Monday, April 23, 2018

#psuaged18 returns: Celebrating the Elite Eleven!


Our Elite Eleven 2018 Penn State Agricultural Education Student Teachers (#psuaged18 on Twitter - Check it out!) return today, April 23rd, for their post-internship seminar! They have spent the last fifteen weeks completing internships in secondary schools across Pennsylvania!

The PSU Teach Ag! Program thanks each of you for the role you have played in their educational journey. Your assistance helps us achieve our core values as an agricultural teacher education program

Below is a snapshot of this incredible group of students accomplishments. To learn more about the individual candidates, please view the PSU Teach Ag! Student Showcase: http://teachagpsu.blogspot.com/2018/02/blog-post.html

As a group, the #psuaged18 interns:

  • Taught 72 different classes to students from K-12th grades that are 40 minute periods to 90-minute “block” periods in length. 
  • Delivered 139 units of instruction on topics from leadership development, agricultural mechanics, environmental sciences & natural resources, plant sciences, animal sciences and much more! 
  • Impacted the lives of 958 individual students 
  • Helped their cooperating centers earn and implement $13,200 of extramural funding assisted from grants, sponsorships, and fundraisers.
  • Lead students in 2376 hours of community service.
  • Has Earned (or will earn) degrees from 3 areas:  Agricultural & Extension Education (B.S.); Agricultural Sciences (B.S.); Food Sciences.
  • Obtained 4 Minors/areas of emphasis: Agronomy, Animal Science, International Agriculture; Environmental Soil Science.
  • Participated in Global Learning in 11 Countries, including Austria, Australia, Belize; Canada; Costa Rica, Honduras, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, Switzerland
  • Completed FOUR Domestic Study Away Programs in, Colorado (Service Learning Pedagogies with Farm to School Initiatives, 2014), Mississippi (Financial Literacy through agricultural education in Appalachia Areas, 2015) and Tennessee (STEM in agricultural education in rural and urban settings, 2016), and Wisconsin (Gender in Agriculture, Agricultural Education, and Agriculture Classrooms, 2017). 
  • Will have members who are Pennsylvania Certified (with reciprocity in more than 45 states) in the following 3 areas: Agriscience K-12; Biology ; General Science 
  • Earned 65 different Additional Certifications/Accreditation/Licenses, including(listed alphabetically): Accredited Parliamentarians from the Society of Agricultural Education Parliamentarians; Army Corp of Engineers Wetland Certification; Beef Quality Assurance; Curriculum for Agriscience Education- Natural Resources; CPI Nonviolent Crisis Prevention; First Aid/CPR/AED Certification; Food Science ServSafe Certification; Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard (HAZWOPER) Certification; Mandated Reporter Training; National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Instructors; OSHA 10-hr Safety Course in Construction Safety and Health; Pesticide Applicator License (Public and Private); Pork Quality Assurance; Project Food, Land People; Project WILD; Project WET, Sheep Quality Assurance.
  • Completed 11 SLO/action research projects during their internship, including: 
    • Evaluation of Mastery and Growth of Student Competencies in EPA Worker Protection Standards
    • The Effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Instruction compared to Teacher-Centered Instruction 
    • Utilization of Group Testing for Animal Terms on Student Success and Retention of Information 
    • Building Up or Tearing Down: Utilization of review methods on student success and retention of information. 
    • Is Digital Note Taking More Effective? 
    • From Green to Broke: Exploring Classroom Management 
    • Tool ID Retention Strategies: Using Active Learning for Memorization 
    • Do students’ public speaking skills improve by engaging in self-assessment? 
    • How effective are Task Groups? 
    • Are guided notes worth the extra work? 
  • Completed 11 custom learning projects (DIY Teacher Education) for their center, including:
    • The Influence of Utilizing Online Tools and Resources for the Comprehension and Transfer of Information 
    • Annual Heirloom Tomato Fundraiser Sale Description List 
    • Penn Manor Ag Ed Informational Video 
    • How to effectively budget a CASE program 
    • Designing Curriculum from the roots up! 
    • What is Ag Education? 
    • Pesticide Certification Teacher Manual 
    • Adult Learners in Floriculture 
    • Technology in Cowanesque Valley 
  • Completed 2 undergraduate research projects, including: 
    • #TeachAgChat: Building purposeful professional learning networks on Twitter. 
    • Barriers and Opportunities for Implementing Agricultural Work-based Learning in Tasmania 
  • Involved in 50 professional organizations, including(listed alphabetically): Alpha Tau Alpha, National Agricultural Education Honorary; Alpha Zeta; Association of Career & Technical Education; ADSA: American Dairy Science Association; American National Cattlewomen; Boy Scouts of America; College of Agricultural Science Ag Advocate; Coaly Society, PSU; Collegiate 4-H, Penn State; Collegiate FFA , Penn State; PSU Dairy Science Club; Gamma Sigma Delta; Grange- Penn State, National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE); National Brown Swiss Association; National Grange; Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators (PAAE); Pennsylvania Farm Bureau; PA Young Farmer and Rancher; Pennsylvania FFA Alumni; Teach Ag! Society, Penn State; Young Farmers.
  • Gained experience or have been employed with over 31 different relevant jobs/Internships including (listed alphabetically): Center for Professional and Personal Development, Penn State; Global Teach Ag! Initiative, Penn State; Horse Barns, Penn State; Greene County Conservation District; Land O’Lakes Northeast Agri-Solutions Force; Pennsylvania Department of Transportation; Pennsylvania Dairy Princess and Promotion Inc.; Pennsylvania FFA Association; Pennsylvania Farm Bureau; Plant Science Department - Penn State; PSU Science U- Curriculum Mentor; PSU Extension - York County; PSU Extension- Weed Science; Shaver’s Creek Outdoor School; Red Creek Wildlife Center; Wasson farm 
  • Fun Facts about #psuaged18: 
    • Includes a non-traditional returning student who had previously worked in Conservation Districts! 
    • Throughout their experience, on candidate received 2 gallons of maple syrup from community members, students, and other teachers. Her internship placement site, Tioga County, is home to the top two maple producers in Pennsylvania.
    • Includes a former Pennsylvania FFA State Officer, Pennsylvania 4H State Officer, and a Pennsylvania Dairy Princess, along with many other leaders! 
    • Includes a 12 year competitive square dancer! 
    • The entire cohort participated in 2017 Future Agri Science Teacher Symposium (FAST) at NAAE in Nashville, Tennessee 
    • The entire cohort attended the 2017 National FFA Convention with as a chaperone with their cooperating teacher. 
    • One candidate spent 3 weeks in Tasmania conducting research on work-based learning. 
    • Includes a candidate who is the first person in their immediate and extended family to graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree. 
To learn more about their specific student teaching experiences, check out their professional blogs and follow them on Twitter:

  • Allyson Balmer (@allyson_balmer). The Agrication Station. Cooperating Center: TriValley HS. Post Graduation Plans: Seeking Secondary Agricultural Education Position! 
  • Angela Becker (@BeckerAngelaM). Inches to Acres: Teaching to Grow. Cooperating Center: Manheim Central. Post Graduation Plans: Seeking Secondary Agricultural Education Position! 
  • Rose Cowan (@Cowan_Rosalind). Grace to Growth. Cooperating Center: Penn Manor
    Post Graduation Plans: Pursuing Graduate School. 
  • Macy Fisher (@Macy_Fisher). Macy’s Moments. Cooperating Center: Selinsgrove
    Post Graduation Plans: Returning to Penn State! 
  • Cheyenne Meyers (@MyersCheyenneN). Galloping in Ag Ed. Cooperating Center: Kennard Dale. Post Graduation Plans: Seeking Opportunity! 
  • Halee Wasson (@Wasson_Halee). Rooted in Agriculture. Cooperating Center: Derry AHS
    Post Graduation Plans: New Agriculture Teacher at Southern Cayuga HS in Aurora, New York! 
  • Heather Wasson (@HeatWasson). From the Plow to the Owl. Cooperating Center: Cowanesque Valley. Post Graduation Plans: Seeking Secondary Agricultural Education Position! 
  • Karlie Wright (@Wright_KarlieM). Karlie Writes. Cooperating Center: Fort Cherry
    Post Graduation Plans: Seeking Secondary Agricultural Education Position! 


Since 2010, the @TeachAgPSU program has had 99 students complete their agricultural teacher education program. 61 of those alumni members are currently positively impacting the lives of students in 57 schools found in 12 states. Collectively, those 61 teachers are estimated to:

  • Teach 435+ classes 
  • Impact 7,000+ students 
  • Lead those students in over 24,000 community service hours 
  • Generate more than $425,000 in extramural funds for their schools 
  • Engage as a member with over 200 professional, community, and civic organizations 



WE ARE...


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