Experiencing Learning - Kryslynne

For our service we went to United high school to teach their ffa chapter about parliamentary procedure. One take away from this experience is that sometimes you may have to change the lesson to better fit the students. We created a power point with all the terms and motions we thought were most important. Before we presented the power point we spoke with the students to asses their knowledge. After speaking with them we decided to remove some of the slides because we felt like the class didn’t need to go over them. Also we were able to spend more time on the topics that they had more difficulty with. 

I feel like this was a great learning experience because it taught us that our intended lesson plan might not be what the students need. Also that we should be able to adapt to the situation to provide students with meaningful knowledge. All in all we had a great time at United high school, increasing their chapters knowledge on parliamentary procedure. 

You Never Leave With Less

I never once thought I would be in a parli class, let alone sharing my newly learned knowledge with others. Coming from an FFA chapter that had no parli skills, I knew that AEE 216 would be a challenge, but I also knew that I wanted to be the best agriculture educator that I could be.

It wasn't a hard decision of where I wanted to go to preform my service activity. I would travel the 1 hour and 23 minute drive to Armagh pa, and I would take Kryslynne with me. We prepared a power point presentation that has the motions needed to compete in the CDE. I knew that I wanted to head back to my home school to be share the knowledge that I have gained though a simple decision to take a  class about Parliamentary procedure.

Walking into AEE 216 I knew nothing about making motions, or even what bylaws were and why a club would create them. And now I would be walking into a classroom and teaching them how to make motions, and correctly use parliamentary procedure.  The students that were ours for the day seem excited to be there, they were actually excited to learn, but when it came to participating in the mock meeting they were shy. Mistakes were made, and laughs were had but at the end of the day I knew that the students left with me information than they walked in with.

Now that my time in AEE 216 has come to an end, I know that I have left the class with so much more knowledge than I walked in with. When taking up an opportunity there is no way possible that you will leave that experience with less knowledge that you started with,therefore every opportunity is well worth it. Although I am not an accredited parliamentarian, I can say that I have succeeded in this class, I impacted others, I have gained more knowledge, and I have left with more.

Blind Leading Blind

Through Parli Pro I have felt as though I was not quite on the same level as my peers whether that be experience wise or just overall knowledge of the content. So, when I began work on my service project I became very nervous, how was I someone who has little to no background in Parli Pro suppose to teach a group of high schoolers the basics?? The planning process was probably the most difficult part,  knowing that I need to teach the students at Penns Valley something but not really sure what that something was going to be yet. I agonized a lot about my portions of Justin and I’s workshop as I felt as though I was not qualified to teach these kids because I knew the frustrations of learning from someone who was not knowledgeable enough about the content. So, I start with the stuff I knew, I knew. 

• Robert’s is a book of rules about parliament procedures (essentially the parli pro bible for FFA members) 
• Members have the right to: 
• Attend
• Debate 
• Vote
• 1 item at a time 
• I move is how you make a main motion 
• 5 basic principles 

All of these things helped me to better understand the very complicated concept of parli pro. The students at Penns Valley Area High S

Through parli pro I have felt as though I was not quite on the same level as my peers whether that be experience wise or just overall knowledge of the content. So when I began work on my service project I became very nervous, how was I someone who has little to no background in parli pro suppose to teach a group of high schoolers the basics?? The planning process was probably the most difficult part know that I need to teach the students at Penns Valley something but not really sure what that something was going to be yet. I agonized a lot about my portions of Justin and I’s workshop as I felt as though I was not qualified to teach these kids because I knew the frustrations of learning from someone who was not knowledgeable enough about the content. So, I start with the stuff I knew, I knew. 

• Robert’s is a book of rules about parliament procedures (essential the parli pro bible for FFA members) 
• Members have the right to: 
• Attend
• Debate 
• Vote
• 1 item at a time 
• I move is how you make a main motion 
• 5 basic principles 

All of these things helped me to better understand the very complicated concept of Parli Pro. The students at Penns Valley Area High School we’re just as eager as I was to get some knowledge about parliamentary procedure and we’re not expecting to become pros over night, making my confidence level go up. As I talked through the topics, I began to realize I knew more about parliamentary procedure than I realized and then I had given myself credit for. I am glad that I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone and deep dive into an area that I had yet to discover and I’m thankful for the opportunity to better FFA members and their chapters. 

It's All in the Cards

It's All in the Cards

I served the entirety of my time as a Collegiate LDE Assistant at the National FFA Convention as a comment card assistant. What does that mean you might ask? Let me explain. When a parliamentary procedure team is presenting, three judges are taking notes and writing down scores. Three collegiate assistants sit at the table with the judges and also take notes. When the team is done presenting, the assistants sit with judges as they tally up scores. While the judges are conversing, the collegiate assistants write down the recommendations given by the judges on a comment card. These comment cards are then put in the team packets that the teams will receive at the end of the competition. The comment cards are crucial for teams as these are the only professional recommendations that they will receive from the judges. It is imperative that the collegiate assistants write down any recommendations or critiques that the judges might give. If a parliamentary error occurs, the assistants will also write down the error and give a page and line number from Robert's Rules of Order for the team's reference. 

On a personal level, I find this to be the best opportunity to learn parliamentary procedure from professionals. I learned so much as I listened to these professionals apply parliamentary procedure right in front of me as they talked about the performance of each team. All of the judges have parliamentary procedure credentials of varying degrees and each of them have unique experiences in which they apply parliamentary procedure. One of my favorite people to work with is a full-time parliamentarian.  It is amazing for myself and students alike to know that you can pursue parliamentary procedure as a career option. It proves that this LDE is extremely relevant and applicable outside of FFA.

This is the third year in a row that I have assisted with this LDE. By serving in this capacity, I have a greater appreciation for parliamentary procedure and its relevancy in our lives. But I have obtained an even greater appreciation for the countless hours that students and advisers put into this competition to be the best that they can be on the national stage. 

A Parli Pupil & Peer: A Story of Service

A Parli Pupil & Peer: A Story of Service

Megan and I's Visit To Penn's Valley FFA Chapter

A real test of knowledge is not taking an exam or assessment but rather, trying to convey the information to others in an effective manner. Megan and I underwent this test trying to get a group of 13 high school students to be excited about something like parliamentary procedure. As with life, the work paid off eventually.

Upon starting, the students showed little interest , and who would blame them? This stuff is like a second language. Megan went over some parli terms, to test the waters, trying to get their knowledge level. To my surprise, they knew a decent amount about parli, such as what quorum is or how to rise to a question of privilege. SO now it wasn't how to get them to understand what was going on but now it was getting them to care about parli. "Okay, Justin." I said to myself. "If you've got an idea, you better pull it out quick or this may be a flop". I remembered Megan mentioning a few ways committees would be interesting and just like that, I had it. Megan turns the floor over to me and I more or less told the group that in order to do whatever they want, anything, all they had to do was put a plan together for the chapter. How do you get work done for a whole chapter in an effective manner? COMMITTEES!! Penn's Valley didn't have any committees so the group took off quickly to establish goals for committees.

Just like that, 2 parli pupils and peers, actually made a difference by igniting a passion for students. After all, that was the point of this assessment. This service was a real test of knowledge.

Revising bylaws with collegiate 4H

At one of the 4H meetings I had mentioned about looking at the bylaws and saw that they were really out of date. I suggested that we make one of the meetings dedicated to revising the bylaws for the club. They agreed to do it the following meeting which was two weeks after I had made the announcement.

When it came down to it we looked over each section of the bylaws and talked about what could be changed based on how the club is now. I came to find that people can be really stubborn when it comes to change. Especially when it could tamper with the Assembly's roots. After some discussion, we decided to just focus on the officer section of the bylaws.

What was changed:

• News reporter changed to news reporter/social media chair. We wanted to change this title so that way it was more up to date with how information is given out in today's world

• Ag student council representative turned into Ag student council representatives, they wanted to pluralize the position so that way it was understood that they wanted more than one person to represent collegiate 4H at the council meetings.

• They did away with the position of banquet representative because it was a position that was in conjunction with the teach Ag society, which is no longer a club here on campus anymore. 

After all the decisions were made I would say I really benefited from seeing all the conversation that can come out of discussing an assembly's bylaws.

Service and Innovation Review

After taking multiple weeks to create the 13 Ranking Motions Jeopardy game, and worksheet for the students of the Midd-West FFA Parliamentary Procedure Team, on Monday November 19th I officially presented it.

Along the way, I was stretching myself thin trying to make sure the worksheets lined up with the presentation to make sure that the students had to work hard first, then they could play harder in the competitive spirit of Jeopardy. The packets themselves consisted of a lesson preview, charts for main motion, subsidiary motions, incidental motions, and privileged motions, a score card for the jeopardy game, and a review sheet outlining what we had accomplished. There was extra time allotted for questions before and after the activity to make sure there were no questions.

Busy with Bylaws: A Morning with the Newport Parliamentary Procedure Team

Having the chance to give back to something that has changed you for the better is a powerful experience. This statement hits home every time I get to give back and have a positive impact on youth in agriculture, especially those in blue corduroy jackets. 

It has been a little over two years now since Newport's Parliamentary Procedure team got a fresh start with a group of nine excited individuals. And after months of studying, deliberating during mock meetings, and taking practice tests, we started competitions. Somehow, someway this group made an improbable run at states, and once there, were able to place first and advance to the National #SuperbowlLDE competition. 

Our Parliamentary Procedure Team after placing first at the 2017 PA FFA State Convention

Throughout our time as a part of this team, a few things stay with us even to this day. The first being a much greater understanding of parliamentary procedure, but we also forged a bond that was one of a kind. Practicing together multiple times a week at 7:00 A.M. has a way of bringing a group of teenagers together. 

Over Thanksgiving break, I had the chance to step back into that classroom, the same classroom that brought our team so close together. Being able to see eight smiling faces and know the amazing journey that are in for made me super excited. Especially because this time, I got to teach! After some discussion with my high school agriscience teacher and FFA advisor, Mrs. Barkley, we figured that the best thing for this team would be to cover something fundamentally important that I wish I would have more knowledge on during my time time on the team. The result we came to...bylaws!

Discussing bylaws back at Newport

This lead to a discussion and lesson on the nine standard articles that go into bylaws. But first, what are bylaws? Bylaws are a document of rules created by an organization or society that sets a precedence for how their organization conducts business. These nine standard articles set a solid baseline for bylaws, but bylaws can contain more than just these nine.

When teaching bylaws for the first time, a great tool to use is the mnemonic device NO MOME C PA (sounds like no mommy, see pa. Have you ever asked mom for something and get a no, only to ask dad shortly thereafter? This mnemonic device sounds a lot like that progression). 

But what exactly does NO MOME C PA stand for? These articles strive to answer the following questions(and more!).

N - Name: What is the name of the organization or society?

O - Object: What is the goal/objective of this organization?

M - Members: Who are your members? What rights do they have? Membership dues? 

O - Officers: What offices? What responsibilities? How are they elected? How do we fill vacancies?

M - Meetings: When are they they? How often? How do we call them? Special meeting protocol?

E - Executive Board: Who and how many serve on this board? Special rules for their meetings?

C - Committees: What standing committees exist? How do we make a special committee?

P - Parliamentary Authority: What parliamentary authority does the organization follow?

A - Amendments: If we need to change these bylaws, how do we do that?

That morning I was able to spend 40 minutes discussing the importance and meaning of these articles with the new Parliamentary Procedure team. Attentive and ready to learn, I cannot wait to see what they accomplish by participating in this leadership development event. 

And as I look back and reflect, a couple key thoughts come to the forefront.

1. It is amazing how the opportunity to build a team for a competition like this can bring people together

2. There are always opportunities to give back and share knowledge. We should do this more often.

3. I cannot wait to spend my future career sharing knowledge with amazing students such as these eight.

I was truly blessed to get a chance to share a little bit of knowledge regarding bylaws and parliamentary procedure.

Parliamentary Procedure, running meetings and bringing people together. Two noble and important tasks.

Committee Reports: What really needs to be reported?

Any organization can split themselves into groups to concur different tasks during a meeting, and call them committees. Committees are a great way to divide and concur to ensure all work gets done, but when it comes time to report back to the assembly how many times are items missed? Throughout my time in the Midd-West FFA I noticed that our committees managed to help the assembly accomplish many tasks at once, but telling the assembly what really went on in their meeting never went very well. Students did not know how to properly form a report, and many times would say "We discussed the topic at hand", and that was all the assembly knew. They did not know what was voted on, what details were brought up, or even what the committee thought was the best route for the assembly to take in the matter.

Reading about committee reports in RONR this week has really helped me see the value of properly presenting the information that was accomplished during a committee meeting. It also allowed me to evaluate how much more effective the Midd-West FFA could be if the properly presented their committee reports. It also got me thinking about how many other organizations struggled because they did not properly utilize their committees and the reports presented back.

A few details I picked out of RONR 11th Edition Newly Revised included; a report can only contain "what has been agreed to by majority vote at a regular or properly called meeting of which every member has been notified... where a quorum of the board or committee was present" (503, 16-21). To form a detailed report on one topic there are four easy steps. In the following order those are, "A description of the way in which the reporting body (usually a committee in such cases) undertook its charge; the facts uncovered or information obtained; the findings or conclusions derived from the facts or information; and resolutions or recommendations" (505, 26-33).

If I have the opportunity to work another service project over my holiday break, I would love to go into a meeting of the Midd-West FFA Chapter and assist in having committees work towards strengthening their reports back to the assembly. The few details about committee reports could really change the course of the committee structure and reports within the Midd-West FFA Chapter, and I hope to shed some light on that as another service project after this class!

We're Going to the SuperBowl but this isn't Football

It was a no brainer that when the opportunity came about to participate as a collegiate assistant at the National Parliamentary Procedure LDE, more recently known as the SuperBowlLDE. When asked I wasn't sure what that entailed but if it meant getting to go and see the contest for myself. 

As a collegiate assistant there was a plethora of jobs that were available throughout the few days that the LDE was going on. For me I decided that I should stick to things I can't mess up especially since this was my first time not only helping with something like that but also seeing the contest. I was assigned to be a time keeper and a event host at various levels for the contest.

As an event host it was awesome just getting to sit and chat with all the members competing and learn about their journey to get to the National contest. As someone who was always the one more passionate about Parli Pro than her fellow FFA members it felt really good to hear the passion behind why these members compete and realize just how much Parli Pro means to them. 

Time keeping was what I was waiting for since it was a chance for me to sit in on the action. I know time keeping doesn't sound like a very rewarding job but it gave me a chance to listen to what the members were saying and how they were performing the motions. 

At the end of this experience I learned how important parliamentary procedure was to so many people such as the members, volunteers, and judges. It was awesome to be back with people in the blue jacket since I miss wearing it so much and be able to join in the excitement about parli pro. 

To anyone who has the chance to participate even if it is doing something as simple as time keeping I would 10/10 recommend. You get just as much out of it as you put into it and so that means that you can decide how much you take away from this experience. Even if you don't think you know that much about parli pro, sign up for something where you have a chance to expand your knowledge while also still sharing what you know. 

Living to Serve: #SuperbowlCDE Volunteer

With a blue corduroy jacket zipped to the top and a copy of Robert's Rules of Order in hand, an eager and excited, young FFA member walks into the National Parliamentary Procedure Career Development Event contest ready to prove their knowledge of Parli Pro. This nervous, anxious, young FFA member is someone that I know very well; I was this FFA member.

In the fall of 2010, I was able to travel to the National FFA Convention and compete with my team in the National Parliamentary Procedure Contest.  My team did not advance past the preliminary round however that did not hinder my experience in the contest; win or lose I loved every second of it!  This was an opportunity that helped to shape me into the person that I am today and was one of the first stepping stone of my journey to become an Agriculture Educator.

Flash forward to this fall, I was able to make my way back to National FFA Convention and the

National Parliamentary Procedure Contest.  Instead of competing myself this time, I was there to help with the contest and all of the FFA members there to compete.  Through my Parli Pro class at Penn State, I was able to take the opportunity to be a part of a team of Collegiate Volunteers to help with the contest in any way needed.

I was so excited to be back and be a part of the contest.  Being surround by fellow Parli Pro enthusiasts and talking about in depth concepts of Parli Pro (which sounds like a foreign language to anyone else), it felt like a big family reunion.  I was able to learn so much during my time helping with the contest.  I was able to learn more to add to my Parli Pro Knowledge Library but also learned how to successfully facilitate and plan a contest, something I can add to my teacher toolbox.

I had a blast being able to be a part of a judge's team and help with comment cards just as much as being a holding room monitor.  I loved being able to talk to the students as the awaiting going into the semi-final rounds.  I remembered being in their shoes and how I felt sitting there waiting and I loved that I could just talk with them, calm their nerves, joke, laugh and learn more about each of their teams and their stories.

I cannot wait to be able to finally make it back to the National FFA Convention again for the National Parli Pro Contest however I hope that the next time with be with my own students and a team of my own to compete!  My Parli Pro journey has almost made it full circle and I am hopeful and excited to see if I ever will get to take my own team back to where it all began for me!

Macy Fisher
#psuaged18

Teaching Parliamentary Procedure: Then vs. Now

Having had the opportunity to conduct a workshop for FFA members on parliamentary procedure not once, but twice, was an amazing experience that was filled with learning opportunities for both me and the students. I love interacting with members while we work on honing our parli skills. I facilitated these two workshops at different times. The first one took place while I was serving as a state FFA officer, while the second occurred after I had retired and was taking a class on parliamentary procedure #agedparli. After facilitating the second time, I realized a drastic difference in how I facilitated and the content I used to teach the students.

Similar in both workshops, I had about a forty minute window to facilitate the "basics of parli pro". First of all, "wow". How in the world do you fit parli pro into just forty short minutes? I understand it's the basic level, but there's so much to it that it was a daunting task. Together with Thomas Gabel, we developed a workshop that we thought could rock the socks off any parliamentarian around. We designed the workshop to meet the needs of our members and the criteria that would be covered at the State Legislative Leadership Conference. We included an activity on agendas and basic motions, including an opportunity to practice in a "mock meeting". Overall, we felt the students walked away with enough knowledge to comfortably participate in the conference. Now for a disclaimer: I knew parliamentary procedure, but nowhere near an accredited level. I understood how to chair a meeting comfortably and explain simple rules and procedures.

Jumping ahead, when I was asked to facilitate a parliamentary procedure workshop at the annual AFY leadership conference, I jumped at the opportunity. Immediately after I said yes though, a dozen thoughts about the workshop swirled around in my mind. I had forty minutes, forty SHORT minutes to teach students the basics of parli pro. I had some work to do. My biggest challenge when developing and facilitating this time around was determining what was important and what wasn't. At this point, I had been in AEE 216 #agedparli for a number of weeks, and my parli knowledge had grown exponentially. I understood concepts, ideas, and practices much better than I had before. It seemed like everything was important for the students to know. I settled on three things that I thought were very important to learn: what parliamentary procedure is and why we use it, the importance of agendas, and basic motions that may come up in a meeting setting.

Using this outline, the students participated in multiple activities that enhanced these learning objectives. I believe in practice by doing, so at the end of the workshop, the students had the opportunity to act independently while running a mock meeting. I sat in the back as the parliamentarian and provided answer to questions as they came up.

Overall, the workshop at the AFY conference was a success. I was worried I had failed the students because I did not feel proud of my teaching. After the conference however, students approached me saying how much they learned. I received several inquiries to come to individual schools to work with local FFA chapters in parli pro. I can't wait to continue to work with members by helping them understand and use parliamentary procedure.

From the time I conducted my first parli pro workshop to the second, I had learned more about the topic than I thought possible. My knowledge of the subject helped better prepare me for a successful workshop at the AFY leadership conference. I can't wait to see where I encounter parli and members in the future! #agedparli #bob #RONR