Have you ever heard of 8th graders enjoying accounting? In this week's episode, Neil Knobloch and Andrea Brown talk with the crew regarding their success in integrating an agricultural business management simulation into an eighth-grade classro

Supporting Alternatively Certified Teachers

14 days ago 22m 29s

Alternatively certified teachers bring a variety of experiences to their practice of agricultural education that add value to their schools and benefit their students. Kellie Claflin (The Ohio State University) asks us to think about how we can

Virtual Professional Development

21 days ago 23m 16s

Virtual professional development is a reality of the post-pandemic world, and it's changed how we deliver and expect to interact with PD. Amber Rice (University of Arizona) shares great insight from CASE participants to help us think about what

Professional Development for Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity

28 days ago 20m 59s

With a decline in the teaching workforce and a decline in teacher diversity, Matt Wood and Michelle Burrows at Utah State University wanted to know: what's the effect on ag programs? In exploring attitudes and professional development around In

Recruitment Strategies

Mar 19th, 2024 18m 32s

What are we recruiting to? Tiffany Marzalino and Aaron McKim at Michigan State University share how Michigan ag teachers are recruiting students to their programs--and it might be more straightforward than you think! Tune in as we talk about au

Assessing & Evaluating Mentoring (7. Mentoring Mini-Series)

Mar 12th, 2024 22m 38s

How can we evaluate mentoring? Do you know what purpose you are serving as a mentor or mentee? In this week's episode Brian, Becky, and Mike discuss how to assess and evaluate mentoring. Tune in as the crew continues their mentoring mini-series

Integrating School Gardens

Mar 5th, 2024 26m 53s

Establishing integrated school gardens takes a champion to start, but a team to maintain. Jade Davidson (Oregon State University) and Jason Peake (University of Georgia) share a framework and the components necessary to integrate sustainable an

Integrating GPS & Geocaching

Feb 27th, 2024 26m 20s

Geocaching is a treasure hunting community teachers can leverage as an instructional tool. Rachel Hendrix (West Virginia University) and John Rickets (Tennessee State University) join the crew to help us learn how to use geocaching to promote c

The One-Way Mirror: How Young Ag Leaders Understand and Experience Culture

Feb 20th, 2024 18m 4s

Understanding and experiencing culture is critical for young agricultural leaders, but there's often some anxiety around having culturally competent conversations. Never fear--Janiece Pigg (Tennessee Youth Development) is here to help us think

Mentoring Behaviors (6. Mentoring Mini-Series)

Feb 13th, 2024 28m 1s

Prepare to enter mentoring! Mentoring is a huge undertaking, and in this episode, Brian, Mike, and Becky explore what we need to enter mentoring and point to tools to support that process in formal mentoring relationships.

SBAE Teacher Performance and Program Quality

Feb 6th, 2024 24m 6s

There are hundreds of ways to measure success in SBAE programs, and Haley Traini (Oregon State University) joins us to talk about them all! We'll chat about teacher and program performance, overwhelm, and career expectations in the jam packed e

Working with SPED in Ag Ed

Jan 30th, 2024 18m 48s

We all have students with special needs in our classes. Unfortunately, many of us also need additional training to support our SPED students. Tune in as the OP team chats with Raegan Ramage (Louisiana) as she shares tips for opening communicati

Perceived Use of Instructional Methods

Jan 23rd, 2024 26m 45s

We rely on a toolbox of instructional methods as agricultural educators. Blake Colclasure (University of Tennessee) and Jack Dempsey (University of Illinois & Cascade Reading) share how our belief in a method's effectiveness affects our use of

Curricular Resource Use and Pedagogical Design Capacity

Jan 16th, 2024 26m 45s

Growing as an effective educator is a skill to practice, especially as we work to engage students. Tune in as we talk with Tre Easterly (University of Florida) about how to improve our teaching by improving instructional clarity, increasing var

Identities in Mentoring (5. Mentoring Mini-Series)

Jan 9th, 2024 22m 38s

Identity is the composite of who a person is, including their thoughts about themselves, how they're viewed by the world, and the characteristics individuals use to define themselves. Join the OP crew for the next installation of the mentoring

What’s the Difference? (4. Mentoring Mini-Series)

Dec 12th, 2023 25m 5s

Mentoring, coaching, advising, role modeling, sponsorship--what's the big deal? Aren't they all kind of the same thing? Join the Owl Pellets team as we work through the difference, and value, of each different type of relationship in our person

Youth Livestock Production: More than meets the eye

Dec 5th, 2023 25m 10s

Being involved in agriculture connects kids to their communities. Rebecca Mott and John Tummons (University of Missouri) share how we can use youth livestock experiences to encourage deep reflection and growth toward independence.Resources:

Adapting FFA Programs for Your Community

Nov 28th, 2023 27m 6s

FFA is steeped in tradition. Join the conversation with Mike Martin (Iowa State University) to think about how we engage our chapters and communities over competition as we enact meaningful FFA programs. Mike shares how we can focus on the thin

Co-Pilot Relationships (3. Mentoring Mini-Series)

Nov 14th, 2023 28m 20s

A co-pilot mentoring relationship builds trust over time, allows both parties to guide the relationship, recognizes conditions will change, embraces communication as essential, and develops as a skill through guidance and commitment. The Owl Pe

Characteristics of Effective Instruction

Nov 7th, 2023 26m 45s

Growing as an effective educator is a skill to practice, especially as we work to engage students. Tune in as we talk with Tre Easterly (University of Florida) about how to grow in our instructional clarity, variety, enthusiasm, task-oriented b

Importance of Ag Literacy

Oct 31st, 2023 25m 19s

Ag literacy is an important piece of helping individuals apply what they know about agriculture. Amelia Miller (Michigan Ag In the Classroom) and Brian Warnick (Utah State University) join the Owl Pellets crew to talk about the ways school-base

Let’s Talk Boundaries

Oct 24th, 2023 22m 52s

The encouragement to set boundaries is becoming the norm in agricultural education, but that doesn't mean the boundaries come easily. Mike and Brian get the chance to grill Becky and her teammates Haley Traini (Oregon State University) and Aaro

Preparing Agricultural Leaders with Employability Skills

Oct 17th, 2023 25m 48s

Students who know their career path believe their employability skills are better developed, but what about those who aren't so sure? Jean Parrella (Virginia Tech) joins Becky and Mike to talk about cultivating employability skills in our progr

Career & Psychosocial Support (2. Mentoring Mini-Series)

Oct 10th, 2023 27m 20s

Career support means providing career guidance, skill development, and sponsorship while psychosocial support focuses on psychological and emotional support and role modeling. Tune in as the OP team talks about how many we can do this for well

Technical Skills to Teach Plant Science

Oct 3rd, 2023 23m 26s

Agricultural education classes incorporate a wide range of technical skills. Tune in as Jay Solomonson (Illinois State University) and Trent Wells (Murray State) share what technical skills we need to teach in plant science and how to grow in t