For this assignment, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The assignment was to demonstrate a skill/ or technique in Ag Mechanics for approximately 30 minutes. This was the hardest part for me, "Ag Mechanics", not that I don't know anything in ag mechanics, but because I only have one class in the spring for ag mechanics.
Welding is very difficult to demonstrate in a classroom without any equipment or surfaces made for welding. As a result, I began to brain storm ideas of how to weld but not actually weld anything. I was given an idea by my advisor to use toothpaste and mimic the welding motion with the tooth paste. I thought it was a really good starting point that I could build off of.
Next came the glue gun idea. This idea came about because i wanted something hot that you could mold and let it set up, very similar to welding. I would have 2 pieces of cardboard that the students could essentially "weld" together at different angles. The idea seemed perfect for where I was trying to demonstrate it. However, after having a student do this demonstration would they be able to walk out into the shop and know how to weld? I know that I would not have felt safe letting a student do that. As a result, this conceptual based demonstration would not work for what I was trying to accomplish. Onto Plan B.
Plan B.
I have a food science class in the spring and we will be going over dairy products. Since I am from a dairy farm, I have resources to pull from for this demonstration. I decided to disassemble a milking unit to show students what a milking inspector would do to inspect a dairy farm. As the class would do this, we would look for areas that are most likely to have buildup.
The Demo.
The demonstration went better than I anticipated. The students were interactive and found it interesting. However, I should have called on students to participate instead of asking. I found that as I asked, more students turned down the participation. For future teaching experiences, I will have to start calling on students and have them participate with me to get the class involved more.
Furthermore, I received great feedback that I should progress through the dis-assembly of the milker in a more logical order. Milkers do not have a certain pattern that a person needs to follow to disassemble them. You can almost start anywhere to disassemble the milker. H owever, to teach the concepts and techniques of the milker, it would have been better to follow the path the milk takes or vice versa. This would give the students a clear path and road map that we were going to follow.
I feel that this was possibly my best lab yet, I felt very confident in what I was doing and my organization of materials was at its best. However, I am far from being content. I have much improvement to be made and I need to use the great feedback that I received to build on and become better.
I like how you used plan B, because there are still 24 letters in the alphabet if A doesn't work! I think that it would be easy to create an interest approach for the milker demonstration if you have an animal science class that you could use this in. I am glad that you want to use the feedback to become better. We need to keep in mind that constructive criticism is good and it is just showing us how much we need to improve before the spring. We can all make it. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI really liked the thought process through this blog, Todd. It was interesting to see how you had to change your ideas because of the situation you were in. All of the ideas you said in the blog were awesome, and would keep students very engaged in the classroom. I agree it is usually easier to call on students, especially because these new areas they get into are outside their comfort zone. I feel you are really growing as a teacher, with the right mindset and actions you take. Can't wait to hear about your next lab!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you went through the steps you went through to decide what to teach for this demonstration. I also really like that you chose not to demonstrate welding because you wouldn't feel comfortable with your students going out and welding after only a mock demonstration. I think that both of the ideas you mentioned though would be great to teach the students how to get the right motion. You would then have to demonstrate how to use the actual welder on top of that, but that is just an idea. I know for me personally it was hard to get that motion down on top of remembering everything else about using the welder and worrying about not getting my rod stuck to the metal, all while everything was completely dark with my helmet on...just a thought! I really like the demonstration you decided to to though! I think that you have done a good job deciding how you would do this differently. I agree that you probably should disassemble in a way that allows the students to understand what really goes on inside the machine. I am glad you are not content with where you are at! We all have so much room to grow, and in order to reach our full potential we need to refrain from ever being content with where we are! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, MAJOR PROPS that you feel this is your best lab yet!!! That means you are building off of what you have learned, and that is the point of these labs! Secondly, always be thinking of your learners. Luckily, I can envision a milker as you described this so I can envision how you broke it down without seeing your video. However, if a student is unfamiliar with it, it would be great to further explain how the milker works in that logical order. Also, without watching your video I'm not sure if you were clear in how sanitation and the process the milk goes through is essential in food science, but I think you have an AMAZING opportunity to do so here. Great job, Todd!
ReplyDeleteTodd first thanks for the comments on my blog post...definitely made me smile when I was still feeling down about the whole situation!
ReplyDeleteSecond, really awesome blog post I really liked reading about how you broke each aspect down and decided how you were going to teach it. I think that it is really awesome that you also thought that this was your best lab yet! Although I have never milked before I can actually picture what you are talking about with your descriptions. I think that this will make a really awesome addition to your food science class next spring. It is a real life application and also a very important part of food production because we use milk in A LOT of products! Way to go! Keep up the good work!
Todd,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great lab reflection blog by the way! This was definitely your best lab by far. You were so confident and threw in some really fun 'Todd-like' comments. I think by having a more direct dis-assembly path would be very helpful to the students.
The activity in general would be a really interesting component to a food science class. Great hands-on idea!
hey Todd,
ReplyDeletegreat reflection, love how you explained how you came to the decision of what to demonstrate. looking at your video and your blog I agree that this was your best lab so far. Just from watching your video I was very entreating and it really looked like your students where engaged. the only thing I saw like you sated was maybe not ask for participation. Also I like your save when you forgot a step. Great job keep it up !
Hey Todd,
ReplyDeleteWelding would have been cool to demonstrate and very realistic for your class in the spring. I thought too about doing welding and unfortunatenly it is very challenging to use as a demonstration in this setting.
I thought the milker unit tear down was a great idea for your food science class! I think you addressed a good point to get more students involved and engaged by calling directly on them verses asking for volunteers.
As someone who is fairly unfamiliar with the tear down of a milker I would have broken it down into smaller steps rather than the whole thing. I thought it was a lot to remember how it connected as well as what it was called.
I do think your labs are getting more confident!