Half way?

This past week was a great learning experience for my AP Horticulture class. They started a project in January in the greenhouse where they grew a series of plants and tested their own hypothesis. Some of the experiments consisted of watering a plant with salt water, compared to watering it with Gatorade. Others planted their seeds at different depths to see which plants emerged and which plants could not survive. However, this week, after all of their hard work they were finally able to get  answers on what happened to their plants. After looking, digging and going on an adventure with their samples, some were given clear explanations on what happened to their plant. Others became frustrated because their plant did not grow when others did and saw the experiment as a failure. I quickly tried to show them that all experiments can be a success as long as you learn something from it. Upon this, the student researched reasons why his/her seed might not have grown.

Others were shown that the hypothesis is not always supported with their experiment. However, they were fascinated how the plant adapted to see its survival through. This coming week (March 13th) is when they will have completed their written report. I am excited to see how they viewed their experiment and what they took from it.

My Introduction to AFNR class was as always challenging to manage. Some of the students in the class work very hard to get better and come ask me questions. However, I am not able to give them the instruction they need because others in the class are always trying to get away with things in the class (such as picking on each other). As a result, I am struggling to aid the students who have the questions and want to know more because I have to keep an eye on the others who are just trying to complete the assignment.

To aid in this, I moved some of the assigned seats which helped some do better in the classroom, however, it did not seem to be the "big fix" (I am still looking for that one).

It is amazing how far students can go when they work on a project and then take it to others for feedback. Just seeing that the students are pushing themselves to become better at a task/skill is great to see. The results, are even better and can last a lifetime. For my speech unit, students created their speech and had to turn in multiple drafts for grading and revisions. Some students turned in as many as 5 drafts to be revised and changed to have the best speech.

I do not know what it is with high school boys and their fascination with welding pieces of metal together to make "art" but I know that I have been watching them like a hawk after finding some "art" in the scrap metal bin. Its okay to weld pieces together, but it can get out of hand quickly when it becomes difficult to cut the metal that has been welded together. As a result, I have been a drone and just watching over every little thing that has been happening in my shop. They have gotten better but we are still learning. PS. Putting a due date on the board really gets them motivated to accomplish the skill.

All in all it was a great week and this next week with my first field trip will get even better!