WE ARE.... Seniors?

         It's crazy for me to think about that I am ACTUALLY a senior in college... I definitely do not feel this old. Becoming a Penn State Ag Ed senior has kept me busy this summer with quite a few super cool experiences. Since it has been a while since you have heard from me, let me fill you in on what you may have missed!

#PSUAgEd23 cohort's first day of school picture!

A Summer Without Cows

        If you know me, you know that I absolutely love cows (Jerseys, if you know me well). This summer was the first summer in 4 years that I was not in a parlor or a calf barn spending my whole summer a part of one of my favorite agricultural industries. Instead, I expanded my horizon to a new position: becoming a summer intern at the Mercer County Extension Office. My duties included making thousands of copies, updating 4-H flyers, being official Barnyard Olympics coordinator, raking the horse arena (one of my most favorite things), and, of course, doing anything else my boss needed help with. I had a great summer working for 4-H and the office. It was so much different than how I typically spent my summers, but I learned so much from the office staff. The most rewarding part of my summer was definitely seeing all of the pieces fit together once Mercer County 4-H Roundup came to life in August. This experience was extremely fulfilling and really helped me to realize that agriculture is much more than just waking up early and milking cows. 

The Mercer County 4-H Park; the only 4-H Park in the state of Pennsylvania!

My First State FFA Convention!

        The second week of June was one of my favorite weeks of the summer. I had so much fun with my friends, cohort, and students at state convention. Without having an agriculture program at high school, this turned to be my very first state convention. I literally had goosebumps seeing all of the blue jackets flooding the Bryce Jordan Center. I had the pleasure of attending the convention with Conneaut Area FFA and its advisor, Laura Palmer. Conneaut Area FFA and Mrs. Palmer were so welcoming and fun to be around- they made my first experience so much better. 

        I was also able to help with the Dairy Cattle Management and Evaluation CDE with Robyn Bechtel. This was also my first time having anything to do with a CDE, so it got to be a little overwhelming at times. I had a ton of fun creating a portion of the exam, and also helping with the evaluation piece of the CDE. This took place at the PSU Dairy Facilities, so I was no stranger to that. I also had fun evaluating the animals myself!

        Funny story- the Conneaut kiddos started calling Mrs. Palmer "Swaggy P" after she got married. They then started calling her husband "Drippy C". We were all sitting together in the BJC and they all turned to look at me and said, "you know, you have to have a nickname, too." Of course, I told them bring it on. I had left for 5 minutes and they came to the conclusion that my new name was "Krispy K". 

        Those students sure knew how to make me laugh. I will always be so thankful for all of them

All smiles with Conneaut Area FFA!

PAAE Conference

        The PAAE (Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators) Conference was an odd situation for me- I did not have a placement for student teaching. My original placement was to be at Conneaut Area Senior High, but Mrs. Palmer was given an awesome opportunity to teach at a school much closer to home, so this placement fell through. I am so thankful for all the time that I got to spend in Swaggy P's classroom last semester. This past January she had even brought 30 students to the Penn State Dairy Barns for a tour. That was one of my favorite times spent with CASH agriculture students. 

        At the Conference, the 2023 cohort spent quite a bit of time together, but also with their cooperating teachers. Since I did not have one at the time, I spent my time drafting practice lesson plan contracts hoping that I would be able to find another placement. I had in mind where I wanted to go, but it was a matter of the teachers being on board with having a student teacher this coming spring.

        Thankfully everything worked out the way that I was hoping, and Mrs. Jasmine VanSant agreed to host me at Pequea Valley High School in Kinzers, PA! I visited Jasmine and Mr. Doug Masser in February earlier this year and was super impressed with their program. I am so excited to have the opportunity to student teach at an incredible program with such passionate teachers. I was able to meet with Jasmine to further discuss the idea of hosting me and she has been nothing short of amazing. She is incredibly helpful and exceptionally supportive. I am so thankful for all the help she has given me and the opportunity to student teach under her guidance at Pequea Valley. 

The First Annual PSU Ag Ed Student Teacher Bootcamp

        With this being the first instructional bootcamp, we really weren't sure what to expect. We learned about accountability and dependability as many of us forgot to truly read our homework prior to bootcamp. We also participated in a mock budget meeting where three of us had to defend our positions and the agriculture program. That was an interesting exercise where we learned that in order for people to understand what we do, we have to show them why we do it. We also learned that behind every good ag program, the curriculum drives the bus. 

        Of course, we spent the first evening together in the very first PSU Ag Ed Cornhole Competition. I, for one, LOVE cornhole. I had a great time playing against my cohort members, but I had an even better time beating Dr. Foster and Dr. Curry after the tournament. Liz and I may not have won the tournament, but I know we had a super great time. 

RTL: Reflecting on Reflective Teaching

        One of the first tasks we were prompted with on Monday was choosing a random RTL (Reflective Teaching Lesson), then taking 48 hours to create a plan to teach it to our peers. 

        Upon completing this task, my initial reaction was that I could have done a better job at incorporating more learning styles into my lesson. I taught in a "call and repeat" style, so this worked great for the more outgoing students. The older I get, the more outgoing I have become. When I picture myself as a 9th or 10th grade learner, I definitely would not have appreciated this kind of lesson because I wanted to keep to myself. I liked being with partners or just a good old fashioned lecture-style lesson. 

        The lesson I taught was on the topic of Central American country mottos. There were only seven countries, so I leaned them pretty quick. But just because I learned them quickly, does not mean that my student will. This exercise definitely helped enforce the importance of patience in the classroom. In my lesson, I had come up with ways that helped me remember the motto of each country that I shared with my students. I really liked that component of my lesson because they genuinely seemed interested by the connections that I was making. As I stated earlier, I do with that I incorporated an exercise for the students that are not as outgoing as their peers- like I was when I was a freshman or sophomore in high school. 

A little excerpt from my 15 minute lesson.

          Next time, I can try asking them to partner up more frequently and come up with their own hints to help them match the motto to the correct country. Or even for the extremely independent learners, I could have a matching worksheet that they could complete for a couple minutes on their own. Regardless of the activity I choose for my next lesson, I will do better to think like I would have six or seven years ago and choose activities based on more learners than just one.

        Thinking about what I know about teaching already, I know that students become distracted very easily. That is why I had to change their state of learning after so many minutes. It is pretty hard to pay attention in class as it is, let alone pay attention to a speed lesson and being assessed on Central American mottos and location. I took time to get them on their feet and moving around the room, as well as working together in partners. I wish I would have given them more opportunity to work in pairs; this is something that I will remember for my next micro-lesson.

        

        I learned a lot of new things that I will be able to apply in my future agriculture classroom. I learned the importance of clarity- especially when giving students directions. This experience also helped me understand that students enjoy when you make real-life connections to the instructional material. That is something that I enjoy doing and will continue doing in the future. 

What's Next?

        This was week 1 of 15- we are JUST getting started! I am prepared for a busy, busy semester, being enrolled in several courses that are specifically designed to make me the best ag teacher that I can be. Along with academics, I will be busy continuing work at the Penn State Dairy Barns, riding competitively on the Penn State Western Equestrian Team, participating in the PSU FFA Alumni and Supporters, and also (finally) joining the Dairy Science Club! I am super excited for what is to come this semester as I spend these next 14 weeks alongside my cohort. 

Thanks for your endless support :) 

Krista Mathias

Spent one of my last nights before school started doing one of my favorite things:
riding Chex as fast as he can around 3 barrels :)