Pennsylvania Agricultural Educators Participate in Professional Development

The NAAE Agriscience Inquiry Institute (Ag I²) is a state focused professional development opportunity for Agricultural Educators to learn about inquiry-based teaching and techniques to better incorporate science into their Agricultural Education courses. This opportunity also allows for sharing of materials between educators and a chance to train future educators who will be influencing future generations of leaders in agriculture. This year, a group of Pennsylvania Agricultural Educators and the 2020 Penn State Agricultural and Extension Education cohort participated in Ag I² to learn about how to improve their teaching methods in the classroom through inquiry based instruction.

THE FACILITATORS

PA Ag I² facilitators in action.

"I have really enjoyed facilitating workshops and sharing ideas with the best educators from across the country" says Ms. Krista Pontius. Two dedicated Pennsylvania Agricultural Educators and members of the National Agriscience Ambassador Academy, Ms. Krista Pontius and Ms. SaraBeth Fulton, served as facilitators for this experience. While they both expected to share inquiry based education methods with hands-on applications that could be used in the classroom with a group of fellow Agricultural Educators, one of their favorite aspects of the experience was watching each participant realize how frustrating it can be to incorporate the five elements of inquiry into their lessons, but pushing forward to make their methods more student-centered and challenging. Each hoped that the participants were able to gain a valuable understanding of inquiry based instruction from the experience. Ms. Krista Pontius emphasized, "Inquiry is about changing the classroom from teacher centered to student centered... challenging student curiosity while improving their communication skills and increasing their confidence to share their own ideas".

THE PARTICIPANTS

PA Agricultural Educators at Ag I².

Ms. Darla Romberger shared, "Whenever a group of Ag Teachers get the chance to brainstorm and share ideas regarding content and pedagogy, it is time well spent". Ag I² allowed for growth in the minds of both experienced and first-year teachers, a trait that Ms. Victoria Brown truly appreciated about the workshops. "During my time at Penn State, I had the chance to engage in multiple professional development events centered around inquiry based learning. I knew that at Ag I² we would be working through some of the same content, but I was hoping to gain a new perspective since all of my other experiences with inquiry were pre-service." Both Ms. Darla Romberger and Ms. Victoria Brown were excited to learn new activities and gain new materials that they could add to use in their existing coursework. Apart from learning about the five essential components of inquiry (Questioning, Evidence, Explanation, Connection, and Communication), Ms. Darla Romberger stated that, "the collaboration between teachers was the most valuable and memorable portion of this workshop!"

THE SENIOR COHORT

Luke Kerstetter trying out new inquiry-based techniques at Ag I².

While this years seniors in Agricultural and Extension Education at Penn State had just taken part in professional development at the National FFA Convention and Expo, Ag I² was made a special experience none-the-less. With their student teaching internships just around the corner, #psuaged20 dived deep into the inquiry-based techniques that would enable them to have a greater impact on their students at their cooperating centers. Luke Kerstetter says, "Getting the experience of teaching an inquiry-based lesson helped me understand the method and grasp how to reign in a class to conclude the 'why' to the lesson. As educators we can never forget to explain the 'why' behind the content being taught." This professional development experience, paired with the others they have attended, have prepared this years seniors for life in their own classrooms in the future. "The ideas that became more concrete in my mind will help me in my future to be able to create a more structured system of expectations in my classroom, but one that still gives the students freedom", says Kaitlin Liszka. Each senior appreciated how Ag I² taught them how to center their classrooms around their students, giving them tools to maximize their students' potential for learning.

Taylor Halbleib

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2022

Teachers Excelling in the Workplace

Teachers Excelling in the Workplace: Darla Romberger

Pennsylvania has a number of young agricultural educators making an impact inside and the classroom. At Cumberland Valley High school, Darla Romberger co-advises more than 170 FFA members and agriculture students, helping to guide the chapter to a number of National Chapter awards, state officers, and Keystone state degree recipients. 

Cumberland Valley FFA hosted PA Secretary of Agriculture,
Russell Reading during Pennsylvania Ag and Food Careers Week

Recognition of Excellence

Ms. Romberger was recently awarded by her Alma Mater, Delaware Valley University, the Secondary Education Award during their Alumni Achievement Awards this past fall. Delaware Valley highlighted 10 individuals who had made contributions to their chosen field and who had been active in community and professional organizations.

She said that she was humbled to to have been recognized by her peers for the successful part of her ag ed journey, and shared she enjoyed being able to showcase how agricultural education is an integral part of secondary education as a whole.

Ms. Romberger was awarded the Secondary Education Award

Ms. Romberger new she wanted to be a teacher in high school because she enjoyed helping and tutoring others. This led her to pursue a degree in agricultural education. After becoming a teacher in a suburban school district, she "quickly realized the need for agricultural education literacy in science curriculum", and she gets most excited at the opportunity to expose students to the ever changing and growing agricultural industry.

Sam Loy

2021 Agriculture Teacher Candidate

Twitter Handle: @samloy_ag

December 2019 Student of the Month: Amanda Gagne (@amg6383)

Every month a student is recognized within the Agricultural and Extension Education program. A student is chosen who has demonstrated hard work and dedication to their education, major, and passions. Penn State Agricultural and Extension Education Student of December was chosen to be Amanda Gagne of Bristol, Connecticut which is also home of the famous ESPN.

Amanda came to us all the way from Connecticut where she was involved in FFA. She hails from Southington FFA Chapter where Amanda served as the chapter Parliamentarian and Vice-President. Then she went on to serve a year as the Connecticut State FFA Vice-President. Her fondest accomplishment was placing 9th at The National FFA Convention and Expo, in horse evaluation. 

Amanda’s favorite place to hang out on campus is the HUB, and her favorite sports team is Penn State Football. Her overall favorite class is Horticulture 201, which is tree climbing! Another one of her favorites is the restaurant Roots. One interesting fact about Amanda is that as a child she was in a reality TV show and in Pepsi commercials. 

With plans of graduating this Spring of 2020, Amanda will be earning her degree in Agricultural and Extension Education. After graduation, she is most looking forward to “being able to spend time with my stepdaughter as she enters FFA and Agriculture Education at our local program.” Her favorite quote that she goes by is “Everyday might not be a great day, but there is something great in everyday”. We are beyond proud of Amanda’s accomplishments and we can’t wait to see where she goes in the future. Congratulations Amanda, on being Penn State’s Agricultural and Extension Education student of December!

Morgan Bear 

Agricultural and Extension Education 

Class of 2023

November 2019 Student of the Month: Brandon Witmer (@BWitmer)

Every month a student is recognized within the Agricultural and Extension Education program. A student is chosen who has demonstrated hard work and dedication to their education, major, and passions. Penn State Agricultural and Extension Education Student of November was chosen to be Brandon Witmer, of State College, Pennsylvania.

Brandon is a senior here at Penn State planning to graduate spring of 2020. When he graduates, Brandon will have an Associate of Science in Wildlife Technology, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Extension Education and, a minor in Forestry. Brandon transferred from the DuBois Campus and has enjoyed his time here at University Park, with his favorite sports team being Penn State Football! In fact, his favorite place to hang out on campus is in Ferguson Room 115. Brandon’s favorite Penn State class is FOR 204 (Dendrology) with Dr. Steiner. Another one of Brandon’s favorites is The Waffle Shop in State College. 

Interestingly, Brandon did not participate in 4-H or FFA in high school, but that did not hold him back, what fascinated Brandon to join Agriculture Education was the connection he could make with his passion for Environmental Education. After graduating Brandon plans to continue his education into a master’s program where he said, “I want to look at how we as agricultural educators can bring environmental education into the classroom.” 

This speaks loudly and we are looking forward to what Brandon will continue to accomplish in the future. Best of luck in student teaching next semester Brandon! Check out more with Brandon by following his Instagram and Twitter handle @BWitmer20.

Morgan Bear

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2023

The National FFA Convention and Expo: A Blue and Gold Evolution

Throughout my life I have experienced the National FFA Convention and Expo a total of four times; as a senior in high school, as a Pennsylvania FFA State Officer, as a Pennsylvania FFA Delegate, and as a sophomore pursuing Agricultural and Extension Education with The Pennsylvania State University. Each trip entailed around sixteen hours in a van, a week away from home, a chance to be surrounded by blue corduroy (quite literally for three out of four of those trips), and an entirely unique experience. In joining the National FFA Organization, I was told of the incredible opportunities, growth, and brotherhood that I would be blessed with, but I was never made aware of the Blue and Gold Evolution I would personally experience until heading home from the 92nd National FFA Convention and Expo a week ago.

My first year attending the National FFA Convention and Expo, I went with my local chapter to experience the organization that gave me a passion for Agricultural Education at the national level. While I did not compete, I gained a true understanding of the scope of  FFA, made friends from across the nation, and grew closer to the members of my chapter. I could feel myself being swept up in the atmosphere of fun and fellowship as I collected signatures from one member from each US state and territory, danced during sessions, and toured a few sponsors local to Indianapolis. While I had felt a part of something larger when I first joined the Elizabethtown FFA Chapter, being at the National FFA Convention and Expo gave me tangible evidence of my individual importance in a united purpose as an FFA member.

The second milestone in my Blue and Gold Evolution built upon my newfound sense of belonging. I was a State Officer, and after studying and preparing to be blessed with the opportunity of a lifetime, after reflecting on how the National FFA Organization had taken my shy disposition and transformed it into a passionate confidence, and after feeling the rush of ecstatic joy when my name was announced as part of the new team, I was back at the National FFA Convention and Expo in an Association jacket. While I did not expect to have the opportunity to return to National Convention after graduating, I felt more a part of the organization than I had in high school. I attended every session, contributed to the delegate process, made friends with State Officers from across the nation, and was greeted by Pennsylvania FFA members with excitement. In short, I felt as if I had reached an importance that I had never had before. Not only was I part of a united purpose in FFA, but I could feel the weight of my year of service through a lack of sleep and a heart full of the friendships, memories, and opportunities that I made in that short week.

Retiring from the 2017-2018 Pennsylvania FFA State Officer Team was the most emotional experience of my life. I was overjoyed for the newly elected team and the passions and talents that they would get to experience and share with Pennsylvania FFA, but I was sad to be letting go of a position that showed me the working relationship between love and service. So, when I applied and was selected to serve as a Pennsylvania FFA Delegate with my teammate Thomas Gabel and the 2018-2019 Pennsylvania FFA State Officer Team, another opportunity to enjoy National Convention in the midst of the chaos of my freshman year was a pleasant surprise. Once more I was able to discuss the future of FFA through the delegate process, form new friendships, receive my American Degree, and talk to different supporters of the National FFA Convention. After struggling through my first semester of college at Penn State Harrisburg, completely disconnected from Agricultural Education, a week at the National FFA Convention and Expo allowed me to see the faces of students who won a Career or Leadership Development Event after months of hard work, cheer on members that I knew personally, and admire the dedication that each of the advisors present had for their students. In short,  I got to reconnect with the reasons I was pursuing a career as an Agricultural Educator.

After three years of experiencing a Blue and Gold Evolution at the National FFA Convention and Expo, I returned for the first time this year and walked the streets of Indianapolis without my blue jacket. While I did get the opportunity to participate in my first Parliamentary Procedure competition at the National ATA Conclave, I felt saddened at first; disconnected from the organization that I fell in love with during my sophomore year of high school. However, as I bonded with my Agricultural Education family, caught up with a few old friends, and watched the members around me realize their own individual importance to FFA's united purpose, I respected the feeling of separation that came over me. While some FFA members evolve to work directly in agriculture, I realized last week that my Blue and Gold Evolution led me to feel the humble disconnect of a future Agricultural Educator. Though I no longer feel like an FFA member, I am proud of this newfound separation, because FFA is no longer about the relationships that I will make and opportunities I will take, it is about them, those students beginning their own Blue and Gold Evolutions, and what they will do for the future of agriculture.

Taylor Halbleib

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2022

Connection to Industry: AgChoice Farm Credit

Over the course of this fall semester, The Center for Professional Personnel Development is connecting Agricultural Education to the industry through webinars. Each webinar will feature a different presentation and presenter. Our goal is to provide educators with resources and knowledge to better serve their students.

Industry

Our featured industry for the month of November is AgChoice Farm Credit. Some of us may know what the services AgChoice provides for its members. However, to reiterate their services, AgChoice is a member-owned cooperative that supports rural communities and agriculture with loans and financial services. They serve 10,000 customers in 52 Pennsylvania counties and four counties in West Virginia through ten branch offices. AgChoice has been providing services to its members for over 100 years. 

Presenter 

Our presenter, Ryan Davis, is the Director of Credit Administration. His overall mission at AgChoice is to establish and promote a positive credit culture. "My role is to establish and promote a positive credit culture through loan approvals, credit training, and procedures. This is accomplished through serving on our Senior Leadership Team, Credit Committee, and various other credit functions within our Association." - Ryan Davis. He had attended Messiah College where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a Finance concentration. He further went on to receive a Master in Business Administration degree from Penn State University. When asked how he became interested in AgChoice Farm Credit he stated, "I was attracted to AgChoice Farm Credit because of their strong focus on helping their customer-owners succeed in an industry that is vital to both Pennsylvania and national economy. My position combines an overall leadership focus with training and development – an opportunity to positively impact both our customers and employees."

Webinar Highlights

The webinar will focus mainly on the "5 C of Credit" - the areas of focus that are used to make a good credit decision. Through the discussion, he will also touch on factors that impact credit score and share resources that AgChoice can provide in the classroom. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, November 13th at 3:30PM follow the link to participate https://tinyurl.com/AgChoiceFarmCredit

Luke Kerstetter

2020 Agriculture Teacher Candidate

Twitter Handle: @Luke_Kerstetter

The Intern's Eye View of The World Food Prize

When I first sat down to write this post, I wanted the direction to be centered around why educators should take students to the World Food Prize to participate in the Global Youth Institute. Starting with explaining what The World Food Prize (WFP) and the Global Youth Institute (GYI) are and then move into some of my experiences that might motivate educators to want to take students or inspire students that might read this to want to attend themselves because that fits the audience of these blogs. As I began to write and really reflect upon my experience though, I've realized that's not the story that I want to be known, that's not where my deepest learning lies.

I will still start with a little bit of background on what the World Food Prize is, so that there is some understanding about the event I am referencing.

What is the World Food Prize?

The World Food Prize (WFP) is the result of the vision of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. The prize is an international honor that recognizing those who have made contribution to advancing human development through improving the world’s food supply.

The Global Youth Institute (GYI) was created in 1994 to give students a voice in creating change. 200 high school students meet and discuss issues related to food security and agriculture internationally.

You can research more about the WFP and GYI on their website: https://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/about_the_prize/

My story

I was beyond excited to be able to attend the World Food Prize in general and was even more excited to be there as part of the Global Teach Ag! Team - to learn more about Global Guides, work with the professors, etc. I honestly had not put a lot of thought into what I expected to get out of the experience beyond some networking opportunities, I just knew that I would get to be surrounded by people that I aspired to be like. People that were working towards creating global food security and loved working with youth.

The #WFPGlobalGuides Team

We talked about ‘Our Why’ a lot during the global guides program, especially in relation to digital storytelling, but also overarching as to why we were even at the WFP. I specifically remember the night we had our GlobalGuides Session in the mural room at the Hall of Laurates. I was sitting with a group of teachers and we were supposed to be telling each other about our whys. One of the teachers honed right in on me and wanted to know what my why was and honestly, I didn’t have a meaningful answer. After some prodding I came up with some words, but even as they left my mouth, they felt scripted and clique.

The beginning of the #WFPGlobalGuides session in the mural room. 

Throughout the week I slowly realized that as I’ve been wrapped up in all the busyness of my own life, trying to get to the next phase, I had somehow forgot about the part of me that has a passion for being a part of international work related to food security and safe drinking water. I have always had a desire and felt called to work to alleviate hunger, specifically in Africa. Those feelings have changed slightly throughout my life for particular reasons, but that is always where I have re-landed. That night in the mural room particularly left me in a lot of deep thought remembering these things and thinking about life reevaluation.

A different night we had a VIP guest from Corteva, who started out in Agricultural Education come talk at a GlobalGuides session. As I was in this spot of contemplating what my ‘Why’ is and since I graduate in May with not really a clue of where I want to end up, some things that she said really resonated with me. She talked about how we don’t have career paths, but instead we have career adventures.

The speaker from Corteva. 

My education path has already really been an adventure, and attending WFP was a piece in that story. I think that throughout the next few years as I start my post-graduation career adventure, I will really get to look back at my week spent learning from everyone around me at the WPF and see that it played a pivotal role in where I end up. Not necessarily because of all the information that I took in, but because of the people I met and the fact that in its own way, it made me slow down. It’s crazy to think that through the whirlwind of chaos that taking another week away from classes caused in my life, that I could have slowed down, but during that bubble of time WFP, actually forced me to slow down and ask myself what I am truly passionate about and how I can make those passions and my career collide. Looking past what everyone around me is doing and where they expect me to end up.

I left the World Food Prize even more confused as to what my own future holds, but I also left encouraged and filled with hope for our future because of the amazing, motivated, and caring people that I was blessed to spend my week surrounded by, and with the reignited belief in the power of education. Most importantly though, I left that week with a deeper understanding of my own ‘Why’.

Kaitlin Liszka

#PSUAgEd20

@KaitlinLiszka

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