Saturday, September 26, 2015

The First Day of School- AEE 412 Lab

Welcome to Intro. to Agriculture!

Today, I played the role of the Agriscience instructor on the very first day of school. I rewatched my RTL lab, revisited my Learner Satisfaction Forms from the previous lab, thought about the different teaching techniques and E-moments we have learned in these last few weeks, and I decided on what I wanted to do for my "First Day of School". Overall, I wanted to keep the lesson flowing. I did not want a lot of "awkward" pauses. 


As a left-brained introvert, I can tell you that I struggle with words and keeping the conversation going. It took me a while to get comfortable in a 4-H meeting to try and keep things going, so I struggled with building up my confidence levels to relax enough in the classroom; however, I put on my big girl pants and thought to myself  'Go ahead and be that teacher who swims on the classroom floor. The only ones who with judge you are the students.' I thought back to our summer reading,Teach Like a Pirate, for inspiration on the first day of school.


After reviewing my recording, and watching a few of my peers videos, I realised that I did not do a perfect job. There are many areas that I could definitely improve such as:

1. My Objectives. Although I feel that my objectives were adequate, they were written on the corner of the board (was not very smart as some students probably struggled to view them). I also completely forgot to read my objectives! Surely, it did cross my mind afterwards that I didn't verbally say my objectives (perhaps it was my nerves where they skipped over that part). I do give myself credit for not forgetting to post them on the board though!

2. Organization. At the very beginning of this semester, I vowed to myself to maintain organization with my classes. Looks like I need to take a bit more time to actually think out where I am going to place the different activities into my lesson. The introduction activity probably should have been placed at the beginning of the class period, and my interest approach could have definitely ran a bit smoother.

3. Clarity. Ok, my introduction activity was a bit confusing. Rewording my instructions would have probably saved me some time. Also, as someone who struggles in typical daily communication I need to make sure I have clear and concise statements. 

Well, with that being said, I did not have a horrible lesson. All of my feedback stated that I had great enthusiasm and a passion for the subject. It makes me so glad that my passion for agriculture actually came through to others during my lesson. Apparently, my presence was one of the positives too. Makes me glad that I have the potential to actually become one of those Agricultural Teachers one day.

For my next lab, I know that I need to take more time in mentally preparing myself, I must not forget to mention any of the important details (such as objectives), start practicing more of my communication skills outside of the classroom that way I am better prepared inside the classroom, and be confident in my teaching ability!

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