SAE for All Teacher Workshop
Earlier this semester I attended the SAE for all teacher workshop. At this workshop, I learned about how the idea of SAEs has changed due to the continued change in the interests of FFA members. One important change is that while SAEs are still agriculture-based a student’s project does not have to be strictly agriculture-based. Granted the SAE still must relate to agriculture but SAEs do not have to directly relate to raising plants and animals.
Another change is that teachers have a different way of observing their students SAE projects. This method is the AET. While students have had access to the AET for a few years now, with how large some agriculture programs are teachers may struggle to visit each student's SAE project every year. Especially when some students may need more than one visit. While these larger programs will often have multiple teachers, it can still be difficult to visit all of the projects. By using the AET teachers can get an idea of how their students are doing. They can see what their students are doing without visiting their SAE projects. This allows the teachers to get a better idea of how their students are doing before they arrive at the site of the SAE, whether it is the student's home or a different location. They can also use AET and conversations with their students to determine who might need extra assistance with their SAE project.
Students will still follow the same pattern of Foundational and Immersion SAEs. For their Foundational SAEs students will still complete many of the same components. These include Career Exploration and Planning, Employability Skills for College and Career Readiness, Personal Financial Management and Planning, Workplace Safety, and Agricultural literacy. Once agriculture students have completed their Foundational SAEs they can begin working on their Immersion SAEs. This project, while often similar to their Foundational SAE does not have to be the same, students can also use different topics for their Immersion SAE each year.
The main difference in the new SAE for all guidelines is what types of Immersion SAEs are now available. While similar to the original types of SAEs the new Immersion SAE types are Placement/Internship, Ownership/Entrepreneurship, Research: Experimental, Analysis or Invention, School-Based Enterprise, and Service Learning. While similar to the SAE types prior to SAE for All, these include Exploratory, Entrepreneurship, Placement, and Research/Experimentation. While some SAE types stay the same the new SAE topics allow for more variety in the SAEs students take part in.
An example of this for School-Based Enterprise would be a school store. At Northern Burlington, both the middle and high schools have a school store. This opens up the opportunity for students to take part in SAE activities during school time. This is helpful for students who can’t drive yet, whose parents or guardians are not available to take them places after school or simply do not have the resources to perform their SAE on their own.
I feel that fully embracing this new system of SAEs will be incredibly beneficial to my future students. By showing them that their SAEs do not have to relate directly to agriculture. This can be especially helpful for the FFA members who know that they don’t want to work in agriculture when they get out of high school. As it will allow them to pursue their own interests while still participating in the SAE activity and possibly getting awards for these projects.
What do you think? Do you feel that your students will benefit from the SAE for All system? As mentioned, this will allow your students to have more varied SAEs in their personal areas of interest. By allowing students to explore their interests outside of agriculture while completing SAEs do you think you will have more enthusiastic participation in SAEs?
Another change is that teachers have a different way of observing their students SAE projects. This method is the AET. While students have had access to the AET for a few years now, with how large some agriculture programs are teachers may struggle to visit each student's SAE project every year. Especially when some students may need more than one visit. While these larger programs will often have multiple teachers, it can still be difficult to visit all of the projects. By using the AET teachers can get an idea of how their students are doing. They can see what their students are doing without visiting their SAE projects. This allows the teachers to get a better idea of how their students are doing before they arrive at the site of the SAE, whether it is the student's home or a different location. They can also use AET and conversations with their students to determine who might need extra assistance with their SAE project.
Students will still follow the same pattern of Foundational and Immersion SAEs. For their Foundational SAEs students will still complete many of the same components. These include Career Exploration and Planning, Employability Skills for College and Career Readiness, Personal Financial Management and Planning, Workplace Safety, and Agricultural literacy. Once agriculture students have completed their Foundational SAEs they can begin working on their Immersion SAEs. This project, while often similar to their Foundational SAE does not have to be the same, students can also use different topics for their Immersion SAE each year.
The main difference in the new SAE for all guidelines is what types of Immersion SAEs are now available. While similar to the original types of SAEs the new Immersion SAE types are Placement/Internship, Ownership/Entrepreneurship, Research: Experimental, Analysis or Invention, School-Based Enterprise, and Service Learning. While similar to the SAE types prior to SAE for All, these include Exploratory, Entrepreneurship, Placement, and Research/Experimentation. While some SAE types stay the same the new SAE topics allow for more variety in the SAEs students take part in.
An example of this for School-Based Enterprise would be a school store. At Northern Burlington, both the middle and high schools have a school store. This opens up the opportunity for students to take part in SAE activities during school time. This is helpful for students who can’t drive yet, whose parents or guardians are not available to take them places after school or simply do not have the resources to perform their SAE on their own.
I feel that fully embracing this new system of SAEs will be incredibly beneficial to my future students. By showing them that their SAEs do not have to relate directly to agriculture. This can be especially helpful for the FFA members who know that they don’t want to work in agriculture when they get out of high school. As it will allow them to pursue their own interests while still participating in the SAE activity and possibly getting awards for these projects.
What do you think? Do you feel that your students will benefit from the SAE for All system? As mentioned, this will allow your students to have more varied SAEs in their personal areas of interest. By allowing students to explore their interests outside of agriculture while completing SAEs do you think you will have more enthusiastic participation in SAEs?
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