs to be evaluated individually to understand where each student is coming from academically. Just like in this cartoon every animal is not capable of climbing the tree, it is my job as an educator to overcome those obstacles. Interests. Each student has their own interests, connecting those interests to concepts creates a deeper interest in the content being learned. Learning prefer...

Announcing there is going to be a "test" to a classroom full of students you are sure to receive many different reactions: I bet there's a student with the look of shear panic across their face, a look of hatred, and maybe if you're lucky a student who doesn't appear to be phased by the announcement. Looking ahead to what my teaching career will look like I want to avoid the panicked and angry expressions of my students as I tell them their will be some sort of evaluation in the class. Evaluating students is one of the most important tasks as an educator but it doesn't mean your students should fear the thought of what they believe the word "test" means. Instead, I have all intentions of reinventing what the word "test" or "evaluation" means. When it comes to teaching in an agricultural classroom, there is so many ways to evaluate your students, often times in ways that don't seem like a "test." As an educator I pl...

Problem solving is such a useful concept that often gets overlooked. When I say problem solving I don't necessarily mean what is the answer to 2+2 but a more in depth look into the "why," "what," and "how" type questions. Agricultural Education allows for a unique perspective on problem solving, for real world situations. This week as a class we were able to discuss some "real-life" uses of problem solving in an agricultural classroom that truly put things into perspective. Problem solving has a wide array of uses in agriculture from deciding what plant would make a better cover crop to determine which animals to cull out of a herd. To ensure an effective use of problem solving I have found that there some specific techniques that should be followed. Scaffolding. We have already looked into why scaffolding is an important teaching technique overall but it can be equally beneficial when using problem solving in the classroom. Scaffolding c...