The incredible student success stories of the Penn State Agricultural & Extension Education Program! Creating Positive Agents of Change to make the world a better place!
We welcome guest bloggers and contributors. Email teachag@psu.edu for more information!
Editor's Note: What is a Domestic Study Away? A Domestic Study Away (DSA) is a non-credit experience where a group of students travel to a State to explore the following:
What does #AgEdu look like in other states? How is the total model of school-based agricultural education (Classroom Instruction, Youth Leadership Development <FFA> and Work-based learning <SAE>) uniquely provided?
Who are the #AgEdu Stakeholders in the state? Specifically, what agricultural industry is being served?
A unique yearly selected professional development topic! This year is a little bit different in that we will be striving to answer an inquiry each day as we explore agricultural education across New England. Each question connects to the big idea of diversity in agriculture.
You can virtually-engage with this experience by reading and commenting on the daily blogs and following the experience on Twitter and Facebook with our hashtag #TeachAgDSA18.
We could not complete this transformative learning experience without the incredible support of our partners including The Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators, The Penn State Center for Professional and Personnel Development, and the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences.
We made it today to Massachusetts to start another day of exploring Agriculture and Agriculture Education in New England. Our beautiful 76-degree day started with at Norfolk County Agricultural High School. This breathtaking school is situated on 300 acres of pristine agricultural production land. Norfolk boasts state of the art animal care and research facility, several barns and Ag arena, an American Kennel Club (AKC) grooming area, and a full diesel mechanic shop just to name a few. Norfolk employs cutting edge technology and well-trained professional teachers. Being made up 70 school districts and approximately 400 students, this school spares no opportunity for the advancement of their students. The time, resources and community support that have been built up over years of careful operation of the program have allowed for this school to flourish. Norfolk was definitely every agriculture teacher's hallmark desire.
Our second stop of the day was to ReVision Urban Farm; a community garden in downtown Boston. Their mission is to educate the community about where their food comes from and how they can help produce the food they eat. Afterward, we were able to explore the North End of the Boston Harbor and take in some sights and sounds for the evening. North End is a beautiful area with such strong national heritage and history. To top of this incredible experience, we had seafood dinner on the Boston Harbor at the Boston Sail Loft.
We are looking forward to the next few days! Follow us on our journey using #TeachAgDSA18, and check out our video reflection from today!
Ryan Rupert (@RyanRupert22),
Member of #psuaged19, Student Teaching at Greenwood HS (PA)
Megan Royer (@Megyyy22),
Member of #psuaged21, and
Beth Winklosky (@Winklosky_Beth),
Member of #psuaged19, Student Teaching at West Perry HS (PA)
Guest Bloggers for the 6th annual Domestic Study Away - #TeachAgDSA18 - New England!
What is a Domestic Study Away? A Domestic Study Away (DSA) is a non-credit experience where a group of students travel to a State to explore the following:
What does #AgEdu look like in other states? How is the total model of school-based agricultural education (Classroom Instruction, Youth Leadership Development <FFA> and Work-based learning <SAE>) uniquely provided?
Who are the #AgEdu Stakeholders in the state? Specifically, what agricultural industry is being served?
A unique yearly selected professional development topic! This year is a little bit different in that we will be striving to answer an inquiry each day as we explore agricultural education across New England. Each question connects to the big idea of diversity in agriculture.
You can virtually-engage with this experience by reading and commenting on the daily blogs and following the experience on Twitter and Facebook with our hashtag #TeachAgDSA18.
We could not complete this transformative learning experience with out the incredible support of our partners including: The Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators, The Penn State Center for Professional and Personnel Development , and the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences.
Penn State has officially arrived in New England! After hours of travel and an overnight stop in New York, we started our first day of #TeachAgDSA18 in Connecticut, where we attempted to answer the question...
How can we deliver secondary school-based programs in unique contexts?
There are so many exceptional experiences from today that I could talk about, but I’m just going to touch on the few that I thought were the coolest!
Connecticut has such a unique Agricultural Education system! The state is broken up into 19 regional school districts, where students have the opportunity to attend an Agricultural Science and Technology (ASTE) program within each one. All but one of these programs is a comprehensive program, meaning that they include the core subjects such as math, English, language arts, etc. Students, therefore, get the same experience as attending a “normal” high school while gaining tons of great options to get involved in agricultural education and FFA.
The first of these programs we visited was Nonnewaug High School in Woodbury, CT, which is in Region 14. I was absolutely blown away at all they do. The first thing about Nonnewaug that impressed me is that they’re a 10 teacher program! Each one teaches a single subject area, and because of this, they have the manpower to offer tons of different classes to their students from 23 different towns.
Tyler Cremeans (@TCMeansAgEd14), a fellow Penn State graduate of 2014 (participant of several past DSA trips) and aquaculture instructor at Nonnewaug, took us for a tour of the school's facilities where we got to hear from several other teachers. Students took us on a tour through just two of the several greenhouses on the property. The two that we got to explore were around for a while but really took off when Mr. Cremeans took over as the aquaculture teacher.
His students transformed the whole left
side of the greenhouse into an aquaculture facility complete with home-made fish tanks and filters, gravel plant beds, Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) tables, and Deep Water Culture (DWC) growing beds. Most of the food that is grown in their greenhouses is either sold, used for farm-to-table meals, or donated to local food banks in the area. The school offers a variety of curriculum that students can take, including:
Aquaculture
Floriculture
Natural Resource Management
Vet Sciences
Agricultural Production
Engineering
Horse Management
Landscaping
Culinary Arts
Local Food
We had an incredible lunch provided by the culinary program at the school, utilizing farm-to-table foods grown in the school's greenhouses and production facilities before we left for our next stop.
Next up, we were headed towards the coast to Bridgeport Aquaculture School, the only ASTE school in the 19 districts that is not a comprehensive program. This school is super unique in that it's completely focused on science and technology instruction as it relates to aquatic life.
Today I learned that being a super specialized school has its perks. The school not only has a boating simulation equipment, but it owns its own research vessel where students and instructors make the ocean their classroom! In addition to these amazing parts of their program, students also have some other great opportunities for their students to learn and develop skills applicable to a future involving aquatics.
The facility has a wood shop where they're able to learn how to build a boat from scratch or restore one, two labs with state-of-the-art equipment to learn how to analyze soil and water quality, and study advanced chemistry, and a full fish hatchery and nursery where they raise tilapia, coy, and lobsters. We got the chance to tour each of these areas and learn how students learn in such a unique type of school.
Bridgeport, being a specialized facility, offers lots of unique courses for its students, including:
Biology and Ecology
Marine Navigation and Map Reading
Marine Safety
Applied Physics
Engine Mechanics
Seafood Science
Aquaculture
Marine Energy
Bridgeport Aquaculture School was by far the most unique school I have ever visited! What really stuck out to me here was how this school is able to create meaningful learning out of the leisure and
industry that Bridgeport was built on. Boating, fishing, and other aquatic pursuits are obviously very economically important to Bridgeport, as well as culturally important. Bridgeport Aquaculture School recognizes that and gives students a chance to really dig into the science it all.
Throughout Day 1 we learned how New England agriculture programs are able to provide students with agricultural instruction in a unique context by catering to the interests of their students, relying on community support, bringing relevant industry and culture into the classroom, and thinking outside the box, just to name a few ways!
Check out the video reflection from today, and stay tuned for more guest blogs throughout the remainder of the week as we explore New England agricultural education on #TeachAgDSA18!
Bonus: Enjoy this picture of me trying to capsize a virtual boat because I was geeking out so much:
You can virtually-engage with this experience by reading and commenting on the daily blogs and following the experience on Twitter and Facebook with our hashtag #TeachAgDSA18.
Hunter Kauffman
Guest Blogger for 6th Annual DSA (#TeachAgDSA18)
Team Leader, @TeachAgPSU Communications
The weekend of April 13-15 was an eventful one for Penn State Teach Ag as we hosted an exchange program with Michigan State University. Six students from Michigan State’s Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Education Club came to learn more about Penn State and our Agricultural and Extension Education program. The weekend filled with exciting tours, fellowship, and swapping of ag ed stories was all made possible by LEAD Society and the Center for Professional Personnel Development. The festivities kicked off with breakfast at The Waffle Shop, a Happy Valley classic. The group then had a tour of campus to learn more about our history and traditions. After exploring campus, we hopped on a big blue bus and were off to begin our day of tours. First stop, the Mushroom Research Center, to meet with the manager, Dr. John Pecchia. John shared so much with us and we were interested to learn about the practices that help PA mushroom producers to produce 2/3 of the country’s mushrooms! Our next stop was the Poultry Education and Research Center. Manager, Scott Kephart, was kind enough to take time out of his weekend to share with our group. We enjoyed touring the six buildings that make up the facility and learning more about the research and work that goes on there. The lovely spring weather was perfect for a picnic so we enjoyed our lunch break at the arboretum! And in true Penn State fashion, we followed up with a trip to Berkey Creamery. After explaining the no mixing rule and making our way through the line, our group took advantage of the sunshine and enjoyed our ice cream. Some of the MSU students even admitted that Berkey Creamery ice cream beats their Dairy Store’s ice cream! Back on the big blue bus we piled and headed out to see where our ice cream ingredients came from, the Dairy Barns. We all enjoyed meeting with the students who live and work there and learning about their day-to-day at the barns. I’ll have to admit though, our favorite part was definitely hanging out with all of the calves. Speaking of cute baby animals, our next tour was of Penn State’s Equine Facilities where we got the chance to meet this year’s group of foals. The students who work there explained to us how their annual sale operates and all of the work that goes into it. Our last tour was just across the street at the one and only, Beaver Stadium. Assistant Athletic Fields Supervisor, Nate Miller, took us right onto the field and explained the ins and outs of turf management. Not only was this tour interesting and informative, a few of us (*me) were definitely fan- girling over having the whole stadium to ourselves. After a long day of tours, we had one last stop before dinner, the Ferguson building. Jon Seaman, Program Manager, had a fun and informative workshop waiting for us; 3-D Printing in Ag Education. We all enjoyed learning more about how 3-D printing can be used in agricultural education and I know the MSU students were excited to receive their very own Spartan cookie cutters. We wrapped up a long day with dinner at The Corner Room, another State College classic, and then a movie night. Sunday morning, after reflecting over breakfast, our guests packed up and headed home to East Lansing.
All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and we can’t wait to visit Michigan State in the fall! A huge thank you shoutout to those who were willing to lead our tours, LEAD Society and the Center for Professional Personnel Development for their financial support, the students who participated and hosted, and Ms. Terra Ingram for her incredible help behind the scenes.
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!
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.
George Dietrich (@TheGeorge4H). From Green Blazers to Blue Corduroys. Cooperating Center: Cumberland Valley. Post Graduation Plans: Seeking Secondary Agricultural Education Position!
Macy Fisher (@Macy_Fisher). Macy’s Moments. Cooperating Center: Selinsgrove Post Graduation Plans: Returning to Penn State!
Michala Kuhlman(@Kuhlman_M40). The Chronicles of Becoming an Ag Teacher. Cooperating Center: Central Columbia. Post Graduation Plans: Seeking Secondary Agricultural Education Position!
Cheyenne Meyers (@MyersCheyenneN). Galloping in Ag Ed. Cooperating Center: Kennard Dale. Post Graduation Plans: Seeking Opportunity!
Katie Smith (@KatieLady1995). Emu’s in Pre-K! My AgEd Adventure. Cooperating Center: Northwestern HS. 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
Each month we like to highlight students that have gone above and beyond in their involvement in the agriculture education program at PSU! We are proud to announce that Elizabeth Winklosky was selected as April's Student of the Month! Lets learn about her adventure and accomplishments so far. Beth is currently a junior in the #psuaged19 cohort majoring in Agriculture and Extension Education with the hopes of becoming a high school agriculture educator. She started her Penn State Journey as an Ag Business major, but after returning from her year of service as a PA State FFA Officer she changed her major to Agriculture and Extension Education. She made this change because she realized that was where her passion lied. Beth is the LEAD Society Treasurer, Delta Theta Sigma Little Sitter/Professional Chair/Co-Historian, and a PSU Teach Ag Avenger. Fun Facts: Hometown: Derry, PA Graduation: 2019 Birthday: July 29, 1996 Favorite PSU Class: PA History (HIST 12) Favorite Place to Eat in State College: Otto's Favorite Athletics Team/Sport: She is not completely into sports, but was born a Steelers fan because her family love the Steelers. Favorite Hangout on Campus: Outside the creamery or anywhere outside on campus Favorite Thing at PSU: Ice Cream - the new THON flavor, Death by Chocolate, and Birthday Bash 4H/FFA: She was in 4H since she was 8, and until she couldn't be anymore. She was in FFA throughout high school and served as a PA State FFA Officer from 2015-2016
Each month we like to highlight students that have gone above and beyond in their involvement in the agriculture education program at PSU! We are proud to announce that Alicia Gates was selected as March's Student of the Month! Lets learn about her adventure and accomplishments so far.
Alicia is currently a sophomore in the #psuaged20 cohort majoring in Agriculture and Extension Education with hopes of becoming a high school agricultural educator. Alicia became inspired by agriculture education when she took her first agriculture class in high school. Through that class she had fallen in love with all aspects of agriculture and had developed relationships with many people in the Cumberland Valley FFA chapter. Her passion and understanding for the agriculture industry grew, and so did her love for the people around her. She is attending PSU majoring in Agriculture and Extension Education to mesh her passions together to make an impact on people's lives around her.
Alicia is involved in LEAD Society, Poultry Science Club, Students for Cultivating Change, Teach Ag! Avenger, Global Teach Ag Intern, Parliamentary Procedure Specialist, and traveled to Morocco with Penn State's Forestry Department.
Fun Facts:
Hometown: Cumberland County, PA
Graduation Year: 2020
Birthday: July 26
Favorite PSU Class: Forestry 488 - Global Forestry Conservation
Favorite Place to Eat in State College: Anywhere as long as she is surrounded by great people!
Favorite Athletics Team/Sport: Penn State Football, Washington Capitals Hockey
Favorite Hangout on Campus: Ferguson Building
Favorite Thing at PSU: Not the weather; thats for sure
Ms. Jillian Gordon, teacher at Clarke Central
and #psuaged15 alumni, holds up her FFA jacket.
Image courtesy of Odyssey Media Group.
Recognition of our alumni and their accomplishments is always a welcome site! We're proud to see Clarke Central High School's FFA program, headed by #psuaged15 member and 2015 Penn State alumni Jillian Gordon, featured on the cover of Odyssey NewsMagazine, Clarke Central's student-run magazine.
When Ms. Gordon was hired in the Clarke Central School District two years ago, there was no FFA program in existence. In the article published by Odyssey Media Group, she explains that one of her main goals was to build a program that provides leadership and personal growth opportunities to students that aren't already invested in other school programs. So far, she's had great success in her program and takes pride in it. Also featured in the magazine is an article about Clarke Central High School FFA's president, Jordan Butler. You can read the Odyssey article about here here.
We're proud of Ms. Gordon and all of our #TeachAg alumni and friends fostering student success across the nation!
You can follow Clarke Central FFA as they continue to do great things and build their FFA program:
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.
