ANNA — Each year the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education and Leadership at the Ohio State University sends students to high schools around the state for 12 weeks in order to gain real world experience in the classroom. This year, the agricultural education program at Anna High School and Anna FFA welcomed student teacher Summer McLain, a senior in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) majoring in agriscience education. While student teaching at Anna, McLain is under the guidance of agriculture teacher and FFA adviser Sarah Heilers.

“The student teaching experience is the most important part of the teacher preparation process,” said Dr. Tracy Kitchel, professor and chair of the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education and Leadership (ACEL). “For that reason, our student teachers are immersed in the life as an agriculture teacher and FFA adviser. In addition to the important and engaging work in their classrooms, agriculture teachers also have many responsibilities outside of the classroom, attending meetings, conducting SAE visits, advising the FFA chapter and coaching career development event teams. Our student teachers will participate in those activities to fully experience life as an agriculture teachers before they lead their own classroom next fall.”

Upon completion of her student teaching experience, McLain will earn a bachelor of science in agriculture with a major in agriscience education and a minor in production agriculture. She is a graduate of Fairlawn High School.

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