As We Transition Back Into the Classroom: Reflections from Indiana Agriscience Teacher Melissia Grant!

Welcome Back!

As the first full week of classes complete for me and my students here in Russiaville, Indiana, I still am experiencing a whirlwind of emotions about my experience abroad. But my biggest question still remains- How will I use my knowledge from Malaysia to impact student learning in my classroom?

As I look back on my experience abroad I am pulled in a way that helps me to evaluate my teaching strategies on a new level. I enjoyed viewing and participating in several different dynamics of teaching strategies from several other current agricultural educators and pre-service teachers. Here are some items I learned and hope to implement in my classroom during the 2018-2019 school year.

1. Ice Breaker/ Get To Know You Activity

During my teaching in Malaysia, it was important to start with an introduction activity to get familiar with your audience. As this was the first time meeting these students it was essential to set the stage for the remainder of the lesson.

 

Students participating in the Beach Ball Bonding Ice Breaker Game. Questions were given in both Malay and English for both parties to feel comfortable enough to engage and answer the questions. Questions asked were basic including What they wanted to be when they grew up and why. Where do you hope someday to travel? And what is your favorite Malaysian food?

2. Hands-On Teaching Strategies

It was both exciting and rewarding to learn in Malaysia with a hands-on learning approach. I can attest that the most rewarding experiences were those that I could feel, grasp, and touch with my hands.

A ‘How To’ demonstration was given to construct a local lemongrass tea. Not only were we given a visual during the students’ demonstration but we then followed by making our own. It was awesome to prepare the ingredients and the tea on our own. It also helped the tea was delicious!

 

Teachers we able to observe and handle the quail students raise for their eggs to sell at the local market.

3. Implementing a Community Service Event

Finally, I thought it was very beneficial that we were able to help a Malaysian community by cleaning up the local water banks filled with trash. It was such an eye-opening experience to see the amount of trash accumulated in such a small area and how much we as a group impacted the community in just a short amount of time.

Wow, the trash was unreal! How can we impact our local community with just a simple day of service? Our duty was to fill the trash bags with anything and everything.

Melissia Grant (@MelissiaGrant8) is a secondary agriscience teacher at Western High School in Indiana.

 

 

Day 22: Teaching to Inspire – Our Final Malaysian Teaching Experience

During our group reflection on Monday evening, Shelby, Thomas, and Nisa asked us the question:

“Why do we teach?”

Members of our group quickly responded with the following phrases:

  • “Pass on knowledge to students”
  • “Give every student the chance to succeed”
  • “Inspire students to find their passion”
Melissa assists students to select the materials to create a poultry digestion mural.

This question resonated with the group as we had just finished our last teaching episode at Dato Lela Maharaja Vocational College. Our 3 teaching experiences scaffolded from teaching Form 2 students (14 years old), then hosting an Agriculture Day for 60 secondary students, to finally teaching students (16-19 years old) at a Vocational Agricultural College.  At Dato Lela Maharaja, students are part of a specific agricultural program (Agronomy, Poultry Agro-Industry, Ruminant Agro-Industry, Agro-Mechanization, Aquaculture, Ornamental Horticulture, Architectural Landscape, or Agriculture Food Processing). Our 6 teaching teams each chose a content area and were tasked with preparing a 90-minute lesson for a group of students. During our planning, we needed to consider that students may have advanced content knowledge, may (or may not) be confident in their English communication skills, or may have covered the topic of our lesson previously in their studies. Nonetheless, our teaching teams collaborated and utilized teaching strategies centered around student engagement, inquiry, and project-based learning.

Ruminant Agro-Industry students label their petri dishes and read the biosecurity scenarios they will replicate

Drawing upon past teaching experience from an inquiry-based curriculum, two teachers decided to utilize an activity they implement in their secondary Agricultural Science programs in the United States. Melissa Grant, Indiana AgriScience Teacher, and Darla Romberger, Pennsylvania AgriScience Teacher, are both Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE)-certified in the Agricultural Science—Animal course. Melissa’s group consisting of Manny Catala (@MCatala35), Azira, and Ain provided instruction to the Poultry Agro-Industry group while Darla’s group of Mikaella Koster (@MikaellaKoster) and Fatin instructed the Ruminant Agro-Industry class. Knowing that both lessons needed to be challenging, engaging, and somewhat flexible, the CASE-certified teachers decided to utilize inquiry-based lessons from the CASE curriculum and conduct each lesson in a Malaysian classroom.

Poultry Agro-Industry class with completed Digestion Murals.

The poultry instructional team led a class of Form 4 students (ages 15-16) and focused their lesson on internal anatomy and physiology of poultry animals. After briefly introducing the function and appearance of internal organs, students created digestion murals of a broiler chicken (Project. 5.1.4.) utilizing assorted craft supplies. Before creating the mural, students needed to justify how each craft item accurately represented each organ. Melissa noted, “It was awesome to see students in a different country enjoying the same activity that my students do in Indiana.” The students loved being out of their seats collaborating and creating a poster that they could display to other students in the program.

After washing a boot with water and a disinfecting solution, a student swabs a petri dish to observe bacterial growth between both biosecurity treatments.

The ruminant instructional team led a class of 19-year-old students (that would graduate with a Vocational College diploma at the end of the year) and concentrated on the topic of biosecurity and the effectiveness of various biosecurity practices.  After a brief introduction about the various control points in a biosecurity plan, students replicated various scenarios on a farm to evaluate the effectiveness of biosecurity practices (Activity 3.3.2. Biosecurity: Managing Risk). The class had already discussed the concept of biosecurity, but our group was confident in the problem-based activity we had planned. The instructional team explained the purpose of a nutrient agar petri dish and gave instruction on how to label, swab, and seal a petri dish with parafilm—all new concepts for this group of students. Students then predicted which biosecurity scenario would result in the least bacterial growth and therefore be the most effective practice to reduce the spread of disease. At the end of the lesson, I reflected, “It was rewarding to see project-based learning and inquiry strategies come to life in a Malaysian classroom and hope that I inspired these students to ask questions and become more engaged in Animal Science content.”

After teaching in Malaysia and the United States, I’ve realized that teachers across the globe teach for the same reasons—to inspire, motivate, and share knowledge with students, regardless of what country we teach in. When tasked with teaching a class of Malaysian students, I instantly thought of all the barriers we would have while teaching (language, content, etc). However, I quickly remembered why I enjoy teaching—sharing my passion for animal agriculture with future generations of students. This motivation will continue as we enter our classrooms next fall and continue to motivate, inspire, and share knowledge about global agriculture and our second home—Malaysia.

Ms. Darla Romberger (@DJR_131) [Cumberland Valley High School (@FlyCVEagles)] is a secondary Agricultural Science Teacher (@CV_AgSciences) & FFA Advisor (@CV_FFA1954) in
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania!

It’s Not All About the Fish! Aquaponics Ag Day at SMK Seri LaLang – Day 14

We finished off our FELDA Ayer Hitman visit by teaching Form 1 students (13 years old) at their Aquaponics Ag Day at SMK Seri LaLang before returning back to UTM in Johor Baru. We were initially greeted by our students playing instruments and each handed a very unique flower and egg on a stick combination as we departed from our bus. In a brief opening ceremony, we observed for the first time students, faculty, and visitors stood for the nationals anthem of Malaysia. 🇲🇾 As we finished logistical matters, the students were divided into four groups. Please keep in mind groups are comprised of separate genders, this time we had two groups of boys and two groups of females.

 

 

Accomplishing the WHY is always our mission as educators. But,  why were we at FELDA Ayer Hitam SMK Seri Lalang today? We hoped to accomplish the following learning objectives as a team today by discussing AQUAPONICS:

1.  Classify the components of an aquaponics system.

2. Differentiate between the three types of aquaponics systems; NFT (Nutrient Film Technique), Ebb and Flow, and Raft/DWC (Deep Water Culture).

3. Create the cycle through an aquaponics system.

4. Assess the pros and cons of an aquaponics system.

At the close our session, we had a few minutes for questions, where we learned that several students were curious about our favorite back home food, a student shared that he loved to beatbox and even heard him play, they were also curious about if we enjoyed wearing the traditional batik and hijab to teach in. I have to say it was very tight fitting around your face but I appreciated the culture adjustment and felt very welcome. Also relevant is that we were in a school and teaching on a Sunday. In the state of Johor Bahor they observe Friday and Saturday as the weekend and as such, we were at school today.

Melissia Grant (@MelissiaGrant8) is a secondary agriscience teacher at Western High School in Indiana.

Malaysian Fruit Fun Facts: Durian – An Experience from Day 3 in #AgEd2Malaysia

The #AgEd2Malaysia crew was able to conduct their first visit to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Telok Kajang! As part of the visit, the agriculture students were very excited to introduce Durian to the group.

Durian Fruit Quick Facts

  • Regarded by many people in Southeast Asia as the “King of Fruits”
  • Large Size (2-7 lbs)
  • Strong Odor
  • Thorn-covered skin
  • Banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in Southeast Asia because of the awful odor (rotten onions)
  • Seeds can only be eaten when cooked
  • Malay language the word Duri means thorn

 

Overall Experience From First Timers

  • Manny Catala (@MCatala35), Junior at Penn State University studying Agricultural Education
    • Thumbs Down.
      • Manny mentioned the fruit was very mushy and appeared to have a rotten texture.

  • Myself (@MGrant8), Agriculture Education graduate from Purdue University and current high school Agriculture Instructor
    • Thumbs Down
      • I also agreed with Manny in regards to the mushy texture, but I believe what made it less appetizing for myself was the onion aftertaste.

 

 

  • Huzimi, fourth-year Career and Technical Education Life Skills at the University ofTechnologyMalaysia
    • Thumbs Down
      • Huzimi had previously tried the Durian fruit several years ago but didn’t like it and wanted to try it again. Huzimi was complaining about his bad breath following our taste test.

 

 

Overall we were glad we tried the Durian fruit once but wouldn’t recommend it to a friend!

 

Melissa Grant (@MelissaGrant8) is a secondary agriscience teacher at Western High School in Russiaville, Indiana. 

 

 

Dont Forget to Pack These Essentials ….

As I am finalizing my packing for the upcoming #AgEd2Malaysia trip (T- minus 7ish days) I simply hope I am not missing anything! For those last minute packers these essential items have been vital in my experiences abroad and could defiantly save you a couple dollars at the airport. Since I am leaving tomorrow for Iowa I essentially needed my suitcases packed for nearly 5 weeks. I know poor planning on my part, but hey teachers need to utilize their summer vacation time frame.  Check out my pictures below to get some ideas.

  1. Snacks- Keep them lite and healthy! But also keep in mind the hot temperatures in Malaysia. I would stay clear of anything that could melt or break up easily.
  2. MONEY- When I travel I like to request the currency of the country I will be traveling to ahead of time. Through my bank (Huntington Bank) you can request currency up to 5 days before you travel. Its so convienent to have when you land in country and you aren’t trying to exchange in the airport where lets be honest they rip you off.  None the less, ensure you contact your bank about using your debit card abroad.
  3. Bug Spray/Soap- Of course even back in the states right now, one could be eaten alive by mosquitos so evidently you will need this essential whether you are in Malaysia or Indiana. In addition I would recommend a laundry detergent type soap to wash items in the sink if need be.
  4. Gum/Mints- Again we all know a pack of gum or mints at the airport will cost you an arm and a leg. I particularly like gum as it helps with your ears and the pressure in the cabin of the airplane.

  1. Insulated Water Bottle- These can be a lifesaver on those hot summer days abroad as it keeps your beverage cold nearly the entire day. I would invest in a good quality one.
  2. Passport- Most importantly pack a colored copy of your passport identification page. I have been through the catastrophe with a friend while we were abroad in New Zealand and heading out the next morning to Fiji. Lets just say his passport was no where to be found. It was a disaster that trust me no one wants to deal with.
  3. Headphones- As we will nearly be traveling for 2 days to our destination you will need something to keep your sanity. You can’t go wrong with a nice set of headphones. Several movie selections will be available on the plane and you defiantly don’t want to use the cheap ones they provide.
  4. GIFTS- I always love bringing a little something from home to surprise my guests. I found some FFA apparel left over from our FFA banquet and thought it would be fitting for our agricultural educators we meet abroad.