University Supervision....

Looking back, this week was a really good week. I feel that it was constructive and useful for not only me, but I think my students learned a lot and had fun doing it. First, I learned a lot from Mr. Webreck and got some awesome tips from Dr. Rice whenever she was here for my FIRST observation of the semester. I'll admit, I was a little bit nervous for her to come visit Bellwood- Antis, but once she was here, it was like being in AEE 412 lab all over again and I felt calm!

Every week so far, we have had at least 1 two hour delay...starting this week out with a delay was "refreshing" and allowed me to get caught up with a little bit of school work and also some sleep. Picking up Ag. Science II was a little bit nerve racking for me because my strong suit is definitely mechanics, and to make it even worse, I was taking over the dairy unit... not something I am overly familiar with. Once I got rolling with the class and talked to Mr. Webreck about what he usually does, its a breeze. I just keep telling myself that I only have to be one day smarter than my students.

As you can see, there was a lot of feedback given
from Dr. Rice...Some was good, and some was
constructive!

My second period class is Ag. Mechanics I and is filled with mostly freshman boys, which is actually a lot of fun! They keep me on my toes and test me to see if I can demonstrate exactly what I am teaching. Today was a fun day, I was demonstrating the shielded metal arc welder (SMAW) and the students finally got to get their hands on the machine they have been itching to try out! I have not welded too much lately and was a little nervous that I wouldn't be on my game, but luckily, I was on. If I wasn't up to par on my welding today, they definitely would have let me know! Many students who thought they were going to jump right on a welder and make it look easy found out that it wasn't as easy as they were hoping! I am actually glad that I have a class that needs help welding...

This thursday, Dr. Rice came to visit me and observe how I am doing. It was a great experience having her here and I enjoyed the time spent with her at "my" school. She gave me a lot of pointers to work on such as:

1. Addressing to students the"need to know" of the lesson.
2. State the objectives at the beginning of class in a better way.
3. Show more confidence!

I plan on working on these things for my next observation and i'm glad that I have such great people helping me improve! Things can only get better from here! 

Have a Good Weekend,

Mr. Swartwood