GrowNextGen teacher leader

Courtney Bockbrader

Agriculture Education Instructor at Anthony Wayne High School and Penta Career Center

Courtney knows a lot about: ffa, agriscience, career technical education

Courtney is willing to be contacted by other teachers about Biotechnology, Agriscience, and STEM. She’s interested in working on or sharing with colleagues about Agriscience curriculum.

What about teaching excites you?

My favorite part of teaching agriscience is being able to teach everything from mechanics to plant science and business to food science! No day (or year) is ever the same! It is so much fun to watch students engage in lessons and find their niche and then take that passion to develop their own projects, such as agriscience fair projects.

How do you help students make the industry or real-world connection to what they’re learning?

I like to take field trips with each class during the unit we are covering that topic so they can see what they are doing in class in the real world. The GNG videos and eLearning courses also help with when field trips aren’t an option at that time!

In my classroom, I am always trying to incorporate meaningful projects and lessons that allow students to create items that relate to their interests or are real-world applicable. I also take students on field trips to see what the current industry trends are. Finally, across all of my curriculum, I emphasize employability and career preparation skills that will benefit all students in whatever career field they choose.