What's New? Eastern PAAE Regional Meeting at Conrad Wieser
- Apr 20, 2023
- 2 min read
What is PAAE?
PAAE is the Pennsylvania Association of Agriculture Educators. In PA there are 4 Regions: Eastern, South Central, Western, and Northern. My student teaching site (Selinsgrove) and my future job site (Mifflinburg) are both within the Northern Region. A few times a year each region will gather, have dinner, and discuss all the new information within the realm of agriculture education. At these meetings, they talk about FFA, SAE, and classroom instruction.
Eastern Meeting
Unfortunately, due to a scheduling conflict, I was unable to attend the Northern Region meeting so I was able to attend the Eastern meeting. The eastern meeting was held at Conrad Wieser High School, which is the first time I got to see the inside of the school. The counties within the eastern region include Lancaster, Lebanon, Chester, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, Philly, Schuylkill, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Berks.
I really got to enjoy my time meeting with my cohort members within this region and also get to meet and talk to other agriculture teachers from this region. Since I did not leave the region that I grew up in I don't often get a lot of exposure to teachers outside the region, so it was very nice to be able to talk and connect with them to grow my network. I also really enjoyed getting to hear about some of the events that the Eastern region does in comparison to the Northern Region.
Main Takeaway
Back in the Fall before starting student teaching, we were able to attend the Northern meeting as a cohort. At that meeting, I had no idea what they were talking about during the meeting and couldn't directly relate to any of the information. But, this time I was viciously taking notes because now I have been exposed to the content through student teaching and understood what they were talking about most of the time. It really made me realize how much I still have to learn because I understand the lingo, but it is still very overwhelming. As I expressed my concerns to some other teachers they made it very prominent that I have their support to help me through getting started as a teacher.
Grace, What about Jacob's practice as a teacher would you want to bring back with you to central PA?
Grace, Why do we take students out of school for events like ACES?
Grace, What were your recommendations for the student to improve and grow their SAE?
Grace, I really liked how split your blog up into the major takeaway sections this week, and how you mentioned some really important highlights and key information. I couldn't agree more about classroom management. It is super hard to manage students and help them all when we are trying to learn and get comfortable with content and just learning the ins and outs of a classroom. But with time I think we can become pros! :)
Grace, I fully agree with your point that students will get frustrated when they are rushed but get bored fast if they are done early. I think that pacing element will come with time. Also, your point about making time for reflection and making those connections! Super important and one of those cases when we have to stop students working and recap, because if we don’t they miss the point or the “why” behind it all. Great job Grace! -Nicolette
Grace,
I think that this lab shows a great example of a time where students will have to show their problem solving skills in their real life. Not only was this lab beneficial it also was memorable. I hope I can use a lesson like this in my future program. Great job!
Grace, I loved your idea for this week's lab and problem solving approach. I greatly enjoyed it, and I am sure that in a more authentic experience taking this into the classroom that your students will love it even more!! You rocked it out of the park! The connection and motivation between the food and your lesson was awesome.
Grace I am incredibly jealous of your students! You are super innovate, passionate, and willing to meet students where they are. I thought the take-away from this lesson was DELICIOUS! Super job as always!
Grace,
You are great at reflecting! Way to organize your blog and give background to what we have learned in class! I look forward to hearing the answer of your question about re-approaching a topic students are not grasping.
Way to go this week!
Liz
Grace,
I really loved your reflection on the lessons you learned from this week's lesson. I also really like that you are willing to take a different approach to meet your students' needs. Awesome job!