And Thats It folks!

Mock Interview @ Bellwood-Antis!

Whenever contacting Mr. Schreier at the high school, I felt pretty nervous! I'm not sure why I was nervous about it, I have talked to him often over the past 15 weeks! It was time for my interview, I went to his office, shook hands and I sat down and started answering his questions. 

Once I started answering questions, I felt comfortable answering and it felt more as a discussion than an interview. I had the very general questions asked like:

1. Please tell us about your education and work experience. 
2. How would you describe a successful teacher?

These questions are generic, but it gives the interviewer a good idea of what type of person, and what type of educator you are. The first question is a little bit tricky to answer because, as a student teacher, I don't have much experience as a teacher! I always try to link my job experiences back to Ag. mechanics as well as my teaching experiences. 

I got asked, " a boy in your class is struggling. He is not completing homework, is distracted in class and is demonstrating learning delays. What steps would you take to address this student". I said that I would sit the student down and figure out what was going on with his work... Figure out if he needs to find alternate work. I would also make sure that the student knew I cared and would be open to talk and discuss anything that he needed. 

Overall, I thought that I did well throughout this mock interview! I got a lot of good pointers from Mr. Schreier on how to improve my interviewing skills! One thing he said was, "I appreciate that you are not a rambler. You get right to the point, but still answer the question". I enjoyed this mock interview and one last talk with the principal before I am done student teaching here at Bellwood! 

I have a lot to work on, but the only way to get better is to practice! I look forward to interviewing for my "dream job" sometime in the future! 

Thanks! 

 

Mike Swartwood

Taking Notes From Honors Physics...

So it started, I made the venture upstairs to the science section of the high school... I have met a few teachers earlier in the year and I already knew which teacher I wanted to visit. I have not ran into a teacher in Bellwood who was not open to helping me, so I wasn't really worried about asking to observe the class! I went to her room and asked if it would be possible to set up a time, and she showed me her schedule. I decided that I was going to visit her College Honors Physics class, if the students pass the class, and the tests that go along with it, they receive 4 credits from University of Pittsburgh! I thought that it would be fun and informing to watch this class full of intelligent seniors!

The lesson title for the day was, " Why do people hear sounds differently than others"? ...this really got me thinking and I did not actually know the answer! I found out that the answer was the Doppler effect and that people hear things differently because of the pitch and frequency of the sound waves! The teacher had a "pill" that made a siren noise... she turned it on in front of the class and everyone agreed that it did not change tones and that it was a steady "volume".

Students stand in a circle, listening to the pitch of the "pill"
as the teacher swings it around in circles, explaining why
it sounds the way it does! How fun! 

Next, we transitioned outside where the teacher tied the "pill" to a string and started spinning it around in a circle; the "pill" started to make a siren noise...but how, we already agreed that the pitch stayed the same?! I thought the demonstration was a great way to get students interest and to help them understand sound waves and how they work! 

This teacher did a lot of things that I liked, here are some of those things: 

1. I liked that the teacher displayed the objectives on the board, this gave me a good idea of what the lesson was going to be about and it started the thinking process!
2. I liked that the teacher had a demonstration, for me, using a demonstration like that is the best way to learn! I also liked getting out of my seat and going outside for about 5 minutes! 
3. The teacher was fun, she was very easy to get along with and she had most of the students attention throughout the whole class!
4. The teacher never "gave" the students information, she used questioning and examples to "pry" the information out of students... the students seemed to enjoy the class period! 

As some may know, physics is definitely not my strongest subject! It was nice to see an experienced teacher in action, teaching a different course of study! 

Mike Swartwood

Riparian Buffers and Stream Quality!

As everyone probably knows by now, at the start of student teaching, I was not the most Agricultural Science savvy person! Working with Mr. Webreck has been very beneficial for me and he has taught me a lot! I have also learned a lot from the Blair County Conservation District while working on my Community Based Unit Of Instruction (CBU) alongside them!

Mr. Webreck and myself decided to work with the conservation district on a riparian buffer project at the Bellwood-Antis Community Park! We agreed that it would be a great learning experience, and a great way to promote the FFA in the community if we worked on this project with the conservation district. Money from this project came from a grant that the conservation district applied for! The supplies that were needed was figured out by the conservation district, and Bellwood-Antis High School. All of the supplies and equipment will be provided by the conservation district, as well as the community! It is nice to work with such a helpful group of people who want to see this years riparian buffer become a success! 

The conservation district has came to Bellwood-Antis High School numerous times throughout the semester, prepping the students for the tasks they will have come May 2nd! The guest speakers have done a great job teaching the students...and me about the impacts riparian buffers can have on an area! Through pictures, field trips, demonstrations, and simulations, I feel that this project is going to be a success whenever it comes time to execute!

Here is an example of  what a riparian buffer does and an example
of how it should be executed. 

Not only are we helping plant trees in the park, our students will be running "stations" that teaches sixth grade students about riparian buffers, surface runoff, and stream quality indicators! Each station will have a group of agriculture students who will have demonstrations and a handout for the (hopefully) future Ag. students! 

I wish I could come back and help with the execution of this project, but sadly, I will be in Delaware with the rest of #psuaged16 for our induction seminar! 

Until Next Time,

Mike

Insight From The South-Central PAAE

What is PAAE you might ask? PAAE stands for the Pennsylvania Association of Agriculture Educators; in order to be a part of the organization, you must pay dues every year! After a long drive to Cumberland Valley High School, Mr. Webreck and myself arrived at the South-Central PAAE meeting! Although Bellwood-Antis is located in Blair county, we are still considered part of the South-Central region! As you may have guessed, these meetings are not necessarily the most fun thing to be at, but they are necessary and informative! I find it very interesting how seasoned Ag. teachers handle all of their responsibilities!

While at the meeting, I got to see fellow student teachers Matt Holt, Jenna Timmons, Katie Andrews, and Kelsey Henry! It was nice to see so many familiar faces at a meeting like this!

There were a few main topics of interest for the night. These topics included the PAAE Summer Conference, Center of Dairy Excellence, and Mr. Schott Shelly from the Workforce Development! Here is what we learned about each:
PAAE Summer Conference: 

• This years PAAE conference will be held at Midd-West High School! I attended the 2015 summer conference which was held at Tyrone Area High School; this was a fun and informative day!

Center For Dairy Excellence: 

• The Center For Dairy Excellence sent one of their representitvies to share cool ideas and resources that they offer for Agriculture teachers! One of the coolest ideas was that they could actually receive a certificate in dairy herd management. 

Workforce Development: 

• Workforce Development is ensuring that students are being best prepared for what awaits them in the future, especially after they graduate high school.

Although I did not arrive back to State College until midnight, I had a good evenings at Cumberland Valley High School with Mr. Webreck, fellow student teachers, and veteran teachers 

from the South-Central Region! Any time spent on the road with 

Mr. Webreck will guarantee some laughts!  

Until Next Time, 

Mike

New and Beginning Teachers!

New and beginning teachers, that's me... As usual, Mr. Webreck and myself got into his truck one night and were headed down the road! We went to Indiana, PA where we went to the New and Beginning Teacher Dinner at Hoss's; there were a lot of great resources shared that night from other new teachers, as well as Mr. Ron Frederick from the Center for Professional Development.

After a great meal, that only costed me one "resource to share", we shared out our ideas and resources. I decided that I was going to bring a "bolt tractor", we are using these for center pieces at the FFA banquet on April 28th! I felt that the other guests weren't getting their moneys worth from that idea, so I also packed a trailer D-Ring Tie down plan that would work for a students metalworking/welding project.

Overall, mostly every face was familiar, but I did meet a couple new teachers and strengthen relationships with the teachers I do know! Having to attend these meetings can seem like a pain in the butt at times, but it is worth it! It is worth it because other Ag. teachers from around the state get to know you, and will be more willing to help you! No matter what you decide to do, it is always important to build relationships with others! I am thankful for great mentors in this wonderful profession!

It was nice to share ideas and laughs with other teachers from across the state! I look forward to more encounters like this! 

Until Next Time, 

Mike Swartwood

SAE Visit #2

My second Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE) visit of the semester was April 12. Mr. Webreck and myself went to one of our students houses where he keeps a record book on 6 chickens that he raised. The student originally got 2 chickens from the school last year during the poultry unit whenever they incubated eggs. The student then got 4 more chicks and added them to his coop. 

What I liked: 

1. I thought that this was a simple, but good SAE for this student. He keeps track of how many eggs he gets per day and how much feed he goes through each week. The student takes very good care of his chickens, making sure they have food, water, and lets them out of their coop each day. I found it funny how the chickens followed him around the yard and let him pick them up whenever he wanted. 
2. While I was there, I got to meet the boys father. This was a unique opportunity because it allows you to make a more personal connection with the student and the family. I embrace every opportunity that I get to know a student outside of the classroom setting; FFA events and SAEs are great opportunities to do so!

Whenever talking with the parent, it was nice to hear them talk about the great things that this SAE has led to for the student. The parent said that it really taught the student responsibility and money management skills!

Besides keeping a record book on his chickens, this student has his own DJ business! He has done weddings, school dances, birthday parties and more! I think that it is awesome that he owns his own business at just 16 years old! It truly saddens me that I did not grow up with FFA in my high school! I feel that I could have been a better citizen and a better all-around person!