SAE
Competency / Continuous instruction and supervision of SAE programs are provided by the agriculture teacher throughout the calendar year.
IV
Course Objective 2: Agriculture teacher candidates will be able toconduct SAE supervisory visits and enlist the assistance of others in SAEP supervision.
Lesson Objectives: Students will be able to:
  1. explain the value/rationale for supervising SAE.
  2. identify partners for SAE areas and for individual programs.
  3. develop a visitation checklist for typical SAEs.

Equipment, Supplies, References, and Other Resources:
References:
  • Moore, G. (2003). The sixteen theorems of SAE. The Agricultural Education Magazine, 75(6), 20-21.Retrieved from:
  • Phipps, L. J., Osborne, E. W., Dyer, J. E., & Ball, A. (2008). Handbook on Agricultural Education in Public Schools (6th ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.
  • National FFA Organization Ideas for Student SAE Activities Website:
Handouts:
  • Partners in SAE Supervision
  • SAE Visitation Plans
  • SAEP Visitation Checklist
  • Ticket In The Door
Equipment & Supplies:
  • Flipchart
  • Markers

Teacher Directions / Content Outline and/or Procedures
REVIEW
Ask… / Think back to our discussions surrounding SAEP visits. (SAE Competency III)
  • What is the purpose for making SAEP visits?
  • What were some guidelines for quality SAEP visits?
Let’s keep these ideas in mind as we dive deeper into SAEP from a management perspective.
INTEREST APPROACH
Musical Chairs / In what ways have mentors impacted your life?
Consider this question as we engage in an old school game of musical chairs. When the music begins, rise from your chairs and begin to meander about the room. When the music stops, pair up with someone closest to you. Immediately take turns sharing your response to the aforementioned question.
(Play music you and your students like and find appropriate. Play two to three times. Each share session, students should pair with a different person. Mill around the room as students share and gather a few examples.)
From the conversation heard around the room, it is clear mentors have held positions of significance in our lives. Some have shaped our journey through college. Others encouraged us to choose our future profession. Whatever the specific reason, mentors have been there to guide and shape our perspectives, and our choices. Their input has made our paths clearer and better informed the decisions we have made.
OBJECTIVES AND TEACHING STRATEGIES
Objective
  1. explain the value/rationale for supervising SAE
Objective
  1. Identify partners for SAE areas and for individual programs
Handout Partners in SAE Supervision. Share with Rally-Share.
Objective
  1. develop a visitation checklist for typical SAEs
On flipchart or handout theSAE Visitation Plans, post the following…
Begin to craft a class “Visitation Checklist” either on the board, on a PowerPoint slide, Google Doc, etc.
Handout SAEP Visitation Checklist / We have had special mentors in our lives and as agriculture teachers, we will get the chance to serve as mentors for others. We know of the rich mentorship opportunities in FFA but what about SAEP? It too naturally lends itself to the development of mentoring relationships between agriculture teachers and students. Let’s go further!
What does the acronym SAEP stand for? (Students should reply, “Supervised Agricultural Experience Program”.)
The “S” in SAEP means “supervised”. SAE must be supervised!Students need direction and guidance as it relates to their development of knowledge and skills and the decision-making surrounding their projects. Thetime devoted to supervising students’ projects affords teachers a one-on-one opportunity to work closely with students. Teachers help students create a stronger connection between the classroom experience and their independent projects (Moore, 2003). Quality supervision requires more of a teacher’s time. Only so much can occur during the traditional school day! In response, many teachers receive extended contracts from their districts for the specific purpose of supervising SAEs beyond the typical academic contract (ie. weekends, holidays, and breaks). This dedicated time ensures students maintain contact with their teachers and they are engaging withtheir SAEPs in a safe and proper way.
Through strong supervision, or mentoring, students are provided the feedback and direction necessary to make more informed decisions as their projects and learning move forward.
Post the following quote…
“Many hands make light and enjoyable work.”
Think of an experience where this statement rang true for you. Now, turn to a person beside you and take turns sharing your experiences (about 3 minutes).
When many engage collaboratively on a challenging or complex task, the work becomes easier and considerably more fun! Let’s consider this line of thinking in light of SAEP. SAEP involves considerable effort on behalf of the agriculture teacher. Given the individual nature of SAE, teachers are expected to possess a variety of agriculture knowledge and skills. The understanding required becomes much more varied particularly in programs with fewer staff and in programs with highly diverse projects.Think about the career area pathways we discussed earlier (Animal Systems, Business Systems, Environmental Service System, Food Products/Processing Systems, Natural Resources Systems, Plant Systems, and Power, Structural & Technical Systems). How can one teacher demonstrate expertise (both knowledge and skill) in each of those areas, enough to be viewed as an authority? Also, a single teacher cannot possibly be present daily for the duration of each student’s project, to offer feedback. These can be significant challenges.
How can an already busy agriculture teacher make it all work? Let’s work smarter and think about how we might rely on other credible sources for support.
With whom might an agriculture teacher connect to offer stronger supervision for SAEPs and in what capacity?
Independently, craft a list. Next to each connection, offer a brief rationale as to how they could make a strong partner.
Offer students about 4 to 6 minutes to work. At the end of that time, have students engage in a rally-share with their shoulder partner. Rally-share involves Partner A sharing one item then turning it over to Partner B to share another. This exchange continues until both parties have exhausted their lists. Upon completion, ask pairs to star their favorite partner in supervision. Call on a few students to share aloud with the larger group. Capture ideas on the board.
Partners could include:
  • Parents
  • Employers
  • Other agriculture teachers
  • Advisory committee members
  • Extension agents
  • Industry
What a list! Agriculture teachers who offer rich experiences and support for their students are teachers who look for ways to integrate the time and talents of others into their programs. An additional benefit of capitalizing on the expertise of others is professional development for the teacher. There are moments when even agriculture teachers need to reach out and get a little mentoring of their own. By connecting with some of the stakeholders mentioned earlier, agriculture teachers can be and do more than they could alone… and students reap the benefits!
While we can truly appreciate “Many hands make light and enjoyable work,” “Work smarter, not harder” is another critical mantra in agriculture teaching. Who currently has a “to do” list? (Look for show of hands.) They are great, right? They keep us on track to complete tasks. Oh, and it sure is fun to cross things off!
SAE Visitation Checklists can help agriculture teachers stay on track. With so many students filtering through a program, it can be daunting to consider the many things to keep in mind during a SAE visit.
In SAE Competency III, we discussed items a teacher should take on a SAEP visit. Who can recall some of those things? (ie. Personal protective equipment, documents, vet kit, tool box, technology, etc.)
Being prepared for any situation is important when one is away from the security of the school!
Different career pathways are listed around the room (post SAE Visitation Plans). Under each title is a list of sample SAEs one might find within that pathway. Imagine you are making a visit to these SAEs. What do you want to accomplish on the visit? What specific items might we want to observe/explore to consider these supervisory visitssuccessful? Work with your team (3 to 4 total) to craftyour best list. (Example: Animal Systems – tour the space in which the animals live...)
Have each group take charge of one of the lists. Offer students approximately 8-10 minutes to craft their lists. Upon completion, ask each group to share their list with the class. While serving as audience members, have groups place a mark next to those items in common with other groups.These common items are the beginnings of the SAEP Visitation Checklist. If you wish, students can begin to build into theSAE Visitation Checklisthandout to have a complete list for their personal records. Be certain to comment on items of note and ask clarifying or follow-up questions. Add additional items as needed.
Visitation Checklist:
To Do:
  • Schedule
  • Remind
  • Purpose of visit
  • Greet supervisor/parent
  • Observe
  • Interview student
  • What have you done? Why this SAE? What successes have you had and what problems have you encountered and solved? What would you do differently next time? What changes do you have planned? What have you learned?
  • Interview supervisor/parent
  • Describe work habits, attitude, fulfilling responsibilities, etc.
  • Examine records
  • Teach a skill or have student teach YOU a skill
  • Compliment
  • Future plans/goals
  • Picture
  • Complete visitation form
Observe:
  • Tour facility
  • Health and safety of context
  • Storage of items
  • Routine
  • Responsibilities
  • Changes
  • Chain of command
  • Problems/challenges
  • Improvements
  • State or quality of project
  • Performance
  • Needs (Skills & Knowledge)
As you move forward into your own careers, you now have a guide to launch you on your own SAE supervisory visits!
REVIEW/SUMMARY / Supervision is the mentoring piece of the SAE experience. To be successful, students must receive regular feedback and guidance as they navigate their individual projects. Visiting each student’s SAEP gives agriculture teachers a better idea as to how to help students continue to expand their learning and grow. It is important for us to note teachers can certainly partner with other experts in supervising projects. This helps them leverage additional expertise and time to ensure students receive the best guidance. Finally, those teachers receiving extended contracts are obligated to make regular supervisory visits, as they receive additional compensation to do so.
EVALUATION
Handout Ticket In The Door / By the next class meeting, complete the Ticket In The Door. Connect with one current agriculture teacher and invite them to walk you through their visitation checklist. How do they handle the flow of the visit? What pieces of the SAEP do they ask to observe? With whom do they speak about individual projects? Were they ever at a loss as to how to address specific SAEP situations (challenges/next steps)? With whom did they partner to provide stronger supervision?
Bring this information to the next class meeting.

1