Integrating Career Development Events

This past Tuesday was one of our last online cohort meetings for #psuaged16! Each time there is a meeting, special guests are brought in to present about topics we want to strengthen in. This week's topic was integrating Career Development Events (CDEs) in the classroom. FFA is an intra-curricular part of agricultural education. I had the opportunity to listen to Mr. Mike Clark and Ms. Krista Pontius and interview a a Pennsylvania ag teacher about CDEs. Here is what I learned!

• Almost all students love to compete in CDEs. Students want to compete in these contests. They create connections between the classroom and CDEs. They take what they learned and apply it to the contest. They can also take what they learned from a CDE and in the classroom and connect it with their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE). FFA, SAE, and classroom instruction all fall under the three-circle model to create a uniform agricultural program. 

• During the interview, I learned more about coaching students for CDEs. I interviewed Jodie Hoover from Fort Cherry High School. She incorporates some CDEs into her classroom. She believes that all students can benefit from this integration and not just the active members. Jodie also uses time after school to work with students who want to compete in CDEs. Her resources are National FFA, Quizlet, and the PA FFA website just to name a few. Her advice to a beginning teacher is to try and attend as many CDEs as you can. Each one offers a different opportunity. The more you know about a CDE, the more help you can give a student to prepare. 

This online cohort meeting helped me have a better understanding of preparing students for CDEs through the classroom. I made connections back to my previous classes of AEE 311, 412, and my current class of 495. We hit a lot on CDEs in AEE 311. I also created a CDE Success Plan that I utilize for my student teaching. In 412, we discussed integrating CDEs into lessons. In my internship, I am always working with students to prepare them for CDEs. Everything I learned is coming round for me during this internship. So far, I have helped students in Extemporaneous public speaking, Small Gas Engines CDE, and Floriculture CDE. I have one student continuing on to Regionals for Extemporaneous and others wanting to attend State Days for Floriculture.