Instead, I want to share about the amazing opportunity I had to coordinate my first Community Based Unit of Instruction. Although, I have shared in pervious blogs about the development and progression of this project, I wanted to provide full details behind the WHY.
How was the project recognized?
Westmoreland County is ranked 2nd in Pennsylvania for Wool production, and is home to over 4,000 head of sheep and lambs that contribute to that number. Unfortunately for the past 30 years, Derry Township Fair has not provided the opportunity to showcase or educate about this large industry to the county. The fact that it represents a large part of the county’s agricultural presence makes it the missing piece the fair needs to truly highlight all the things the local agricultural community has to offer.
How was the project developed?
After a Livestock Committee Meeting, Derry Township Fair Sheep & Wool Superintendent - Chuck Penich approached Derry FFA advisor Roy Campbell, asking if the program would be interested in designing and constructing Wool Display cases and creating an exhibit to showcase and represent Westmoreland County’s sheep and wool grower. Therefore after Mr. Campbell was approached by Chuck Penich, he approached me and asked if would be interested in taking on this project on during my student teaching experience. Once I agreed Mr. Campbell presented the project to the FFA members. There were three potential community projects presented at a regular business meeting and FFA members voted to complete the wool display case project. They felt this project had the greatest opportunity to educate the local community about a large segment of the local agricultural community. Therefore, the decision was made to develop instructions for this project as my community based unit. I contacted Chuck Penich about his expectations for this project and worked out a plan for the unit of instruction.
How was the project integrated in instruction?
Since, I was able to integrate this community based unit of instruction into the Agricultural Construction course; I tasked students to utilize their acquired knowledge and skills to create a positive impact on the community. I made effort to have the Derry Township Fair Sheep and Wool Superintendent, Chuck Penich, to come in as a guest speaker to introduce students to the project and the project need. Once this was recognized, the students were tasked to draw out a blueprint of a design that includes a bill/materials outline. The blueprints was then shared with the community partners, the partners then chose the top two designs that they felt best fit the project’s needs. After the design was chosen, students constructed the display cases, and delivered them to the Derry Township Fairgrounds. Overall this experience created opportunity for me to instruct students in the Ag Construction course to apply their knowledge and skills, which they acquired in the classroom, to solve a real-life issue.
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Proud students with their finished displays for the Derry Township Fair. They are excited to see them on exhibit in July! |
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