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Learning by Doing

Each week of student teaching, I feel like it is going to be too much and that I do not know content well enough to teach it. By the end of the week though, I have been feeling proud of what I have accomplished. Since I have been teaching a full load, I have added two classes I don't feel very confident in: horticulture and food science. Even though it has been a struggle with these classes, I realized how much I am learning while teaching.

One of fellow cohort members, Elise, tweeted this week asking #psuaged21 what they were learning from their students and I realized that I am learning so much in every subject. My students are so smart and want to learn and explore subject areas which only challenges me to learn with them! For example, I was about to teach a lab on making candy from different sugars which challenged me to study carbohydrates and the stages of making sugar. From assigning these labs and other assignments, I am able to learn so much that I hope to take into my own program someday. 

These are the stages of making candy! I watched a few videos myself before the lab so that I knew what to expect from my students when they were completing the lab. On Monday, we will be taking their candies out of the molds for tasting!

I had a few labs going on, including the fetal pig dissection and finishing candy making and am excited to learn about hydroponics and more about electricity, as I start those labs on Monday. As week 9 approaches, I am excited to continue to expand my knowledge on different subjects and learn alongside my students!

#psuaged21, what are you learning subject-wise?


Comments

  1. elise laudenslagerMarch 14, 2021 at 6:16 PM

    Thanks for the shout out Michaela! These past few weeks I have picked up some new plumbing skills, including using PEX, and learned A LOT about small gas engines. I also had the opportunity to dust off my old animal science notes for my digestion unit. Looking ahead I’m excited to dig into electrical circuits with my ag mechanics class and look at marketing and sales with ag business. It’s crazy how much I am learning this semester between ag content areas and teaching pedagogy. I definitely finish each week feeling much more confident and excited about teaching. I can’t wait to see what you learn in the coming weeks. Keep up the good work (and stop doubting yourself so much you’re pretty awesome😉)!

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  2. Nicole GuiseMarch 15, 2021 at 4:44 AM

    Hi Michaela - I agree with Elise, don't be so hard on yourself - you are doing amazing things! I would say that plant science and food science were definitely my two weakest subjects that I would teach during student teaching. I am surprised by how much I am enjoying food science. My students are also teaching me a lot about FFA and the behind the scenes workings of planning events, recruiting new members, officer elections, etc.

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  3. UnknownMarch 15, 2021 at 5:36 AM

    Michaela,
    Nice work. I am excited to see that you are learning while you are teaching. This is all part of the experience, and you are at a great location to learn these competencies. A couple of questions that I would have of you... You excitement to learn is evident, but how are you motivating your students to learn the content? Basically, are they intrinsically motivated or are you motivating them in some other way and are they as excited as you to learn?
    Dr. Ewing

    ReplyDelete

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