Visiting the Ag Programs at Big Springs

             After being immersed in an Ag Ed program for the last 15 weeks, I have learned the value of visiting other programs to see their facilities and how they use them to structure student learning. One program I visited was the Ag Ed program at Big Springs School District. Big Springs is unique in that it has both a middle school program along with the high school program. Emily Jay, a fellow AEE student, is currently student teaching between both programs. I visited for a day to see how the programs differ from each other and from Derry. 

            We started at the high school where I observed two agricultural mechanics classes and a greenhouse management class. It was neat to see how they utilize the shop space in class even before starting any projects. During this particular lesson, Emily had students teach each other about the different materials and supplies they will be using to complete their upcoming plumbing project. Because I am not currently teaching any agricultural mechanics classes, it was insightful to see some of the same hands-on learning techniques I have used in the greenhouse and floral labs in a new context.             

            After lunch we transitioned to middle school. The more schools I visit, the more interesting I find the layout of the building. At Derry, the Ag building is separate from the rest of the high school, so the Ag teachers have to work especially hard to integrate their lessons into getting the rest of the school involved and away from what's happening “Up in Ag.” The Ag department at Big Springs Middle School is in its own wing of the building. It is slightly isolated from the rest of the school, but has a variety of spacious labs. They have multiple hydroponics units, an agricultural mechanics shop, and a long classroom. In the classroom, they have been doing Trout in the Classroom which was fun to see the students' investment in their fish. They had made backdrops to make the tank more colorful, took clear notes of measurements they took, and were excited to check them when getting into class. 

            Emily taught two sections of Intro to Ag with sixth graders. The lesson plan focused on reviewing FFA trivia by playing the board game Sorry. I was able to jump in and help run one of the games. I quickly realized the importance of firm classroom management. Working with the middle schoolers, especially in a competitive setting, I found that they question every rule and judgment call you make. You must make quick decisions and be confident in them or they will see through it. 

            Big Springs Middle School is starting to test out the co-teaching model. Emily and her cooperating teacher, Jenna Moser, have been piloting this in one of the Intro to Ag courses. This was really interesting to watch play out as well as seeing how their lesson planning process works–using excel to keep everything organized for both teachers. It sounded like the co-teaching model may become more common in classrooms in the future so it was cool to see it in action. 

            My visit to Big Springs was insightful to compare middle school and high school programs, see how they use their facilities to enhance lessons, and observe how Ag is integrated into the rest of the school.