Growth mindset in a Growing Field

Image result for columbia county conservation district paI previously wrote about the importance of having a growth mindset. While I have always believed in its importance this student experience has really pushed me to live it. Every day I was looking for new ways to better myself as an educator, one of which was growing my content knowledge. I learned something new in as far as content knowledge everyday right along with my students. I grew most in areas that I was terrified in the beginning to teach and I still found areas to grow in content that I felt like I knew my whole life. One area in which I didn't teach this go around but felt that I needed to know a little bit more about was environmental science. What better way to learn about environmental science than to head to the Columbia County Agriculture Conference.

During my time at the conference I learned valuable knowledge about improving soil health and managing pests in field crops, along with many valuable resources. Something I didn't think about was the valuable connections I would make with farmers and other community members from across the county. I heard stories from farmers who have been in the business for generations and from some who were just starting out. I connected with Penn State Extension agents from both in and out of the county who share some knowledge in their area of expertise.
Image result for spotted lanternfly

One area that I learned about quite in depth was the effects that the spotted lanternfly is having on crops across the state. Due to the detrimental effects of the invasive species much time was spent discussing how to dispose of it. One way to help control the species is to scrape their egg masses off trees where they are laid. The egg masses appear mud-like and should be disposed of using alcohol or hand sanitizer. I also found the 7 life stages of the spotted lanternfly to be interesting as the species grows before laying the next generation.

Image result for no till


A major topic during the conference was the vital roll no-till and cover crops play in improving soil health. While this was not a new concept to me I was able to further develop an understanding for why these farming practices are done. I was quite impressed by the photos the conservation district used to show the positive effects that no-till has had on farm land in Columbia County.



It was interesting to hear from some of the farmers of the changes in agricultural practices from when they first started until now. Agricultural practices are changing to meet the needs of the growing population. Therefore it is vital as an agricultural educator to continuously grow and expand your knowledge of the ever changing field.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rising Stars At Central Columbia High School

Image
Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE) are an important entity to agricultural education. As I mentioned in previous blogs a true agricultural education program is comprised of three very important components; Classroom/ laboratory instruction, FFA, and SAE. SAEs are programs created by students to explore their interests in a specific agricultural area. These programs allow for a hands, on real world experience, while developing life skills. Students can choose one of six different SAE areas to develop their program around. “An SAE is a catalyst for personal growth, career development, and responsible citizenship that leads to individual, group and societal benefits not possible through formal education alone” (“Jig Saw.”2005) SAE is truly a unique aspect of agricultural education, allowing students be creative and cultivate their own learning. Students at Central Columbia High School in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania are doing just that, developing programs that are pushing  them outs
Read more

Developing a Team

Image
Forming, Storming, Norming , and Performing , where are we at in the process of student teaching? I took some time this week to reflect on our studies this past fall. We learned about Bruce Tuckman's model and discussed how the model would look in our future classrooms. We discussed how these are the stages to making an effective team, my team may seem a little different than maybe a sports team, never the less my students, my cooperating teachers, university supervisors, and myself make a great team. As my time at Central Columbia is coming to a close here in a just a few short weeks I found it only fitting to take a look back at how far we have come over the last 13 weeks.  Forming: While we started forming long before the first day of student teaching, the majority of events took place during my first few weeks of student teaching. The first few weeks were pretty laid back, all of my students were polite and well behaved, still trying to figure out how to act arou
Read more

The Final Act: Who Do I Aspire to be as an Educator?

Image
On the journey to becoming an agricultural educator each student is required to complete a 15 week student teaching internship. During those 15 weeks we will work with a cooperating agricultural educator at that school. In order for each individual student and cooperating teacher to have the best experience possible it is important that each of us create a positive connection prior to student teaching. One way Mr. Curt Turner and I are working to establish our working relationship is through reading  Juggling Elephants   by Jones Loflin and Todd Musig .  Just as there is more to the ring master than a long red coat and a top hat, there is much to be said about an agricultural educator beyond the lab coat. The last few chapter of “Juggling Elephants” really had me saying “yes!” this is the kind of teacher I want to be. I will challenge myself to be the master of three very important rings (the three-circle model that is). While I am still trying to figure out who exactly I want t
Read more