Peer Program Observation

Differences in Ag Ed Programs - #PSUAgEd18 Successes


Going to visit Ms. Balmer, fellow member of #PSUAgEd18, I was nervous as to what to expect.  Ms. Balmer is student teaching in Tri-Valley High School home to the Tri-Valley FFA Chapter.  Here are my notes I learned while visiting.

Ms Balmer Teaching in her classroom

Gender Differences

At Cumberland Valley School District I am teaching a a ratio of 4:1 Female:Male students.  At Tri-Valley that is the complete opposite.  As a result the classroom environment is very different.  Boys, especially high school boys, tend to forget to be professional which leads to them often saying or doing something inappropriate in class.  The big thing I saw was how Ms Balmer had complete control of that behavior.  The boys knew the rules and knew what needed to be done for class.

I know that every program is different but one thing I learned is that sometimes you don't know what to expect till you come into the program.  Fleixibility is key especially as a younger teacher.

Supplies

Something to consider is what supplies you already have in your Ag Department.  The first thing I noticed at Tri-Valley, they have VHS tapes as resources. In fact the entire back wall is old folders of lessons. I think that is interesting considering that for CV a lot of the stuff we do is digital.  It is pretty cool seeing all the old lessons and old styles of teaching.

Department Setup

Another cool thing to consider is that the classroom is between the wood shop and the metal shop.  In order to get into the classroom you have to go into the one of the shops to get into the classroom.  This is a little weird which means Ms. Balmer greets her students in the hallway and directs them into the classroom.

This program was cool to see and to see how it compares to the program I am working in.  The one thing I saw that was the same.

Ms Balmer Teaching in the Wood Shop Class

Ag Students would rather be in an Ag Class then a General Class.  

Being an Ag Teacher for a semester, I think that is because of who we are as Ag Teachers just as much as the curriculum is what they want to learn.

To Be Continued . . .

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