This week's weekly investment is centered around the very important aspect of having engaging instruction in your classroom. You can have all the other pieces (great FFA chapter, a supportive community, adequate funding, etc.) of a successful agriculture program, but without engaging instruction that makes your students want to take your classes and get excited about learning, we have missed the target.
Here are ways that I plan to incorporate the domains of learning into my teaching style/approach:
1. Cognitive
This domain deals with the acquisition of facts, knowledge, information, or concepts relevant to the class topic. However, this information can be delivered in a multitude of ways, which can help your students digest and understand the content. These delivery methods are visual (eyes) or auditory (ears).
This domain of cognition directly connects to Bloom's Taxonomy of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
Ex. using a PowerPoint/Prezi to deliver information to students, showing students a documentary or video that provides information, adds to the effectiveness of the lesson, or helps students better understand the content.
2. Psychomotor
This domain deals with the "hands-on" portion of agriculture education and getting students to put their thinking-caps on while doing something that requires active learning.
Ex. student's use/recall knowledge of how to stick weld from the classroom and apply it while in the shop and actually welding.
3. Affective
This domain deals with attitudes, values, aesthetics, and appreciation by the student and is the most difficult domain to address. This domain relates back to the teacher's objectives for the class.
The goal is that if I can incorporate these aspects into my unit and lesson plans, and prepare to maximize student learning through engagement, more effective learning will take place.
I found this really interesting Ted Talk about how to get students engaged by "teaching teachers how to create magic." Have a look.
Lastly, be sure to check out this resource (http://ag.csuchico.edu/ag/aged/LessonPlan/LessonPlanGuide.pdf) put out by California State University on how to create effective instruction in the area of agriculture education. It goes into how to reinforce students to stimulate continued engagement and how to motivate all students, regardless of ability, to want to learn with intent and purpose.
Newcomb, L.H., McCracken, J.D., Warmbrod, J.R., & Whittington, M.S. (1993). Methods of teaching agriculture. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.