Ag Careers and Career Opportunities

This past week I had taught three days at Juniata Valley High School to get a real feel of what it is like teaching high school students. Throughout this week I was challenged by several distractions in the classroom that steered my instruction in different ways. Getting this experience has helped me realize what I need to work on to be a better teacher during student teaching. 

What happened?
Throughout this week I was teaching about ag careers and career opportunities in the world. The first day I delivered instruction on what students should take into consideration when planning for a career. I hit on the big ideas of personal interest and dispositions that would influence their successfulness in a career. The second day was for the students to research a desired career that matched to their personal inventory they complete the previous day. The research was to prepare them for the third day, which was presentation day on what they had found. I think the week went well, however, I personally need to improve on delivering better instructions as well as reading over my handouts before I give them to students. One reoccurring issue/distraction this week that was hard to overcome was kittens in the classroom. During the course of my three days there were kittens in the classroom that would become a distraction in which I couldn't control due to the teacher creating that distraction. Another thing I need to work on is classroom management with a distraction.

How does this relate?
All this week I was teaching in an actual high school setting which correlates to teaching and learning directly. I had the opportunity to feel what it is like to stand up in front of a high school classroom and teach students about a topic.

What did I learn?
I learned that I need to improve my teaching strategy if I am going to make it through student teaching. I also learned that students are not widgets and each need individualized help when doing research. It may be just to get an idea of where to start or how to find a career that is similar to research. Teaching high school students is so different then the mock labs we have had all semester. It is the real deal so things can go awry quickly.

Application
To apply all that I have learned this week, I will be able to strengthen my weak areas during student teaching in order to shape me to be the best Agriscience teacher I can be.