AEE 412: Model Unit Plan - Introduction to Greenhouse Production

Plant Identification Unit Plan

Greenhouse Production

Unit Rationale: Students enrolled in the Greenhouse Production course will gain knowledge on plant-based careers and knowing harmful and helpful plant species in Washington County.  These students participated are in grades 9-12. Plant identification is relevant in a way where students will develop sophisticated observational skills while becoming familiar with outside educational resources. About 4.9 million dollars worth of nursery, greenhouse, floriculture and so products were sold in Washington County in 2012. (Census of Agriculture, 2012)

Number of Class Sessions Needed: 15

Length of Each Session: 43 minutes

PA Academic Standards and Assessment Anchors Addressed:

CC.3.5: Reading Informational Text: Students read, understand, and respond to informational text – with emphasis on comprehension, making connections among ideas and between texts with focus on textual evidence.

CC.3.5.11-12.D. Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 11–12 texts and topics.

CC.3.6: Writing: Students write for different purposes and audiences. Students write clear and focused text to convey a well-defined perspective and appropriate content.

CC.3.6.11-12.C. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

CC.3.6: Writing: Students write for different purposes and audiences. Students write clear and focused text to convey a well-defined perspective and appropriate content.

CC.3.6.9-10.E. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

PA Agricultural Standards and Benchmarks Addressed:

Plant Science.02.01. Classify plants according

to taxonomic systems.

Plant Science.02.01.01.c. Classify agricultural and ornamental plants according to the hierarchical classification system

Plant Science.02.01.02.a. Describe the morphological characteristics used to identify agricultural and herbaceous plants (e.g., life cycles, growth habit, plant use and as monocotyledons or dicotyledons, woody, herbaceous, etc.).

Plant Science.02.01.02.b. Identify and describe important plants to agricultural and ornamental plant systems by common names.

Plant Science.02.01.02.c. Identify and describe important plants to agricultural and ornamental plant systems by scientific names.

Plant Science.02.01.01.a. Identify and summarize systems used to classify plants based on specific characteristics.

Plant Science.02.02. Apply knowledge of plant anatomy and the functions associated with plant systems.

Plant Science.02.02.05.b. Apply knowledge of flower structure to differentiate between the types of flowers and flower inflorescence (e.g., complete, incomplete, perfect, imperfect).

Plant Science.02.02.06.b. Analyze and categorize the major types of seeds and fruit.

Plant Science.02.02.05.a. Identify and summarize the components of a flower, the functions of a flower and the functions of flower components.

Plant Science.04.02 Create designs using plants

Plant Science.04.01.01.a. Identify and categorize plants by their purpose (e.g., floral plants, landscape plants, house plants, etc.).

Unit Goals:

·      Students will be able to:

·      Identify common regional plants

·      Use a dichotomous key

·      Identify and categorize plants by their purpose

·      Explain the functions of a flower and seed

·      Identify different types of flowers

·      Distinguish the hierarchical classification system

Lesson Titles, Daily Objectives, & Realia:

Essential Questions	At the conclusion of instruction, students will be able to:	Materials and Supplies
1.     What are some different methods of identifying plants?	1.1  Explain different methods of identifying plants to 100% accuracy. 1.2  Identify key aspects to observe when looking at different plant species to teacher satisfaction.	5 Paint Brush (Interest Approach) 15 Sticky notes 8 packs of Markers 6 Plants 3 Tree branches 3 Leaves
2.     What is a dichotomous key and how do we use it?	2.1 Use a dichotomous key to teacher satisfaction. 2.2 Identify a specific plant using a dichotomous key with 100% accuracy. 2.3 Identify parts and usage of a dichotomous key to teacher satisfaction.	15 Dichotomous Key 15 Playdough 8 Sticks 8 Legos 15 packs of Markers/Colored 30 Pencils 6 Plants 1 per student, Computer/Tablet
3.     How do we classify plant species?	3.1  Describe how to correctly identify plant species to 100% accuracy. 3.2  Identify specific plant species to teacher satisfaction. 3.3  Identify at least three plant species classification to 100% accuracy.	1/student: Notebook 6/student: Paper 15 packs of Colored Pencils 6 Plants 6 Plant Images 1/student: Resource books
4      What is the difference between monocots and dicots?	4.1  Identify the difference between monocots and dicots to teacher satisfaction 4.2  Identify monocots and dicots to teacher satisfaction	5 Monocot and dicot seeds 5 Knife 18 Surgical trays 18 Magnified glass
5      How can we identify and classify different leaf shapes?	5.1  Identify different leaf shapes to 100% accuracy 5.2  Describe the different leaf outlines to 100% accuracy 5.3  Identify elements needed for leaf identification to 100% accuracy	1/student: Graphic Organizer – Hand made 10/student: Paper 15 packs of Colored pencils 15 Scissors 15 Glue bottles
6      What are different types of flowers?	6.1  Describe different types of flowers to 100% accuracy 6.2  Identify the need for different types of flowers to teacher satisfaction	1/student Poster 15 packs of Markers 1/student: Computer/iPad 15 Glue bottles 25 colored Papers 1/student Magazines
7      How do lifecycles affect the plant/flower? (2 day lesson)	7.1  Identify different lifecycles of plants to 100% satisfaction 7.2  Describe the different lifecycles of each type of flowering plant to teacher satisfaction	100 Story paper 1/student Pencils 15 packs of Colored pencils
8      How to identify specific flowers?	8.1  Identify common flowers of Washington County to 100% accuracy 8.2  Describe common methods of   identifying specific flowers to teacher satisfaction	1/student Brochure 15 packs of Markers 100 Papers 15 Glue bottles 15 Scissors
9      How are trees identified? (2 day lesson)	9.1  Identify major trees of the forestry industry to 100% accuracy 9.2  Describe the top two methods of identifying hardwoods to teacher satisfaction 9.3  Identify the way foresters tag trees to 100% accuracy	Poster Competition 1/studentPoster board 15 packs of Markers & colored Pencils 2 packs of Paper 2 packs of Craft paper A box of Styrofoam 3 bags of Pipe cleaners
10   How are different shrubs identified?	10.1 Identify different types of shrubs found in the local area to 100% satisfaction 10.2 Describe the top 3 methods to identify shrubs to teacher satisfaction	1/ student Notebook 1/ pair of students Field guides 1/ student Pencils 15 packs of Colored pencils
11   What are common weeds in our area? (2 day lesson)	11.1        Identify weeds in the local area to teacher satisfaction. 11.2        Describe ways to control weeds efficiently to teacher satisfaction	1/ student Weed notebooks 6/student Paper 2 packs of Colored paper 15 packs of markers & pencils
12   How do we identify unknown plant species without foliage?	12.1        Demonstrate proper identification of unknown plant species teacher satisfaction with foliage. 12.2        Demonstrate proper identification of unknown plant species teacher satisfaction without foliage.	1/ student Camera/Cell phone 1/student Field guides Previous class materials 1/student Notebooks 1/student Pencil

Unit Assessments/Evaluation Strategy:

Plant lifecycle Project: Students will be spaced into groups and then instructed to create a story of a specific plant and its type of lifecycle.  Students will be assessed on knowledge they have learned throughout the class and how much each has specifically wrote to have a fair grade.

Poster Challenge Project: Students will have several class periods to create a poster and then will presented to small groups of the class. Students will be assessed on content knowledge that is put into the poster as well as appearance.

Shrub walk/verbal quiz: Students will work in pairs and be assigned to walk around to different shrubs around the building.  The students will then identify each shrub on an evaluation sheet and give feedback of how they identified each shrub.

Dichotomous Key Quiz: Students will have a written assessment evaluating their knowledge and skills on usage of a dichotomous key. This will be a fill in the blank, matching and open-ended question quiz.

Exceptional Children Strategies/Accommodations/Adaptations:

Advanced students are required to submit all of the same work that other students are assigned, but different and more elaborate rubrics will be assigned along with extra classroom readings. Special needs students will be provided guided worksheets if they ask for accommodations. Examples include more thought out sentences and phrases as well as clear and simplified at the top of each document. Instructor will identify additional accommodations based on individual students’ IEPs.

Specific Science, Math, or English Enhancement:

Science: Biology – Lifecycle, plant parts

English: Narrative story writing, objective essay writing

SAE Integration:

Assist in program greenhouse

·      Experimental-Farm field based research

·      Placement-Employment, floricultural shop, landscaping

FFA Integration:

·      Floriculture CDE

·      Forestry CDE

·      Landscape and Design CDE

Careers Prepared For:

·      Horticulturalist

·      Foresters

·      Farmer

·      Researcher

·      Extension agent/teacher

References (APA):

Census of Agriculture - Washington County. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2016, from https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Online_Resources/County_Profiles/Pennsylvania/cp42125.pdf

PDE SLO Template:

Effective Questions - Weekly Web Wonder #5

Throughout a class, questions are created, asked and answered. Learning would not be possible without questions. With that being said, can this be any kind of question? The answer to that is no. Before we dive into this blog, lets look at why we create questions.

Teachers ask students questions and students ask teachers and themselves questions for many reasons. Some of the reasons are to assess the students level of understanding, develop the student's interest and motivation in a subject and then the student may ask questions to understand better, grow into a deeper level of thinking, and even challenge him or herself. Questions will be asked no matter where you go, whether it be in a classroom or on a boardwalk. All of these questions can then be categorized into a different level. To help describe the types of questions, they are divided into the upper and lower levels. The lower level help evaluate the students preparation and understanding while also diagnosing strengths and weaknesses and to summarize content in class. Higher levels of questions involve student to think deeper and more critically, while helping encourage them to solve problems and create in-depth discussions.

Image from: http://codebetter.com/gregyoung/2012/02/29/powerful-questions-2/

 

One of my major concerns for teaching at McGuffey High School is that I will repeat my questions too often. Another concern that I have about myself is to make sure I ask the right level of questions. Sometimes I think that I ask too advanced level of questions too early. Finding my balance will take time and practice in my classroom and at McGuffey. Some other things that I am practicing in class is calling on students. I should always ask for volunteers first, and then ask other questions like, "Let's have someone else who hasn't spoken yet," and then ask the question. I also like to randomly choose students. If you go down the line, students will only pay attention when it is close to their turn of answering a question. A lot like a conversation or interview, where you want to be engaged, it is important to keep eye contact while asking the question and then after when a student gives you the answer.

By getting the best possible answer from your students, there is something called wait time. Wait time is the time a teacher or instructor should give after a question in asked. Certain questions that are deeper and in depth require more of a wait time, than a lower level thinking question. Wait times should usually be around 5 to 7 seconds. Giving more or taking less time will minimize student understanding and participation.

Questioning strategies are helpful to assess the level of knowledge the student has, the students level of thinking, and to relate concepts together. I plan to work more on my questioning skills in my AEE 412 Lab to help myself and my future students at McGuffey.


Citation: Dyer, J. E. (n.d.). Effective Questioning Techniques. Retrieved September 24, 2016, from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC08400.pdf

 

Interest Approach - Lab AEE 412

On September 21st, our cohort had to teach each other an interest approach lesson. I decided to use my greenhouse production class and my lesson was going to be on taxonomy and binomial nomenclature of naming plants. This time around, I was much more relaxed. Last time I was a mess looking for things and shuffling through my papers. I felt more confident and I think I looked better in the Edthena videos.

So What is an Interest Approach?
In my own words, an interest approach comes after the class's bell work or do now is presented before class instruction. It brings excitement and an extremely high amount of curiosity to the table.

How Do I Create an Interest Approach in My Classroom?
I stumbled upon a website that gives some tips for getting an interest approach started in your classroom.
The top 5 tips for getting your students engaged are as follows:
1. Connect what you're teaching to real life.
2. Use students interests' and fascinations.
3. Give students choices.
4. Present information in multiple formats.
5. Teach students self monitoring skills.

The first tip is what connects your students to what they're learning. This will help them retain the materials better. If it is a smell, a memory from a neighbors house, or even a bad memory of getting kicked by a cow, your student might remember what poison ivy looks like, or the muscles in a cow that kicked your student. Think about other things that may be happening in the news. This is real life information and relevant to what they are learning so it will help them remember and think about it in different ways.

The second tip of using students interests' and fascinations is about bringing objects that they know well or know what is associated with them. For my interest approach, I know my students fairly well, so at McGuffey I would have brought items in for the boys to categorize like footballs, basketballs, and maybe a tennis ball too. My girls that I have are into makeup, bling as in jewelry or their belts, and then shoes. This way, students would be able to know that identifying and categorizing things would be easier when it starts with something you really like.

The third tip is extremely important, give students choices. From creating a brochure to a poster, an exam or an essay to deciding if class should be inside or outside. These questions help students create a comfortable learning environment and it gives them some power. Students are told what to do and when to do it day in and day out at home and in the classroom. Sometimes giving them the power and responsibility can be an eye opener of what they come up with and how it can help them learn and keep information.

Another helpful tip is to present the information in multiple formats. From videos, discussions, lectures, demonstrations, field trips and guest speakers, there can be a lot of different ways to convey information.  It is important to know your learners and do what helps them the most. Different formats of speaking, writing, reading and acting out information will help students remember a lesson and the key points.

Finally, it would be helpful to teach students self monitoring skills. These skills can help students stay on task. From the teacher to the student then asking themselves if they are staying on task and focused can increase quality production of work. Another way of administering this would to have students do a self evaluation of a research paper, group project and presentation that they give. It ensures success by having them review themselves by viewing a rubric more than once.

Sources: 5 Tips for Getting All Your Students Engaged in Learning:
5 tips for getting all your students engaged in learning. (n.d.). Retrieved September 22, 2016, from http://archive.brookespublishing.com/articles/ed-article-0212.htm

 

Weekly Web Wonder #4 - Becoming a Better Teachers

This week's readings would have really helped me if I could have completed them before our lab on Wednesday, but with my current workload it just isn't possible.  Hopefully my lab lesson next week will run a little more smoothly with the readings I completed.

Image taken from Margaret Powers -
https://margaret-powers.com/2016/01/18/
dealing-with-students-
anxiety-in-the-classroom/

A mistake that I made during the teaching was not writing the classroom objectives on the board.  As I continued reading, students have major anxiety over the lack of clarity if the objectives are not posted. Students want to do a good job and have goals that can be met, it provides clarity and satisfaction to students when they see and objective and know the answer or can complete it once class is over.

Another thing that I had missed during my lesson plan was making sure to add verbs in the classroom.  Verbs such as list, describe, explain and translate are all action oriented and measurable. This then allows the instructor to make sure each student is making progress and staying on task. The image that I had posted I plan on referring back to so I can add more action verbs in my classroom, and it also double dips with Bloom's Taxonomy, which according to my other past blog posts, I am completely OBSESSED with!  Sometimes finding the right word is the hardest thing to do.

Image taken from Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/pin/182255116145194120/

As I continue to learn each and every day of how a lesson plan, unit and classroom should be set up, I am beginning to realize all of the useful tactics that are behind group work. Cooperative learning in short is an approach to organizing academics together with social experiences. So assigning groups, behavior management and the evaluation of learning all would fall into the category of cooperative learning. One thing that makes cooperative learning so special is the diversity of each group.  Every individual brings their own ideas to the table and it makes the cooperative learning most effective with the differences in students working together in the group.  Another thing that really can make learning ineffective or effective is the design and arrangement of the room.  From where the chairs and desks are placed, to the different labels, signs and colors can help influence your classroom in a positive manner.

Throughout teaching, most people probably learn best by doing. Group teaching can be a little difficult to handle because of so much students and the different ways they learn. Reading more, I got into the role of group teaching.  It really provides group instruction, but is only really successful if the students are present in the learning process. Some of the best ways to provide students information in large classrooms is through powerpoints, handouts, transparencies and through the chalk board.  As this does not usually have the students active, it can be crucial to keep their attention by doing other activities. Sometimes planning to give information to students includes a lecture. For a lecture to be successful, it should be short and sweet. There should also be an outline.  Outlines can be formed in different ways, but the most successful ones are through chronological, spatial, cause and effect and problems and solutions orders.  It is always important to make sure your students are engaged in your learning.  If they are not, then not much learning happens and it wastes your time and theirs.

Once you have a strong base in a classroom, management will flow in next. Instructors should always continuously be checking for work.  Step in if you see confusion or a possible question.  Teachers are always supposed to be supportive, and here while a situation may be occurring it is very important to answer any possible questions as soon as possible on clarity.

Once the students learn the materials, an evaluation must be given.  This assessment could be a test, verbal, a paper or an informative poster.  Assessments can be in almost any form, as long as it shows that that student is learning.

I know this is my reflective blog post and I should always be bring more wood to make that pile higher, but in my case today I think I successfully did that.  I will be going back to my blog and reading even more about this.  I find the actions in the classroom probably the most interesting, as I look at scientific research to see what findings I may stumble upon or may help me in the classroom.  Thank you for joining me on this journey and I will be posting again soon!

1st Day of School Lab - Reflective on Teaching

(Citation: Pinterest, First Day of School)

On September 14th, 2016 our AEE 412 lab came together so each student could perform their lesson plan that we had created. I created a lesson plan for my unit of plant science. I decided to make the first day geared around getting to know one another.  This was my very first lesson plan that I have ever created, so bear with me on my journey. I began to greet the students one by one as they entered through the door.  My students were also my peers, so they know me pretty well and could visibly see that I was under pressure and stressed. I knew I only had 10 minutes or less to successfully fulfill my objectives. As my class sat down, I introduced my self, pointed to my white board that had the class name and my name on it, to ensure students that they were in the correct place.  I jumped into my lesson by having a bell work listed.  Some students completed the bell work and I did my best to be clear, but because I was so stressed out, it was hard for me just to focus on my students.

My mistakes that I made were pretty clear.  I wasn't focused.  I didn't list my objectives on the board. I also move my hands too much and I believe I need to bring my enthusiasm levels up. Those are just some examples of the first things I did see when watching the video of myself and actually teaching. One thing that I did think I did well on was creating a lesson plan. I had to start somewhere and I think I had done a pretty good job. Another thing I would like to tell myself that I did well with was having a creative opening of getting to know students.  I did my best to keep it interactive and interesting so different types of students could learn.  I know there is tons of room for improvement! I know practice makes perfect, so I plan to keep making lesson plans and throwing myself out there.

Weekly Web Wonder #3 - Why Do We Plan?

Why Do We Plan?
Why do we plan?  Seriously, why?  Do you plan your day out? Plan what clothes you may wear, plan for the weather? When taking a vacation do you just go, hope there may be vacancy at a hotel and live life on the edge?

 Merriam-Webster's dictionary definition of planning is as follows; "Planning: The act or process of making or carrying out plans; specifically : the establishment of goals, policies, and procedures for a social or economic unit." (Merriam-Webster.)

So maybe in simpler terms, planning allows us to achieve or do something, whether that be planning a baseball game with friends or planning a lesson plan. So, why would you plan a lesson plan? Simple answers that I had thought were to be organized and to help create substitute lessons.  This weeks class had me dig deeper into the meaning of planning a lesson.  Ideally, you would begin to plan your year from the classes you will teach, from then you can divide it into sections of unit plans and then your lesson plans.  I am no expert in lesson plans, and I don't plan to be for a long time but practice makes perfect.

Domains of Learning

(Learning Domains.)

What I would specifically like dive into is something short and sweet, and to the point.  I wanted to cover the domains of learning.  For myself, in grade school and college, I would have and still learn best if a lesson plan is tailored to my different domains of learning.  I plan to experiment with lesson plans on what they are based off of.  By saying this, I mean I will always have daily objectives and essential questions, but one day I may base my plans off of just the different domains of learning and see how well my class can fully understand the material.  I will include different interest approaches and maybe some unusual assessments for the end, but I have some time to figure all of that stuff out.

To the right is one of the many images I plan to help create my lesson plan.  I am very much a visual learner, so looking at the cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills with their descriptive words will help me build a lesson working together with my objectives. I honestly believe that by using the three domains of learning I can create successful students that will grow beyond their goals that they have set.  My purpose through this journey is to help other achieve to their highest ability, and through the domains of learning, lesson planning and my lesson objectives, I plan to do just that!


References:

(Merriam-Webster.)(n.d.). Retrieved September 09, 2016, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/planning 

Learning Domains. (n.d.). Retrieved September 09, 2016, from http://casebasedlearning.weebly.com/learning-domains.html 

Weekly Web Wonder #2: Bloom's Taxonomy, Common Core Standards & Perfecting Lesson Plans, OH MY!!

I have learned so much on just my second week of school!  From revisiting Bloom's taxonomy, which I will be posting the interactive site that was shared with me, and learning more about the 'Common Core Standards' which every one seems to be afraid of and then how to perfect that lesson plan you've created for your classroom.

This week, I have done quite a bit of reading and research, from completing my Moodles on the Pennsylvania Academic Standards and Assessment Anchors, learning about Scaffolding Instruction, and reading up on some Universal Designs for Learning, just to name a few. 

I started with a reading and interactive website, which you can check out at this url..(http://community.wvu.edu/%7Elsmong/Articulate%20Blooms%20Wheel/blooms_wheel.html) For me, reading research paper after research paper and book after book, sometimes the best learning is simplified.  From that interactive website, thanks to those from the West Virginia University, I did some of my own web surfing to find and easy and colorful way to map out Bloom's Taxonomy.  

I am in LOVE with this model.  Although it is not interactive, it really shows the building blocks and steps to being an active learner.

To continue a students growth mindset and help them achieve the most, it is important to add on to Bloom's Taxonomy.  Bloom's Taxonomy is extremely captivating to me because it represents not just how my students learn, but how I learn as well.  Using Bloom's Taxonomy and the Common Core Standards, higher educational goals can be met. I am very much a visual learner, and to be honest, blog posting helps me write information down but does not help me keep it in my brain.  So I will be adding two more images.  The second image I will be including is a circle graph on how Common Core Standards are all inter tied.


(Planning and Professional Development.)

This circle graph of the Common Core Standards, I collected from V.S. Salcedo.  Although it is not the Pennsylvania Standards, I think that all state standards are important and bring different aspects of learning and knowledge to the classroom.



Lastly from my reading and classwork, we use technology a lot!  By a lot, I have not had a class that doesn't use some sort of technology in probably the past 6 years, at least! So as a future educator and current student, I think it is extremely important to know how to use technology in the classroom.  I am guilty of not knowing all the technology in the classroom, but
there is always room for improvement.
So this graph/image I have helps my personally for
using technology while planning lessons.  I officially               (The "Turtle" Graphic)
have planned my second lesson plan for a homework
assignment today! I still don't have my ideas all together
to get them down on paper or a Word document, but I think
this image will help me!

                            References

 15b. Planning and Professional Development. (n.d.). Retrieved September 05, 2016, from http://games4primary.weebly.com/15b-planning-and-professional-development.html 

 Bloom's Taxonomy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 05, 2016, from http://community.wvu.edu/~lsmong/Articulate Blooms Wheel/blooms_wheel.html 

 EasySafe (2016). Technology's Impact on Today's Classroom. Retrieved September 05, 2016, from http://eazysafe.com/blog/fantastic-forum-friday/3843/ 

 Salcedo, V. S. (2016). The "Turtle" Graphic. Retrieved September 05, 2016, from http://ranchoeld.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-turtle-graphic.html

 

(EasySafe, 2016)