Each year, the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education and Leadership at Ohio State University sends students to high schools around the state for 12 weeks to gain real-world experience in the classroom.

This year, 22 agricultural education programs welcomed student teachers who are seniors in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and agriscience education majors.

“'Doing to learn' is a key part of the motto for the National FFA Organization, so it only makes sense for our agriscience education student teachers to be in the classroom environment getting hands-on experience,” says Shannon Washburn, professor of agriscience education and chair of ACEL.

“Student teaching prepares our students for their future roles in the classroom by allowing them to lead an agriscience education program with the aid of experienced agriscience teachers. Aside from carrying out lesson plans in a classroom, agriculture teachers serve as FFA advisors, where they host chapter meetings, help students with career development events and coach competition teams. This experience allows them to see into their future and get excited for the next step in their career.”

The participating students and schools are Haley Back, Highland High School; Hayley Black, Meadowbrook High School; Nicole Biery, Northeastern High School; Micayla Fincham, Northwestern High School; Sean Fitzsimmons, Smithville High School; Jessie Howald, Caldwell High School; Seth Johnson, Tecumseh High School; Brenna Loxley, Edgewood High School; Samantha McAllister, Gamble Montessori High School; Rebecca McCarty, Hilsdale High School; Adrianne McPhillips, Urbana High School; Maddi Morlock, Otsego High School; Olivia Pflaumer, Global Impact STEM Academy; Milan Pozderac, Fairfield Union High School; MaKayla Risner, River Valley High School; Travis Rutledge, Edison High School; Paige Schaffter, Pettisville High School; Robert Selvey, Tiffin Sentinel CTC; Davis Sodders, Licking Valley High School; Katie Stokes, Bloom Carroll High School; Jamie Walter, West Muskingum High School; Ashlee Williams, Utica High School.

Agriscience education is one of three undergraduate majors within 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 to make a financial contribution to student scholarships, visit acel.osu.edu.

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