I really enjoyed getting to interact with other teachers! What a fun and exciting way to share and exchanges resources as well as other teaching ideas and strategies.
A speaker who was great was Sue Knott from the Minnesota Board of Agriculture. My dad has always been passionate about food, eating healthy and the agri business. It was cool to start thinking about how I can incorporate agriculture into my lessons, focusing on a more worldly perspective in my teaching and getting kids out of the classroom to experience the “real world” in a more hands-on manner.
3 things I learned were:
-You can never have enough resources. There are multiple ways to use a single resource, too. You have to get creative and think up new and inventive ways to introduce new topics to your class!
-Pumpkins are from Mexico. Through an activity in Sue’s presentation, I learned this random fact, and how I could use a pumpkin to teach a concept as broad as the Columbian Exchange.
-Not every teacher is organized and prepared. My second presenter seemed very experienced right off the bat, but proved to be otherwise. Acknowledging imperfection is comforting to students, but also stressful when a teacher is disorganized and unclear.
Geofest could have been better if I was well rested and had driven home to the cities the night before the conference.