Session 25 - Partner Mgmt - Videos

Zoom Session with National FFA Alumni 

 

 New Richmond Perspective

   

 Confessions of an AgriTeacher Educator

Google Hangout: Dr. Nina Crutchfield, National FFA LPS - CDES

National FFA SAE Videos (2016)

We’re excited to share that new supervised agricultural experience (SAE) videos are now available on FFA.org!

Use the videos below as introductory educational and promotional resources that highlight SAEs and the FFA experience.

These videos were filmed at two locations. The first six are compiled interviews with teachers and members who attended the 88th National FFA Convention & Expo. FFA member Tiffany Heishman gave such a great interview, we decided to visit her in Virginia to learn more about her smaller, unique SAE and share her story with other FFA members. Tiffany, along with members from Strasburg FFA, helped us film the six subsequent SAE profiles. Her FFA advisor is featured in the last.

SAEs: Project Ideas

SAEs: The Discomforts (Challenges)

SAEs: The Joys (Highlights)

How FFA and SAE Impact Our Futures: Preparing Us

How FFA and SAE Impact Our Futures: The Experience

What Does Agriculture Mean?

Tiffany Heishman – SAE – Goats

Nathan McDonald – SAE – Woodworking

McKenzie Kline – SAE – Rabbits

Abbey Rinker – SAE – Horse Showing

Hannah Orndorff – SAE – Aeroponics

Ashley Yanego – SAE – Floral Shop

Brian Fisher – SAEs – An Advisor’s Perspective

With the last seven videos, viewers will see a brief description and follow-up questions they can use to process the information. These videos can also be accessed by going to the Classroom Videos section under Educational Resources on FFA.org. We hope to be able to create more spotlight videos in the near future.

If you have any questions, please reach out to education@ffa.org.

Guest Blogger Series: Why, How, What? Program of Activities

The classic FFA activities: fundraisers, recruitment events, food drives, annual chapter banquet, etc. What's the purpose? It's not about what we do, it's about why we do it. Simon Sinek's golden circle is a great way to put this into perspective.

Why?
FFA activities and events are catalysts of change that transform perspectives, habits, career ambitions, and relationships in an authentic and intentional way. Our purpose is to grow and empower students. With guidance, students develop and deliver their own learning experiences through a chapter's program of activities (POA). Planning and executing a quality POA at the local level is powerful.

How?
Success is the result of creative planning and detailed preparation. To invest in chapter success, students set goals and plan the necessary steps to accomplish these goals. By engaging in the development and delivery of a quality POA, students develop leadership and planning skills which are essential in all careers. The key to a quality POA is getting every member involved. The steps to develop and implement a successful POA are outlined in four steps:

• Plan: The POA should be organized by using student committees. The number of committees and committee structure varies by chapter. The chapter vice president is tasked with coordinating the work of committees and every member should serve on at least one committee.
• Develop: Once committees are formed, the POA can be developed. Planning forms are available to aid in the development of the POA. These forms make it easy to write the rough draft by hand, present the plan to the chapter for approval or amendment and prepare the POA for distribution.
• Do: Once the POA is developed and approved by members, the next step is for committees to plan each activity and event. What steps are necessary to achieve the goals approved by members? Make it happen!
• Reflect: Plans are useless without implementation. The POA is a tool used to help the chapter meet members' needs and interests. Reflection is an ongoing process. The POA should be reviewed and reflected upon regularly.

What?
The POA assists in defining chapter goals, outlining steps needed to meet those goals and acts as a written guide to provide a calendar of events the chapter will follow in the year ahead for administrators, advisory committees, alumni and other stakeholders. Every year each FFA chapter takes time to plan ways to provide engaging opportunities focused on growing leaders, building communities and strengthening agriculture.

There are a variety of resources available to aid in the planning, development and delivery of a local program of activities. These include:

• POA Resource Guide - 15 page resource that walks a user through planning, developing, doing and reflecting on a program of activities.
• POA Planning Forms - these four forms are available in PDF and Word. Examples and instructions are included in the POA Resource Guide.
• National Chapter Award Program handbook - this includes information, a scoresheet and rubric for the National Quality FFA Chapter Standards as well as everything needed to be successful in the National Chapter Award Program.
• Chapter Success Guides - each year, a magazine is created to showcase the national finalists in the national chapter award program. These exceptional chapters are planning, developing, delivering a quality program of activities and reflecting on their experiences in a purposeful way. The 2015 guide is a great immediate resource. The 2016 guide will be available in the spring of 2017 and will feature Midd-West FFA of Pennsylvania!

For more information  please visit www.ffa.org/nationalchapter or contact nationalchapter@ffa.org.

Session 11: What Does Inclusion Mean?

Today in AEE 311 we talked all about inclusion!  Ms. Megan Tanaka spoke with us today about making an effort toward "intentional inclusion", a powerful concept!  Finally, we wrapped class up with 6 different lists to help us create a poem based on our own personal culture; as we know, we can't fully understand the culture of our students without first understanding our own culture!

What are you curious about?

• Is the data collected at National Convention made public?
• Lessons that I could use the sunglasses activities for?
• Be creative!  Inclusion is important in any class but maybe an FFA Leadership class would be a great fit for the lesson!  Or, consider this for a segment on inclusion in the FFA during your FFA Officer retreat. 
• How can we get the "We Are FFA" experience at our state convention?
• To see how my poem will turn out
• We can't wait to hear them all!
• The "We Are FFA" program
• Why did the "We Are FFA" program start?
• Can you change a student's views on diversity when they grew up in a racist household?
• This is a tough questions.  I believe that as teachers we may not always have the ability to change a student's circumstances but we can always provide a safe, constructive, culturally rich learning environment for each one of our students.
• Student recruitment ideas
• Is there a proper network for teacher and students to put program information and share ideas?
• Why yes there is!  Check out this blog about using NAAE Communities of Practice as an AEE 311 student!
• Are members or officers supposed to create the POA?
• Officers should consider the needs and desires of the members but the POA should be developed by the officer team, likely at the officer retreat 
• Can we have more peer to peer or big group discussions?

What did you learn?

• More about intentional inclusion at the national level
• Equity & Anti-racism
• About Megan Tanaka's role at National FFA
• "We Are FFA"
• Diversity in the classroom
• Local involvement with the "We Are FFA" program
• Not to put Vaseline on sunglasses...
• Empathizing with students with disabilities

What do you want to learn more about?

• How to use the "We Are FFA" program locally?
• What is an example lesson of inclusion?
• How did Dr. Foster include others and their diversity into his FFA chapter?
• More about Ms. Tanaka's position
• More about reaching the needs of all students
• Strategies for classroom inclusion
• Ms. Tanaka's Contact info
• mtanaka@ffa.org 

This week there was a lot of great questions about inclusion and the "We Are FFA" program!  I think that the resources listed below can answer a lot of these questions and I encourage you to really dig in and check them out!

FFA LifeKnowledge: Check out this link to a list of a ton of lesson plans that include elements of diversity and inclusion.  One of my favorites is the HS.72 : Appreciating Cultural Diversity lesson


Student Recruitment: Check out some of the resources that National FFA provides for student recruitment strategies 

Check out this video on the "We Are FFA" Program for some more info!

Session One - What is expected of us and what do we get to do!

Today's lesson went great, thanks for all the interaction and input on what can be accomplished from being a great leader. Throughout this semester we are going to learn about what it takes to run an organization to its full potential.

Ticket Out responses for Session 1:

• What are we curious about?
• Effective ways of advising/starting an FFA Chapter.
• On Tuesday September 2nd, Doug Brown will be in to talk about advising a FFA chapter. 
• Also on September 16, you will learn how to select and train quality chapter FFA officers.
• How can we apply what we will learn in 311 to other organizations/groups?
• Like Dr. Foster explained in class today, everything that we learn in AEE 311 can be used in any youth or adult organization. You will learn more about this as the semester continues. 
• What is FFA all about?
• Tuesday, September 9th, you will learn all about FFA and what it has to offer each of you. 
• How can I develop my own skills as a youth leadership leader?
• Through the semester and your time at Penn State you will have the chance to become part of a group. It is what you put into each activity that you do that will make you a better leader. 
• My peers and their past experiences!
• Keep coming to class and interacting!!!!
• What are the fun projects and assignments that are required of us?
• All assignments are outlined in detail in the assignment handbook. If questions are still arising then take the time on Thursday during the bellwork to write them down. Dr. Foster is going to answer all questions during class. Also, you have a TA assigned to each assignment to help if any questions should arise at a different time. 
• Learning how to develop youth outside of such a structured organization like FFA.
• Keep coming to class!
• CDE's, SAE planing and the POA
• These assisgnments are outlined in the assignment handbook. You may also contact your TA's or Dr. Foster. Also there is at least 2 class sections focused on each topic to give you a better understanding. 
• How can experiential education happen in the classroom together, not only in SAE but in class as well?
• This class will help but AEE 412 will be the focused methods course. 
• How do you motivate students who do not care about their grades or class and/or students who are disruptive 
• By showing that you are excited/devoted to the topic will help get students involved. Find what makes the students want to learn and go from there. Each class and group of students is different.
• What did we learn today?
• There is a great instructional team to help us throughout the semester
• A way to integrate leadership skills into classes
• Foster likes (should say loves) Technology!
• Even know youth leadership is very important today, there are stills problems that need to be fixed
• What to expect from the class and the pace in which topics will be discussed 
• Many important factors of Leaderships 
• A new resource to use in my future classroom (The TA challenge sheets)
• Everyone has a different background !!!
• That group projects encourage learning by being thrown into a different environment that leaves a positive impact on others
• The same book is used for AEE 100 and AEE 413!!!!
• What do you want to learn more about?
• Different ways to go about completing assignments 
• Each assignment is going to be explained during the class section that has to do with that assignment. The great thing for your class is you have TA's helping that have done these assignments so we will be able to give you insight when you come to us with questions. Just one word of advise, stay on top of getting your work done. 
• FFA and other organizations that I can do to gain experience/knowledge outside of this class 
• One great thing about being a Penn State students is you have the opportunity to become a part of many groups/clubs. Attending meetings and see how they are ran. 
• CFFA and Teach AG are two great clubs that AEE/College of Ag Science has to offer. More details about these clubs will be announced in class. 
• What materials do I need to bring to class each day?
• Bring a pencil, notepaper and your book to class every day. If technology is needed we will let you know the class before hand. 
• Learn more about being a successful leader.
• Well, you are signed up for a great class then. We will discuss everything leadership and how to become better leaders. Keep coming to class!!
• How can I utilize my strengths more effectively in being a leader?
• This comes with practice. When in a group, be heard. Do not be afraid to try new things. See what works for the group. 
• How to obtain resources that I could use in my classroom.
• Dr. Foster will always being using different resources throughout the semester. He will let you know where you can order them from. 
• CDE planing 
• The following class session is devoted to talking about CDE's and how to plan/couch students: October 14th. You will also explore ways of planning CDE's when working on your assignment. 
• Getting students interested in SAE's
• The following class sessions are devoted to talking about SAE's: October 16, October 21, and October 23
• Are SAE's all online now?
• Yes and no. Most schools are changing to The AET which is online. However, there are still a few schools that still use the excel sheets. 

For next class session:

1. Make sure you review the syllabus and assignment handbook and come with specific questions. This will be your bellwork/Do Now for the day. 
2. Read the Adolescent Theories that you picked up on your way out the door today. 
3. Bring a digital devise (ipad, laptop) with wireless capability to explore The AET.

Session 20 - Follow-up to degrees and proficiency awards (KIVA)

What are you curious about?
What was the answer to project versus program?

• A project is a singular project (research project, animal, etc.), and a program is the complete package of taking the projects that students complete and make it a more comprehensive SAE.

New assignment/changed assignment?

• Look for an email describing where to find the information on the changed assignment.

More on AET?

• Coming next week!

Could requiring an SAE make a student not want to take Ag?

• Yes, and that is o.k. If a student loves soccer, but doesn't want to be on defense at times, then they don't play/join, because even if you are a striker you better be willing to be part of the entire program/game.

How many PA ag. teachers complete SAE visits?

• The ones that understand how it helps a student develop make the time to do this important aspect of the program.

Will I be able to find all of the degrees on the FFA page?

• You should be able to do this, but it not, please feel free to talk with classmates and/or the instructors!

How do students process starting a new SAE?

• You as the advisor need to work with the student to find out their interests and abilities at that point in their education. You then work with them to develop beyond that point, using the SAE program.

What did you learn?

Program versus project

More about SAE

You can get a free pin from National FFA

New assignment sounds AWESOME

Proficiency awards

That I need to connect my curriculum and SAE

SAE and record keeping are critical to teach in my classes

KIVA

Kolb's model, again

What do you want to learn more about?

Can I use my students' interest to shape my curriculum?

• I believe that you can definitely do this. You will also use other factors in determining the curriculum (community needs, career and college readiness, approved program status with the state/type of program, etc.). You will learn a lot more about this in AEE 413.

AET

• Stay tuned! See you on Tuesday :-)

How many FFA students are active in sports?

• I was a three sport letterman... little known fact :-)
• I also heard at National FFA convention that a school in Missouri had to postpone their championship football game, because too many of the football team members were at National FFA Convention!!

How to incorporate others into helping with SAE's.

• Find experts in  your community and ask them to help. One point of clarification... these folks would be serving as volunteers for your school district; thus, they would need their proper clearances/fingerprints checked prior to working with the students. Be sure to work with administration on the proper procedures for your district!

Session 19 - Degrees and Proficiencies

What are you curious about?
How do you want us to format the CDE assignment?

• You can format the answers in any way that you prefer, as long as they are within the guidelines of the assignment. You want your answers to be easy to follow, but otherwise just follow the rubric.

Will there be a workshop like last year for people that want to apply for the American Degree?

• I talked with Mr. Day and Mr. Keith following class, and they are both willing to come up and help again, as long as the students contact them in advance/get on their calendars. Keep in mind that you will want to have your records with you at this meeting, as it will help them answer your questions.

Would including a session on degrees/proficiencies be beneficial in my classroom?

• Yes, you want to inform your students of the opportunities available to them, and degrees/proficiencies are an important part of agricultural education.

Does the order go... proficiency award, Keystone degree, American degree?

• Not exactly... proficiencies and degrees are not "combined". You earn your degrees in "order" from Greenhand to Chapter to State (called the Keystone in PA) to American degree. Proficiencies are applied for as an award above and beyond the degree.

Should the early steps in completing degrees/awards be done on paper or electronically?

• I think this is personal preference. However, I do believe that with our capability to save and edit in electronic format, it just makes sense to go electronic.

Where do you find the number of applicants for different proficiency awards?

• This would be data that folks at the state FFA office would have for the state level, and National FFA would have for the history on national applicants.

Understanding record books to the point where I can teach it to our future students.

• We will have a few sessions on this topic in the near future. Keep in mind what Kevin Keith said in class yesterday... It comes with experience. You are not an expert, immediately!

Can one SAE be used to apply for multiple proficiency awards?

• If you have multiple projects, then you could be looking at multiple proficiency areas. However, keep in mind what Mr. Keith said in terms of SAE programs versus a "project book".

Ag Career Network

• I believe this will be one of our discussion topics later in the semester, as a few people have shown interest in the topic.

Should you take students to convention every year, or every other year?

• What are your reasons/learning objectives for going? I personally think that you should go every year, if you can clearly identify the reason for going. With that being said, you will need to work closely with administration to make certain that funding/support is there from the district. It all comes back to providing opportunities to the students, and being clear with administration how this will help students.

How hard is it to actually work through the qualifications for the degree?

• It is not too difficult if you give these to students early in their program. Don't wait until the very end and tell  the students that this is what they had to do over the past 3 or 4 years, and then have them try to make it up. They need to know the criteria for earning the degree up front and then they can make a conscious effort to obtain the degree.

What did you learn?
Resources - where to find the applications on the website/the process of scoring the students
Great tips!!! Thank you to the presenters!
That you can apply for multiple proficiencies at the same time.
That many proficiency areas are not applied for/not highly represented. More opportunity for my students to apply at the state level!!!
Proficiencies are a "summary" of your SAE programs.
Start early on the applications
Call for help if you need it. They are willing to help.
Ag Career Network has student surveys to help determine possible SAE areas for students.
Record keeping is "key"... do it early... do it well.
That there are a lot of proficiency areas that I never knew about.
That degrees can be applied for even after graduation.
$1,000 requirement
AET helps with parts of filling out the American degree
The applications are not really that hard if you plan/help your students plan in advance
That examples of winning applications are available on-line.

What do you want to learn more about?
Is AET replacing record books?

• Currently, in PA, the record book competition uses the state approved books. However, many schools are seeing the advantages of the AET and are moving in that direction.

How to create a proper/effective grading system for the program (SAE/FFA/classroom)?

How many students win the American degree each year?

• This year... approximately 3,500 on the national level and approximately 75 from the state.

I want to learn more about recordbooks (other than employment) so that I can help my students.

• We will have a few sessions on record keeping. Also, I would recommend "starting" an entrepreneurship book on AET this semester so that Dr. Foster and I can help answer questions, as you go along in the process of entering information.

I want to learn more about the Stars.

• Check out the information at https://www.ffa.org/Programs/Awards/Stars/Pages/StarAwardResources.aspx

How do H.S. students do all of this in agricultural education and have time for anything else?

• Ag students are amazing :-) I think they need to be passionate about what they are doing, and they need to have an agricultural education teacher that is willing to help them. The rest seems to "fall into place".

Workshops available to learn record books?

• New and beginning teachers get a survey each year in PA asking about their needs. Please be sure to complete this when you get to this stage in your career. Also, we can explore other sessions beyond what we have in AEE 311, if this is of interest to a group of students. This  may be a great opportunity for Teach Ag Society and Collegiate FFA to partner on an "extended learning" opportunity for our students. I would encourage you to contact the officers of both organizations and provide them with this idea for professional development! I will buy the dinner, if people get it organized/attend!

Are there internships available through PA FFA in the summer?

• Not that I know of, but depending on what you are looking for we can team you up with Mr. Brammer, Cliff Day, others??? that would very likely be happy to work with you.

How many proficiencies are there?

• Forty-nine

How do I incorporate all of these different proficiencies into my curriculum?

• You do not need to incorporate them all into your curriculum. You develop your curriculum and then, in conjunction with your students' SAE programs, you determine which proficiencies align with your program/students.

Session 14 - Inclusion follow-up

What are you curious about?
Are the due dates on the moodle modules suggested dates, or real deadlines? Can I complete them over Thanksgiving Break?

• You will want to email Deb Herman at dxh271@psu.edu to get the specifics on deadlines, and stick to what she indicates are the deadlines on the moodle modules.

CDE

• I never heard of it until this year. I am excited to learn more.

Is it expected that we log into AET to enter information every week?

• I would think that you could find something to enter each week. Don't make this a stressful activity, but you do need to be able to navigate the pages, and understand how AET is designed.

Do all pre-service teachers have to take classes like WF ED and complete moodle modules?

• All pre-service teachers in the state of PA need to complete 9 credits in working with special needs learners and 3 credits of ESL/ELL coursework. Thus, not all students need to complete moodle modules; however, they do take an additional 3 courses compared to our students.

Do the teachers we contact need to be from cooperating centers?

• No. It can be any teacher in the state.

What will CDE plans include?

• Check out the rubric. There is a lot of information there. Also, check out the example provided in class.

How many chapters are this prepared with POA, CDE plan, etc.? I know mine was not.

• Each chapter has various levels of preparation, but those that are serious about completing these items are often well prepared to serve their students.

At National Convention is there going to be the "Native Celebration"?

• Not that I know of, but check out this site for a re-cap on what has been done in the past https://www.ffa.org/about/nationalffa/diversity_and_inclusion/nativeamericanheritage/Pages/default.aspx

What resources does National FFA offer to teachers?

• Go to https://www.ffa.org/ffaresources/educators/Pages/default.aspx for teacher resources through FFA

How to contact teachers?

• You can access the teachers' email and phone numbers through the PA Agricultural Education Directory at http://go.cas.psu.edu/paaged/ You will need to create an account, but it only takes 2 minutes.

What CDEs are offered?

• Check out https://www.ffa.org/Documents/cde_handbook.pdf for the CDE manual at the National level. This will give you all of the events.

What did you learn?

Tips for inclusion

About CDE manuals

AET login expectations

CDE- massive packets for each event!

That scent-free policy is real

CDEs and inclusion tips (there are a lot of ways to include students into your program)

What do you want to learn more about?

If teachers actually create CDE plans?

• They may not all create CDE plans to the extent that we are requiring, but if they do they will be the best prepared to help train their teams. It would require them to really think about how/why they have students do something related to a particular CDE.

Contacting Teachers about the plans.

• See above for the location of the PA Ag. Teacher Directory

How to train a CDE team.

CDEs

How to do the CDE assignment.

Things that I can do on AET tracker.

• The best advice I can give here is... get on and test it out. Don't worry about "messing" something up. This is for you to get experience with the system.

How to deal with students with behavior disabilities.

• I think this comes with experience, but don't forget to rely heavily on the special education teacher and the IEP, as they can help guide you on what to expect and how to properly handle with the least disruption to your class and other students.

Learning more about CDEs and can you use them as a guide for your units/classes?

• There is nothing wrong with teaching content related to the CDEs. If there wasn't overlap it wouldn't make sense to have the CDE and/or the class content. HOWEVER, you do not "teach to the CDE". If you only teach what the CDE requires, then you are not giving you students opportunities to explore beyond whatever the CDE "permits".

About all of the different CDEs available.

• See above for the link to the CDE manual from National FFA.

There is a lot of events in the CDE. Does a student need to do something in each category?

• I would have to look at what you are specifically referring to here, but yes the students must complete many different tasks for each CDE. This typically includes written examinations, as well as several opportunities for application of content.

How to produce an interest in students to complete the CDE.

• This is where it is important to work with students and motivate them to participate on an individual basis. Also, through your classes you can provide students with examples of past success. There are both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators that you can utilize to get students to participate.