Dana Dale's teaching philosophy is guided by the FFA motto of "learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, living to serve." She believes learning should not be confined to the classroom but students should have opportunities to practice skills and apply their learning outside of class. Her philosophy is also informed by her own educational experiences of classroom instruction followed by guided practice, labs, and projects. She strives to create an engaging learning environment that allows students to reflect on their understanding and development as lifelong learners. Dale emphasizes using a variety of assessment techniques, including pre-assessments, formative assessments, and summative assessments, to effectively evaluate student learning and ensure they are able to apply the material beyond the
Dana Dale's teaching philosophy is guided by the FFA motto of "learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, living to serve." She believes learning should not be confined to the classroom but students should have opportunities to practice skills and apply their learning outside of class. Her philosophy is also informed by her own educational experiences of classroom instruction followed by guided practice, labs, and projects. She strives to create an engaging learning environment that allows students to reflect on their understanding and development as lifelong learners. Dale emphasizes using a variety of assessment techniques, including pre-assessments, formative assessments, and summative assessments, to effectively evaluate student learning and ensure they are able to apply the material beyond the
Dana Dale's teaching philosophy is guided by the FFA motto of "learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, living to serve." She believes learning should not be confined to the classroom but students should have opportunities to practice skills and apply their learning outside of class. Her philosophy is also informed by her own educational experiences of classroom instruction followed by guided practice, labs, and projects. She strives to create an engaging learning environment that allows students to reflect on their understanding and development as lifelong learners. Dale emphasizes using a variety of assessment techniques, including pre-assessments, formative assessments, and summative assessments, to effectively evaluate student learning and ensure they are able to apply the material beyond the
Learning to do doing to learn earning to live living to serve.
These sixteen words guide FFA members, students of agriculture, and
agriculture educators. The three-part model of agriculture education brings together classroom instruction, FFA, and SAE (Supervised Agriculture Experience). Because of the influence this short motto exerts on those who choose to live by it, it only makes sense that this motto, too, guides my part in the inspiring task of teaching. Learning should not be confined to the walls of the classroom. Students should be provided the opportunity to accumulate the necessary information, practice the skills to further their understanding, and then incorporate those skills outside of the classroom. Then and only then can we truly say our instruction has been meaningful. I hope to foster a love of learning and develop the natural curiosity present in all learners through my teaching and my interactions with students, be they in one of my classes or not. My philosophy of teaching comes primarily from my own educational experiences. Throughout my schooling, I have been exposed to classroom instruction that was typically followed by guided practice, lab exercises, and projects. As I plan my lessons, this same progression of instruction is evident. I rely heavily on initial instruction before moving into activities and then returning to the lecture material for a brief review as closure. Understanding that some lessons may be better suited to activity that accompanies instruction or even precedes instruction has allowed me to vary the instructional routine of the classroom without sacrificing the benefit of guided practice, lab exercises, and projects. While current pedagogy of agriculture education is well established, as seen in the three- part model of agriculture education, I will strive to never stop learning and experimenting with new methods of presenting information so that I may continue to develop as an educator that dutifully serves each and every student in my classroom. Effective teaching comes from an understanding of not only methodology but students themselves. Agriculture education lends itself to being taught in a very hands-on manner but does not readily present ample opportunity for reflection. I believe this lack of reflection does students a terrible disservice. During my instruction, I hope to provide engaging ways to ask students to reflect on their understanding of the learning and their development as life-long learners through my classes. By creating an environment of respect and rapport, planning meaningful instruction, effectively differentiating for students who differ in readiness, interest, and learning styles, while also providing assessment that determines student understanding of the material, students will be able to learn, live, and serve beyond the confines of my classroom. Evaluating student learning is, arguably, the most important part in the process of education. If students are not able to retain the information that was presented and apply the information accordingly, that information is of no service to them and we have wasted their time, doing them a complete disservice. In order to effectively evaluate student learning, a variety of assessment techniques must be utilized. Students should have a plethora of opportunities to demonstrate understanding. Lessons and units will begin with a pre-assessment to determine current understanding. Formative assessment will be relied upon heavily throughout the progression of the lesson to guide and inform teaching. Lastly summative assessment will be incorporated to assure that students, in fact, learned the material presented. Variety in instructional methods and activities, as well as assessment techniques, will provide the invaluable opportunity for students to take responsibility for their own learning while being guided through the overwhelming process; a life skill that will continue to serve them beyond their time in my classroom.
Classroom-Ready Resources for Student-Centered Learning: Basic Teaching Strategies for Fostering Student Ownership, Agency, and Engagement in K–6 Classrooms