MSU Weeds.com Blog

-Kelly Barnett

A typical week for Dr. Renner includes teaching lecture for the CSS 101 (Introduction to Crop Science) class two days a week, CSS 101 lab four times a week, and CSS 192 (Professional Development for Seminar) once a week.  As TAs for 101, Molly Buckham and I are responsible for helping prep for lab each week and teaching one of the six lab sections. Last week Dr. Renner headed off to St. Louis for a Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) meeting, where she represents the Weed Science Society of America, so I had the opportunity to take over a few of her classes.  After she left Tuesday afternoon, I started off the week by finishing up her lab that day.  I taught one of the labs again on Wednesday, and when I wasn’t busy teaching…I was grading papers, answering e-mails from students, and preparing for lecture.  On Thursday morning, I hurried over to the Biochemistry building to teach the 130-something students in the CSS 101 lecture.  I successfully figured out how to lower the screens and load the presentation, but was frantic when I couldn’t find the microphone.  After a little searching though I eventually found the microphone, but was embarrassed when I dropped it while trying to clip it to my shirt.  Eventually I was ready to begin the lecture and it was a good one…soybean production.  One of the challenges with teaching this class is that the students come from such a wide range of backgrounds.  Some students didn’t know what soybeans looked like at the beginning of the semester while others are fresh off the family farm and know a lot about agriculture.  I started off with some information on the history of soybean as a crop.  Then I talked about soybean production in Michigan as well as the United States, and how it has changed drastically in more recent years with the introduction of GMO soybeans as well as specialty markets such as organic and non-GMO soybean varieties.  The rest of the lecture consisted of discussing specific aspects of soybean production including planting dates, row spacing, and planting populations.  After lecture, I finished up the week by teaching another lab section Thursday afternoon.  I felt like I didn’t get much done all week because it was so crazy running around here and there to teach.  Don’t get me wrong…I am thankful that I had the opportunity to teach…but I’m also thankful that Dr. Renner is back and that I don’t have to do this every week.