The Substitute Lab

https://inalldirections.blog/

When we think back to our years in school, I'm sure a memory or two along the way involve a substitute teacher. There are three that I distinctly remember; one who chatted with us all of class and then wrote a note to our teacher saying that we talked too much, one who had a funny last name and let each student come up with a joke about it, and one who had a pack of crackers and split them up into tiny pieces to share with all of us. In my school, there were some subs who were either dreaded or loved because they had been around long enough to form a reputation. Substitute teachers in general though, have a tough job to do and I think that sometimes we overlook that. This week, however, we did not. 

On Monday, we randomly selected an AFNR Standard and were told to incorporate it into our lesson plan for lab. We were distinctly encouraged to make our lesson plan 'sub-worthy'. I wrote my lesson plan on greenhouse management and felt that if I were to hand it off to a substitute teacher, the lesson would go well. On Wednesday, I had the chance to find out. In lab, we were asked to switch lesson plans with another student and we had ten minutes to collaborate and help them prepare to teach our lesson. 

The lesson I was given was for an animal science course and focused on dichotomous keys. I quickly read over it and began to form a game plan in my head, adapting the plan as I felt appropriate. And off we went...

I did my best to work through the lesson and I felt that it went well. I felt that I handled the behavioral issues well by addressing them quietly and not letting them break my stride. I also feel that I did a good job of adapting with what the plan said, what I knew, and what the students were willing to do. I did my best to ensure that when their imaginary teacher came back, they would have completed what the teacher had planned for them to complete. The one area that I again felt needed improvement was content knowledge but as I have mentioned, this will come with time and exposure. 

I really enjoyed this lab and felt that it gave us some important insight. The one takeaway for me was the importance of clarity. Clarity is important in our lesson plans so that if someone else is teaching them or an administrator is looking them over they understand them. Additionally, clarity is important for us. Even though I may understand what something means when I write it, there is a chance that I won't understand myself in the moment so ensuring that the lesson plan is clear will help keep me from any confusion. 

I also learned that substitute teaching is no easy feat, so thank you to all of the awesome subs out there for going what you do!