Week 6: Frogs and soil and protein, Oh My!

After a weekend full of leadership and learning at the ACES conference over the weekend, it was back to reality on Monday. I am teaching four classes right now: two sections of Natural Resource Management, Animal and Plant Biotechnology, and Animal Science. I will admit that the beginning of this week was tough, but I was having lots of fun and learning by the end of the week!

My first visit from Dr. Ewing was short, but meaningful. He was able to watch me teach two sections of Natural Resource Management and Biotech.

In biotech this week, I had a lot of fun using problem solving and critical thinking to figure out a way to use a Bradford Assay test without a working spectrophotometer. After some research and discussions with my dad (who is a scientist), I was able to borrow a Nix Colorimeter to test our solutions. Although our results did not exactly match what we were supposed to find, the class used a lot of brainpower to determine a substitute. We were able to use a new piece of technology with a phone. This gave us the opportunity to learn about new and upcoming technology in the biotech industry and beyond.

In NRM, we conducted a lab using effervescent antacid tablets to model mechanical and chemical weathering. From the activity, students were able to see how a combination of mechanical and chemical weathering can affect how bedrock is broken down to eventually become soil. As the week continued, we learned more about soil, composition, and texture.

In animal science this week, the frog was our focus. I hadn't dissected a frog since 10th grade biology, so I was a little intimidated to lead the frog dissections. Once we got over the hiccup of losing our frogs, we were able to borrow some from the biology teacher and start our dissection. I surprised myself on how much information I was able to teach the students about frogs and their anatomy. Our final assessment for the frog dissection was on Friday. We get to start mammalian reproduction on Monday for a 3 week unit. I am looking forward to digging deeper into animal science with this class!

Questions:

As ag teachers, students may come to us with all of the drama. What do you do to stay out of the drama, but make sure the students are getting along?

I am starting to get closer to ending a few of my classes before picking up another group of students. How do you end your time with a class with a fun activity, but also something that they can learn from?

Thank you for taking the time to read this week's blog! Tune in next week to hear how week 7 goes in my path of student teaching!