Our EIGHTEEN 2015
Penn State Agricultural Education Student Teachers have return from their fifteen
weeks completing internships in secondary schools and environmental centers
across Pennsylvania and beyond!
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://tinyurl.com/2015Showcase.
The 2015 student teachers
(#psuaged15):
·
Taught 102 different classes to students from K-12th grades that are 40
minute periods to 90 minute “block” periods in length.
·
Delivered 202 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 1,878 individual students.
·
Helped their cooperating centers earn and implement $150,500 grant
dollars or extramural funding.
·
Lead students in 251 hours of community service.
·
Has Earned (or will earn) a degrees 5 areas:
o Agricultural
& Extension Education (B.S.); Agricultural & Extension Education
(M.S.); Animal Science (B. S.); International Agriculture Development
(Dual Title, M.S.); Wildlife Technology (A.S.);
·
Obtained 11 Minors/areas of emphasis:
o Animal
Science; Agribusiness Management; Environmental Resources; Environmental
Inquiry; International Agriculture; Leadership; Military Studies; Poultry and
Avian Science; Recreational Parks and Tourism Management; Wildlife and
Fisheries Science; Youth and Family Education
·
Will have members who are Pennsylvania Certified (with reciprocity
in more than 45 states) in the following 3 areas:
o Agriscience
K-12; Environmental Science; General Science
·
Has 1 Schreyer’s Honor Scholar. Thesis Title: HOW FACULTY AT THE
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY’S COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES ENGAGE IN THE
SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING.
·
Studied abroad in 12 countries, including:
o Cambodia;
Costa Rica; India; France; Germany; Kenya; Lithuania; Mexico; South Korea;
Sweden; Thailand; Trinidad & Tobago
·
Completed Domestic Study Aways in Arizona (Multiculturalism in
school-based agricultural education) and Colorado (Service Learning Pedagogies
with Farm to School Initiatives).
·
Earned 18 different Additional Certifications/Accreditation/Licenses,
including(listed alphabetically):
o Accredited
Parliamentarians from the Society of Agricultural Education Parliamentarians;
First Aid/CPR/AED Certification; Beef Quality Assurance; Canoe Leadership;
Explore Bowhunt; Hunter Education; Keystone Aquatics Resource (Project
Aquatics); Food Science ServSafe Certification; National Safe Tractor and
Machinery Operation Instructors; Occupational, Safety and Health Administration
Certificate; Pennsylvania Song Birds curriculum; Pennsylvania Wildlife
Forensics curriculum; Pennsylvania Amphibians and Reptiles curriculum;
Pesticide Applicators License; Project Food, Land & People curriculum;
Project Learning Tree; Project WILD curriculum; Raptor Handling
·
Involved in 29 professional organizations, including(listed alphabetically):
o Ag Club,
Penn State Altoona; Agriculture Student Council, Penn State; Alpha Tau Alpha,
National Agricultural Education Honorary; Alpha Zeta; American Boer Goat
Association; American Quarter Horse Association; Association of Career &
Technical Education; Block & Bridle, Penn State; Blue & White Society;
Coaly Honors Society, Penn State; Collegiate FFA , Penn State; Collegiate
4-H, Penn State; Delta Theta Sigma; Gamma Sigma Delta; Graduate Student
Association, AEE, Penn State; Kansas City Barbeque Society; Keystone Elk
Country Alliance (KECA); National Association of Agricultural Educators
(NAAE); National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA); National FFA Alumni;
New York Association of Agricultural Educators; Pennsylvania Association
of Environmental Educators (PAEE) ; Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural
Educators (PAAE); Pennsylvania Farm Bureau- Young Farmers & Ranchers;
Pennsylvania FFA Alumni; Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association;
Potter-Tioga Maple Association; Society of American Florist; Teach Ag! Society,
Penn State
·
Gained experience or have been employed with over 26 different
relevant jobs/Internships including (listed alphabetically):
o Aullwood
Audubon Center and Farm - Naturalist Intern; Brydonson Farm - Labor; Centre
County Youth Services Bureau’s Big Brothers - Big Sisters Program; Center for
Professional and Personal Development; Children Youth Empowerment Centre -
Kenya; Keystone Elk Country Alliance - Conservation Education Intern; Lost
Hollow Farms; National Association of Agricultural Educators; National FFA
Organization; New York Ag in the Classroom; Penn State Pesticide Education
Program; Pennsylvania FFA Association; Philadelphia Zoo; Prima Tech; PSU Dairy
Barns; PSU Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center; PSU Extension
- Allegheny County; PSU Extension - Central Susquehanna Valley Extension
Office; PSU Extension - Lawrence County; PSU Extension - Potter County;
PSU Extension - York County; PSU College of Agricultural Science Office
of Undergraduate Education; PSU Pennsylvania Governor’s School; PSU Arboretum;
USDA-NRCS; Wildwood Park (PA); World Food Prize
·
Completed action research projects, including:
o Assessing
impact on student’s academic success of teacher-centered versus
student-centered lessons.
o Analyzing
best practices for student exam preparation.
o Analyzing
impact of homework and weight of homework in assessments on student learning.
o Analyzing
length of instructional class period on student learning outcomes.
o Comparing
effectiveness of face-to-face instruction and virtual learning for school field
trips to the Elk Country Visitor Center
o Comparing
student achievement in plant and soil science with teacher-centered versus
student-centered pedagogical approaches.
o Comparing
impact of video lecture versus face to face instruction on learning
satisfaction and student achievement.
o Comparing
student achievement between individual and cooperative assignments.
o Describing
instructional practice impact on cultivating global awareness in secondary
students.
o Impact on
student agricultural mechanics projects on community development.
o Effectiveness
of co-teaching on learner satisfaction.
o Evaluating
Pennsylvania schools cell phone policies.
o Evaluating
student comprehension of lab concepts through early exposure pedagogy.
o Instruction
time requirements for adolescent attitudinal shifts regarding integrated pest
management.
o Ethnographic
journaling to improve student rapport.
·
Completed custom learning projects for their center, including:
o Connecting
secondary students from Mopan Technical (Belize) and Penns Manor (Pennsylvania)
through a bio-digester project
o Creating
an implementation guide for blended learning in secondary agriculture.
o Creating
a Chapter Officer Training program.
o Creating
a Greenhand induction ceremony handbook.
o Creating
CDE Training Kits.
o Describing
learning styles in an agricultural education program.
o Describing
blended learning impact on student engagement.
o Describing
how music impacts creativity and focus of floricultural students.
o Developing
effective FFA Chapter website maintenance student guide.
o Developing
a chapter FFA officer accountability program.
o Facilitating
differentiated learning for successful independent studies in Animal Science.
o Facilitating
a children’s farm show
o Improving
Student literacy skills and recordkeeping in AET.
o Integrating
Forensic Chemistry Principles into Aquatic Resources Class.
o Managing
FFA chapter involvement in school spirit competition.
o Organizing
a career development event day for environmental education
o Participate
in Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Education Conference.
o Utilizing
AET for chapter online publicity.
o Utilizing
SLOs for professional development.
·
Fun Facts
o One
school had over 108 inches of snow - and only TWO snow days :)
o Multiple
guest speakers and community members were integrated in instruction.
o One
student conducted a Global Competency Lesson for Iowa Students from
Millersville, Pennsylvania.
o One
student taught for 7 weeks in Belize
o One
student taught for 5 weeks at the Elk County Environmental Center
o One
student lead a multinational effort for the development of educational model
bio-digester.
o One
student started a female mentorship program for young girls in their county.
o Three
students are former Pennsylvania State FFA Officers.
o Teach
Like a Pirate was a popular summer reading choice!
o One
student was a Teaching Assistant for THREE different college courses.
o One
student was accepted to present their undergraduate research to the North
American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Conference.
o Two
students presented undergraduate research at the PSU Gamma Sigma Delta Expo.
o Three
students had not prior experience with FFA to the PSU Teacher Education
Program.
o One
student was an active member of the Penn State ROTC.
To learn more about their
specific student teaching experiences, check out their professional blogs and
follow them on Twitter or their story at #psuaged15:
Post Graduate Plans: U.S. Army
Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity
Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity
Post
Graduate Plans: Returning to Penn State!
Post
Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity
Post
Graduate Plans: Grad School - Georgia
Post Graduate Plans: Pequea Valley Ag Teacher!
Post
Graduate Plans: Returning to Penn State!
Post
Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity
Post
Graduate Plans: Country View Valley Farms
Post
Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity
Post
Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity
Post
Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity
Post
Graduate Plans: AgriCorp - Ghana!
Post
Graduate Plans: Environmental Educator - Elk Country
Post
Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity
Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity
Post
Graduate Plans: Union City Ag Teacher (PA)!
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As the night
started, we were fortunate enough to have several guests and attendants come
celebrate our Penn State student success. In the crowd, was our keynote speaker
Mr. Bill Fleet. Bill has had several accomplishments in and out of the
agriculture industry and is even a Penn State Alumni! His speech was based on
how teachers make an impact everyday on our student’s lives. After his speech
concluded, every single person in that room, teacher or not, was effected by
his kind words..jpg)
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