Ag Ed Students Engage in Shaver's Creek Outdoor School

Shaver's Creek Environmental Center recruits Penn State students to be cabin counselors for the 5th graders, trying to create a summer-camp like feel to the program, and agricultural education majors are always sought after for this role.  As counselors, AEE students are responsible for helping the students maximize the benefits of Outdoor School.  Helping students get ready for the day/night, supervising their safety, leading games/activities, sleeping in the cabin, and being a positive role model were the primary responsibilities of Kate, Britney and Jessica.  In addition to those counselor duties, they also assumed the duties and responsibilities of a teacher, an experience to help them prepare as agricultural educators.

PSU students assisted the Shaver’s Creek staff in teaching the daily ecology lessons to a small Learning Group with tasks ranging from helping to manage the group during an activity, or being involved teaching a portion of the lesson.  PSU students also teach a station in 19th Century costume for Then & Now, the cultural history lesson, or assist with the Living Things lesson, during which elementary students are introduced to live animals from Shaver’s Creek.  “My experiences at Shaver's Creek have helped develop a strong set of skills in inquiry-based instruction, which I am excited to use as a student teacher,” said Jessica DiMarizio, a senior in agricultural education.

Penn State’s Department of Agricultural and Extension Education is very proud to have Kate, Britney, and Jessica as some of its many outstanding students.  To learn more about the Outdoor Field School at Shaver's Creek, visit: http://www.outreach.psu.edu/shaverscreek/.  To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of students by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the department at teachag@psu.edu.