Megan's Crowning Moments

  With everything in life there are times where you need to make a change, this can be with your job, your major or for students enrolled in an agricultural sciences courses their SAE project. This week we completed our last teaching lab virtually, focusing on transforming a Lifeknowledge lesson from the Nationally Ag Ed curriculum into an online lesson.     It was a bittersweet lesson, as I believe the information and skills taught throughout the lesson are important for high school student's to obtain to ensure that their goals within their agricultural science course are met. It was also a perfect remember to all of us as we enter into our student teaching experience that change is ok and very much so a good thing especially when it comes to meeting our student teaching experience goals!      I used new technology throughout this lesson that I had never used before to facilitate, Slido. This program allowed me to incorporate interactive questions and polls so that I can increas

  This week in lab we each completed our inquiry lab, my lab was apart of my wildlife and forestry unit focusing on the use of a dichotomous key. To begin, I asked students to sort beans into categories based off of the characteristics that they thought to be most important and definitive of the benas found in the bag. Once students successfully sorted their beans, we moved on to to coming up with characteristics to sort ourselves like hair color, age, zodiac sign, and height. From there, my cohort members ranked what characteristics they believed to be the most important when determining what allowed each of  us to be a part of this cohort.   Throughout this activity students used their own inquiry to move throughout classifying a group of people based on the characteristics and traits they believed to be important. This is the same process that scientists use when creating the dichotomous key. Through student inquiry, we walked through process of using a dichotomous key and then app

  This week my lab challenged my cohort members to properly diagnose our barnyard! We had a duroc named Daisy, a Holstein named Holly and were lucky enough to have Stitch visiting our barnyard for this activity! Using Koch's Postulates, they worked in groups to determine if the illness each animal possessed was an infectious disease or not. This activity was a part of our problem based lab and we each had 20 minutes to teach an activity that challenged our students to solve a problem. Thankfully for me, I had some pretty great students who were quick to find their diagnosis.        This week I think I did a better job of moving throughout the classroom as well as keeping track of time. Last lab, I didn't pay as close attention to how quickly time went by but this week I felt as though I managed time throughout the portions of the activity much better. I also feel that I did a better job of assessing when students were ready to move on and when they might need more time to com

      This week we created interest approaches to help our students get their feet wet at the beginning of our lessons. My interest approach was created for a SAE/FFA Leadership course introducing communication and the different forms we frequently use. The students partnered up and used legos to build the actions written on their chosen note card. One student was the "speaker" and used the legos to communicate the task that they wanted their partner to complete. The "speaker" was not able to talk, motion, draw, or give any hints to their partner who was acting as the "listener".  Once all of the students had the chance to play each role we discussed who was successful, who wasn't, and why they believed that was the case. We also discussed how they communicated with partners making the transition into the content for the day which was exploring verbal and nonverbal communication. I chose this lesson for two reasons. First, I thoug ht it would be a fun

  This week I had my first day of school, though it wasn't with my students at Athens Area High School, I did have the opportunity to share it with my cohort members. The excitement of a new year with new adventures awaiting still filled the room, the difference you ask? Well this year all eight of us girls were the teachers this time, making our first day experience a little different.  Every student remembers the excitement of reuniting with your friends after a long summer away, seeing who you have lunch or study hall with, and finally seeing your favorite teacher you have missed all summer. For teachers, your first day of school sets the tone for the rest of the school year. Not only are you sharing what content students will be learning throughout the year, but what expectations you have for them while in your classroom. For my student's I used the framework "The 3 R's in Miss. Royer's Room", this idea came from my elementary school principal Mrs. Zmyslo.

When you stick a girl in Quarantine you'd be amazed what she can accomplish! With all of my extra time on my hands I've found many ways only a future Ag teacher would enjoy to keep busy. First I began my quarantine by helping my family to build a barn, from framing, pouring concrete, and wiring. I've made good use of my time learning from my dad and gaining Ag mechanics knowledge. Not only was I learning hands on along side my family but I also enrolled in the National Safe Tractor Driving course through Penn State Extension and became a certified instructor! Along with safe tractor driving, I have been working on a forestry course to broaden my horizons. I've enjoyed learning about the importance of the forest ABCs as well as wildlife ecology. I cannot wait to share this knowledge with my students some day, taking them out to the forest and having the opportunity to identify trees on their own! Along with all of the new things I have learned throughout this time, I

Hi Everyone!    I thought I would take the time to update you on my Ag Ed journey through all of the craziness that has happened over the past couple of weeks. This semester as many of you know started out for me joining class via Zoom. As the semester has gone on it seems as though unfortunately many of my peers are also attending college via Zoom just like I have been! Before this huge transition I was lucky enough to visit two schools in person, I am thankful for the opportunity they both gave me! It was amazing to see all of the opportunities both programs offered to their students. From greenhouses, to shops, and student projects there were endless avenues for students to find what sparks their interests and explore.    Along with the amazing facilities, both schools offered my favorite part which was having the opportunity to get to know the students. Sharing their interests with me, their post high school plans as well as giving me a tour of their school were all things th

Recently, I have been charged with the task of finding a cooperating center.  A cooperating center is a school throughout the commonwealth of Pennsylvania willing to host a student teacher candidate in my program. This task has proven to be easier said than done. You see, it's a lot like going to a resturant starving and looking at a menu. Many times I find myself struggling to make a decision as everything looks equally delicious. This is how I began to feel looking at the list of cooperating centers throughout the state of Pennsylvania, equally as intriguing and exciting. To navigate this predicament, I started with the basics by determining where to look. In the case of the meal, I often look for things that are good for me. So, I have followed suit when looking at schools. I know that I would like a smaller school as it would be a good change in pace for me. I also know that a program in cooperating plant science courses as well as well as soil science would be areas that I

"I am Charlotte's Granddaughter, The spitting image of my Father, and when the day is done my Momma's still my biggest fan." Thanks to the roots that run deep in Centre County, the Agriculture Industry, and the Centre County Grange Fair, I have happily found my place in agricultural education from the first day I joined an agricultural sciences course. I did so without my parent's permission (sorry Mom and Dad). From bringing home my very first pig, to running for Fair Queen, I have had unwavering support from my family. They have watched and allowed for my passion to grow as I enjoy educating the youth and the public about the agricultural industry. This goes perfectly with my love for talking, (as my family knows all too well) and once you get me talking there is absolutely no going back, especially about something I love. My first love, the one that truly started it all for me, was the fair. A ten day long opportunity, where I was able to share with every