Penn State Ag Ed ROARS!: Katie Andrews

Showing posts with label Katie Andrews. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Hired! Teacher Candidate Katie Andrews hired at North Harford High School #psuaged16

“From day one of college I knew that I wanted to be an agriculture teacher.” And that she is. Ms. Katie Andrews, 2016 Teacher Candidate will be teaching at North Harford High School in Pylesville, Maryland. She was “Tagged To Teach Ag” at a young age helping on her families farm along with being involved in 4-H and FFA. She has been surrounded by great coaches and mentors including her high school ag teacher, Ryan King and her cooperating teachers, Sherisa Nailor and Sarabeth Fulton.

Katie and one of her cooperating teachers.

Katie was extremely involved as a student at Penn State, where she served as a Teach Ag Avenger, was active in Collegiate FFA and Teach Ag Society and a student athlete, where she excelled as a women’s field hockey player. Her continuous involvement in her academics and in campus activities has prepared her well to teach at North Harford.

The agriculture program at North Harford High School is a magnet program where Katie will teach with 4 teaches and a director. Students entering ninth grade living in Harford County can apply to be accepted into the Magnet program and attend North Harford High School. At the school they can choose one of three paths in agriculture: Environmental and Natural Resources, Plant Science, and Animal Science, or the signature general agriculture program. Katie will be the magnet teacher for Animal Science path, in addition to teaching a freshmen class in the signature program called Agriculture 1. “ I will be teaching Foundations (Freshmen), animal management (Sophomore) , anatomy and physiology (junior), and Research Capstone (Senior). North Harford is home to barn facilities housing pigs, a cow, horse and even an alpaca. All students involved in the agriculture magnet program can choose to be in FFA.

Katie has already set up her seating arrangements, made bulletin board designs, and started her unit planning and school has not even started! In thinking about some of her goals and desires for her new classroom and program Katie looks forward to what is next.

One aspect from student teaching I look forward to developing are the relationships with the community, colleagues, administrators, and students that my cooperating teachers showed me are vital for success yet important to enjoy your job everyday.” As she moves across the desk she says “I want them to leave my class each day knowing I believe in them, care for them, and will support them for the rest of their lives.” Congratulations Katie, and best of luck in Maryland!

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of students across the globe by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter at TeachAgPSU, on Facebook, or on our blog.

Kayla Hack

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @hackkayla

2017 Agriculture Education Student Teacher

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

2016 Impact FFA CASE Institute Scholarship Recipient: Katie Andrews!

Katie is a 2016 student teacher.

As pre-service teachers there are many ways future agriscience teachers can develop themselves professionally to set them apart in the field. For one of our Teach Ag! Stars, this has been a goal since day 1. "Pursuing a degree in Agriculture Education was my goal since day 1 of freshmen year. Preparing agriculturally aware and competent students with 21st skills to be successful in anything they decide to do is my passion. Penn State has provided me with endless opportunities to maximize my skills and knowledge and I am excited to provide the same opportunities for students.” A senior in agricultural education and minors in International Agriculture and Agriculture Business Management, her next accomplishment comes as no surprise! Congratulations to 2016 Impact FFA CASE Institute Scholarship Recipient Ms. Katie Andrews!

Katie has been student teaching at Big Spring High School. At Big Spring she has been able to teach the CASE Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources curriculum and has found many crossovers with science and math principles. Katie says " Case does an excellent job of integrating STEM into the curriculum and it's adaptable." To further develop herself professionally, and add another tool to her tool box as a teacher, she looked for opportunities to be certified to teach with CASE curriculum. For the FFA Impact scholarship, she was one of four students to receive this honor. Katie said "this scholarship will assist me with supporting my curriculum development as a new teacher."

CASE or Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education, provides materials, and education materials to students and teachers to "enhance the rigor and relevance of agriculture, food, and natural resources subject matter. CASE uses inquiry and problem, project and activity based lessons. Each CASE lesson is aligned with math and science standards. In order for a teacher to utilize CASE curriculum, it is necessary that they attend a CASE institute offered every summer.

Sherisa Nailor, Katie Andrews & Sarabeth Fulton

As student teaching is nearing an end Katie reflected on the experience she has had at Big Spring. She told us that her mentors and her students are her biggest supporters. Katie said "the people you surround yourself with in life will gauge your happiness and who you are." Her two mentors have provided her support, encouragement and professional growth. Katie's cooperating teachers, Ms. Sherisa Nailor and Ms. Sarabeth Fulton are "excelling in their profession and care endlessly for students." And Katie can't say thank you enough!

If you would like to read more about Katie and her preparation for student teaching, check out her bog at: http://kickinwithkatie.blogspot.com/ or connect with her on twitter @klandrews_24.