Each year the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education and Leadership at The Ohio State University sends students to high schools around the state for 12 weeks in order to gain real world experience in the classroom. This year, the agricultural education program at Marysville High School and Marysville FFA welcomed student teacher Wyatt Jones, a Greenfield native and McClain High School graduate.
Jones is a senior in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) majoring in agriscience education. While student teaching Marysville, Jones is under the guidance of agriculture teacher and FFA advisor Bill Keck.
“The student teaching experience is the most important part of the teacher preparation process,” said Dr. Tracy Kitchel, professor and chair of the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education and Leadership (ACEL). “For that reason, our student teachers are immersed in the life as an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor. In addition to the important and engaging work in their classrooms, agriculture teachers also have many responsibilities outside of the classroom, attending meetings, conducting SAE visits, advising the FFA chapter and coaching career development event teams. Our student teachers will participate in those activities to fully experience life as agriculture teachers before they lead their own classroom next fall.”
Upon completion of his student teaching experience, Jones will earn a bachelor of science degree in agriculture with a major in agriscience education and minor in production agriculture.
Agriscience education is one of three undergraduate majors within in ACEL. This major prepares students to acquire a license to teach agricultural science in secondary high schools through extensive training in agriculture science, educational psychology, instructional methods and youth development.
For additional information on the agriscience education major or how you can make a financial contribution to student scholarships, visit acel.osu.edu.
Submitted by Emily Wickham, communication and undergraduate program manager, OSU Extension.
