AEE 412 Lab Reflection

It's it that time of year again! That time when just 4 months ago we were sitting in our first lab thinking, "oh boy that last day of lab is soooo far away!" and now it's here. With all the work we have due in these last few weeks I kind of wish I had that time back! However, this semester has been one great ride and I can honestly say that I appreciated our 412 lab. It pushed and challenged me in ways that I didn't think I would be challenged. I enjoyed testing out new strategies and methods that we learned about in our other AEE courses in lab and receiving immediate feedback from peers and our professor. It was also a huge benefit to watch my other peers present and teach. There are so many great ideas I gathered from them and different strategies I saw them use that I thought I would enjoying using in my own classroom.

Although, I enjoyed my lab and lab peers there are a few aspects that were frustrating as well. I did enjoy being able to test out new teaching techniques or strategies; however, I felt that I was crammed in trying to process a new technique and then trying to implement it into my lab. For example, we would learn about the problem solving approach the Friday before we have to teach it on that following Wednesday. I didn't feel confident for lab because I didn't feel like I had a lot of information about it prior. I think it would have helped to see an example of these techniques. I enjoyed seeing and being involved in a demonstration before I had to teach it. That was very helpful for me.

I had previously stated how motivated I was to teach after our microteaching lab. I absolutely loved being with all of those 8th graders in a real classroom. After teaching at Tyrone, it made me realize that lab is nothing like a real classroom. Although I knew this previously, I realized how truly beneficial microteaching was for me and I wish that I could have had this experience sooner. I wonder if there is any possible way for student teachers to work with local Ag programs and test these new strategies that we learn at these locations throughout the semester? I think student teachers need to get into the classroom sooner. I know that there might be potential barriers to this; however, microteaching was extremely beneficial for me. It was helpful to have real students to teach and real situations to deal with rather than my peers.

Overall, I like the idea of lab and the opportunities there are to grow and develop skills. I think it has a great purpose and should continue in the future; however, I think there are some revisions that could be made to make it even more beneficial for current student teachers. I have appreciated how I have grown this semester both personally and professionally. I want to thank my professors who have invested much of their time and effort in designing this course and of course dealing with all of us! :)