Alpacs and Cattle on this Exciting SAE Visit

Alpacas and Cattle on this Exciting SAE Visit

Reflective Blog Post on the Implementation of SAE Visits Part One

Visit One: Bent Pine Alpaca Farm

For this SAE visit I got the chance to visit and work with two individuals at once. Two of the students at Cumberland Valley both work at the Bent Pine Alpaca Farm.  Here they both have "Exotic Animal" SAE Projects where they raise and maintain alpacas.  This SAE for both of them started off as 4-H animals but then progressed once they got to high school to be full fledge FFA SAE projects.

Prior to the trip we coordinated with both students to make sure they were there and ready for our visit.  Prior to the trip I got the addresses of both visits and collected a notepad and pen so I could take notes while I was on the road as well.

The primary goal of this trip was to record information for them to both work on possible proficiency applications.  What I enjoyed about the visit was getting to see the work ethic the students have outside of the classroom.  The students talked my ears off even though it was the dead of winter and very cold outside. Through listening to both students I learned about what their responsibilities each are at the farm, how they work with the animals, which animals were theirs. It was neat seeing how two students had so much knowledge and were able to explain the happens of the farm.

What was also cool was each of these students were seniors so I asked them both how this SAE aligns to their planned careers. The one plans on learning more about animal management to one day have their own herd and breed their own cria (young alpaca). The other also wants to do more with animals as well.

What was neat with this visit is the visit let me see how to best evaluate SAE Projects.  I was able to effectively gauge the students understanding of the project which was something that I originally did not expect.  When it comes to evaluating SAEs its not about giving them a summative grade its also about how the student utilizes their experience as well.

Finally the students are graded every marking period on their completion of AET Records for their SAE projects.  This allows the teacher to check up on all SAEs without having to be on site at all times.  It is important to remember that with SAEs that students should have them but the students need to want to have them as well.

To Be Continued . . .