Owl Pellets: Tips for Ag Teachers

Agricultural Communications SAE Participation

Special Guests:

• Rebecca Swenson, University of Minnesota 
• Troy McKay, University of Minnesota 
• Garrett Steede, University of Minnesota 

How People Learn Series: Thinking about Thinking

How People Learn Series: Thinking about Thinking

The Legacy of the New Farmers of America

Special Guests

• Antoine Alston, North Carolina A&T University
• Dexter Wakefield, Alcorn State University

Types of Thinking Roundtable

Guests: Amanda Bowling and Katrina Swinehart-Held from Ohio State University and Shannon Norris from New Mexico State University 

Main Points:  

• To connect with students, ag teachers should provide accessible mentorship, create attainable relationship, foster student collaboration, and foster commitment to the program. 
• Divergent thinking refers to creativity. It is possible for students to learn creative thinking. 
• Teachers must focus on the journey rather than the destination because every student is different. Their end results are not going to be the same. 

“It’s our job as ag teachers to teach students how to think, not what to think.” 

Teaching Tools Roundtable

Guests: Colby Gregg and Kelly Claflin from Ohio State University, Tim Buttles from University of Wisconsin River Falls, and Laura Greenhaw from the University of Florida 

“Teaching tools are designed to help you. Use ones that are cool and effective but mostly ones that make it easier on you. If they get your students involved and meet your objectives, they’re the right tools for you.” 

SBAE Perspectives Roundtable - Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Agriculture

Guests: Amanda Bowling and Colby Gregg from Ohio State University, Maria Boerngen and Justin Rickard from Illinois State University 

Main Points:  

• Be an ally. This is the first step in creating an inclusive classroom. Immediately address small, inappropriate comments made in your classroom. 
• Be a lifetime learner. Acknowledge that it is going to be uncomfortable to constantly engage in new resources. 
• Go the extra mile. Find examples and invite guest speakers that challenge the status quo. 

“We should be looking at inclusion more so than diversity. We need to think about including kids and not simply having diversity in our agriculture classrooms.” 

Student Stress

Guest: Megan Cantrell and Annie Muscato from the University of Florida

Main Points: Student stress falls into seven areas:

1. Academic 
2. Personal  
3. Financial 
4. Family 
5. Environmental 
6. Interpersonal 
7. School 

“Students can become overwhelmed. If the student doesn’t say ‘yes’ to participating in something enthusiastically, then they probably should not participate.” 

Connecting the Classroom to Ag Experiment and Research Stations

Guest: Gaea Hock from Kansas State University 

Main Points: 

• Research Stations were established by the Hatch Act of 1887 
• These stations and their employees are incredible resources for students wanting to participate in Agriscience Fair. 
• Ag Research Stations give students excellent exposure to cutting edge science and modern agricultural issues. 

“We must make it known that accessible people exist who enjoy scientific process. These folks are willing to help students in any way they need it.”  

How Teachers Acquire Skills

Guest: Mathew Albritton from University of Florida 

“If you’re teaching a topic that you are less familiar with, do not worry! There are so many avenues of support. Anything from family members and colleagues to publications and YouTube can help you prepare for a lesson on an unfamiliar skill.” 

Using Online Networking Platforms for Your Benefit

Guest: Kathryn Teixeira from University California, Davis 

Main Points: 

• Teachers use platforms (like Facebook Groups), to connect to other teachers, find resources, and ask pertinent questions. The presence of such groups boosts the morale of students and provide many other benefits. 
• All news breaks on social media. A social media networking platform is a great place to stay current on what works or is beneficial to teachers. 
• Find what is best for you in your specific state. This kind of networking is supposed to work for you.