How do you go from where you are to where you wanna be? And I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal. And you have to be willing to work for it.
-Jim Valvano
-Jim Valvano
Lately I have been trying to spice up the classroom from the mundane work normally assigned in agriculture. The class itself is not noted for its strong in-classroom techniques, but rather a learning by doing atmosphere that takes students from the classroom to the lab and to the outside. Because of this, little professional development has been added to the classroom methods, but focuses on the combined efforts of the classroom, laboratory, and outside instruction. The Inspire Team has greatly influenced how material is presented in the classroom portion of the curriculum. Something I have started using more of is Padlet. Padlet is so simple, yet it can tell so much. Beginning the class period, I ask students to recall what was discussed the previous day and to post questions. Students are often shy when it comes to asking questions for fear of it possibly being "stupid" or simple. This allows students to post anonymously questions that might be important and may need to be visited before a test or just to answer for a general life question.
Due to the courses I teach and little places to put them, I have had to take on two preps at the same time. Environmental and Natural Resources 1 and 2. Most of my attention has to be given to the level one course because there are 26 students in it, compared to the four in the level two course. So how do I accomplish two curriculums at one time? I simply give the students the assignments and they create their products. The level two class has become skilled at keynote, now we are going to work on various presentation skills aside from keynote, powerpoint, or google slides. Expanding the students skills has become important for the current job market and college students. Being able to provide/inspire with various tools will better me as a teacher, but ultimately better the students for their lives ahead.
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