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Classroom Observation
By: Emily Rudder
829-760-093


HONOR PLEDGE: I have not given, received, or used any unauthorized assistance.














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Stepping foot back into my agriculture education classroom as a perspective teacher was
a nerve-racking and enlightening experience. Mr. Weber had truly impacted my life as a high
school student, but as I am learning about teaching techniques and how to facilitate discussion
and every students personal needs, I found myself wondering if Mr. Weber actually did these
steps we are learning to do in class.
During each class period, I observed something very different from Mr. Weber. He
definitely transformed and was very flexible with each student combination and atmosphere of
classroom activities he was facilitating. However, each class period was the same as he did a
check in to ask how students were and how their days were going. He also reminded them of
upcoming events and opportunities available to students in the room ranging from state CDEs in
Fort Collins to chapter FFA banquet, and district officer interviews.
In the first and forth class period, the students were advanced in knowledge and were
given specific directions on tasks to accomplish for the chapter banquet. They worked as
individuals and in small groups to plan decorations, food, and guest invitations. A couple
students were also gathering information about state CDEs here in Fort Collins. They looked up
places to eat and hotel options for the weekend. Mr. Weber gave them a lot of reins, but was
constantly answering and asking questions and interacting with students with humor and
humility.
During the agriculture mechanics class, the atmosphere changed very quickly. These (all
boy) students are more rowdy and not focused on listening, but actually are excited to get into
the shop and start welding on projects for the end of the year exhibit (Sapolsky, 1997, p. 3). I
assumed it was because they were boys, but in fact it was just because they were passionate
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about being in the shop and working with their hands away from a classroom and pencil. The
announcements were not as structured, and the boys were more interested in asking questions
about what they were going to do to during that hour than in the next couple weeks. Mr. Weber
kept good control and made sure that the boys behaved and at least had access to the information
he had for them. Once announcements were finished and Mr. Weber told them to go out into the
shop, they boys were silent and headed right out to work on their welding projects. As we went
into the shop, the students worked alone, but referenced each other on quality of welds and
angles. They also asked Mr. Weber for help and quality checks.
During the two independent study courses, the classroom dynamic changed again. Mr.
Weber trusts his students enough to allow them to work inside the classroom while he takes other
students to the shop to finish welding projects. I stayed in the classroom and helped facilitate
work, but these students were focused on accomplishing the tasks Mr. Weber gave them. One
student was writing a script for banquet and the other was calling people in the community to
inform them of their chapter banquet. Sporadically, Mr. Weber came back into the classroom to
ask how they students were doing. I was incredibly impressed on the respect the he had from his
students and the trust and relationships he had built to have students truly succeed.
The aquaculture class is experiential-learning based. The students involved are hands-on
oriented. For this particular class, Mr. Weber designated duties to each student to complete in the
building. These ranged from taking the pH of the fish tanks, cleaning the sides, feeding each
tank, and recording all the information found. After announcements and the designation of jobs,
we all went to the building and each student completed their jobs. After the jobs were completed,
they went back into the classroom and started to discuss the final plan on releasing the fish into a
conservation reservoir in Wray. They discussed the best way to have the fish exit the tank, as
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well as how to humanely get them into the tanks to be transported. As Mr. Weber asked the
questions, the students then facilitated the discussion and found their own answers. I was
extremely impressed with his patience, and by the end of the discussion, the students had made a
decision that Mr. Weber had expected and what he thought would be the best measures to take.
During the middle school agriculture class, my eyes were opened to pure energy. Mr.
Weber was excited to teach and the students were interested in learning. During the class period I
observed, the students split into groups and created posters on what they thought FFA was and
why it was an important piece of agricultural education. The posters were an avenue for students
to be creative and express what they felt was important about leadership in their daily lives. Mr.
Weber left this activity vague, but I personally thought that it was an incredible way to introduce
the real content of the FFA organization. No content was really shared, but they students shared
their ideas, and I think that is what truly highlights this unique classroom.
Finally, the introduction to agriculture class is full of freshman and first-time agriculture
students. This dynamic was very interesting, and I could tell Mr. Weber was challenged by the
intelligence of this group. This was the most content based class of the day, and they were
learning about Colorado agriculture. Mr. Weber had a power point presentation, but it was
interactive with blanks and questions that students could answer as well as build off to ask fellow
classmates, myself, and Mr. Weber. Good discussion about genetically modified wheat and corn
and animal welfare were brought up due to the large number of beef cattle and crops grown here
in Colorado, especially in the Limon area. In this class, I noticed more girls talking, but I do not
know if Mr. Weber was facilitating girls more, or if the two girls were more educated on the
topic (Kovalik, 2008, pg. 2).
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My interview with Mr. Weber went incredibly well, and he definitely challenged my
perspective of agriculture education because of it. He felt that the purpose of schools was to
provide education to all students enrolled, but he felt that education was more than just
knowledge that was book based. He repetitively referenced the ideas of soft skills such as
communication, relationship building, and critical thinking. He felt that although he did not have
a very diverse classroom with race in mind, he had a diverse classroom with interests,
personalities, and learning styles. His main focus that he saw change in the school from the time
her started to now was the accountability that was being placed on male students. He felt that
male students were not pushed as hard to succeed in the classroom, especially if he was good at
sports, but now he feels more teachers and the administration is making it clear that all students
are held accountable and each student is challenged to learn something new every day.
Mr. Webers face literally lit up when I asked him about his actual experience related to
what he thought a being a teacher would be like. He was passionate about time with students,
and soon after he started teaching, that the behind the scenes work he had to do away from
students would be better spend actually WITH the students. He communicated his frustrations
with trying to prove himself as a teacher rather than making a difference in his students lives.
With that being said, his passion led right into the next question. He said that his concern about
teachers and education as a whole was that teachers are too engrossed about doing the paperwork
and the actual strategy and procedure than taking the time to truly know and engage with
students. He said that strategy and procedure change so quickly that most teachers cannot
implement it in time to use it before it changes again. He stressed that although these ideas and
activities might work, that time is lost by trying to learn and implement takes away from
valuable time with students to develop character and emotional connection (Kessler, 2000, p. 9).
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My last question had to do with motivation to continue teaching each year and attending
school every day. Mr. Webers motivation comes from his students in the form of their success
and contribution to society. This connects with me because I want to teach to serve other people,
and I honestly feel that by teaching and doing my job for my students will empower me to make
a positive difference in their lives and in my community.
My experiences that day of observing opened my eyes to the world that I desire to be in. I
want to be a teacher, mentor, motivator, and role model just as Mr. Weber was to me and his
other students. He has such a good relationship building ability with such a strong connection to
curriculum and student learning that I hope I can be half the teacher he is. Although I know I
have the passion for being a teacher, I have a lot to learn and overcome to be an impactful
teacher. College is teaching me quite a bit, but I truly believe that by teaching, I can learn more
and more every day from my students and through my experiences. Being an agriculture
education teacher is so much more than curriculum. It is about being a coach, advisor, mentor,
and constant learner. As an agriculture advisor, I have to provide students the opportunity for
premier leadership, personal growth, and career success (ffa.org, Mission Statement). As I finish
this paper, I am excited about the challenge, knowledge, and experiences I am about to gain
through this long-life career as a teacher.




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Bibliography and Works Cited
Kessler, R. (2000). The Soul of Education: Helping Students Find Connection,
Compassion, and Character at School. Danvers, MA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development.
Kovalik, S. J. (2008). Gender Differences and Student Engagement. Rexford, New York:
The Center for Effective Learning .
Mission. (2013, January 1). ffa.org. Retrieved April 16, 2013, from ffa.org
Sapolsky, R. (1997). The Trouble with Testosterone and other Essays on the Biology of
the Human Predicament. The Trouble with Testosterone, 42 (Part I: PrIsms), 1-5.
Smith, H., & Llama, D. (1994). Heart of Learning: Spirituality in Education. New York,
NY: Little, Brown and Company.