Students engage in practical work opportunities to enhance skills valued by employers, participate in professional development opportunities, and cultivate a professional network.
In order to complete the LeADERS Program requirements, this page must include the following criteria:
- What was your Academic Internship course/experience?
During my Junior year of college, I took a course called Foundations & Assessments (TLED 301) where we were required to do observation hours in a classroom. In order for us to do so, we had to go through the background check and fingerprint process. I was able to observe a Pre-k classroom at our ODU Lion’s Club and also in a virtual setting for a fourth grade class. During my observation hours at the Lion’s Club, I saw the daily routines they had set for the students to come in. At that age, it’s important to implement routines at a young age that way students know what to expect will happen during the day. Every morning, the teacher assistant would help the student get settled in and ask them, how they are doing. Once all the students came in, the head teacher and students would have “morning time” together and discuss everything while the teacher assistants got breakfast ready.
The fourth grade was somewhat similar except, half of the students were in-person and the others were virtual. The students would switch every other day with each other. I can say the teacher did a wonderful job being able to coordinate and teach both separate groups with the help of an assistant. I liked the fact the students were also able to take “specials” (classes such as Gym, Art, etc.) virtually as well.
- Examples of this course/experience (e.g., a paper, presentation, photos, video, link to another site you created, etc.).
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eisJLZEPHuDd27KGO9qMxbl1hhqShA-WTOWhm5OaRlU/edit?usp=sharing
- An explanation of and reflection on the evidence you provided from this course/experience.
The evidence I provided is an explanation of what I observed during my Academic Internship time. I was able to get two version on how teaching can happen. In this document, you are able to read where I go into description of some of the challenges on of my teachers faced during the pandemic. Having this experience as an observing student, I was able to say It can be difficult being virtual and even in person to keep students engaged in the curriculum so providing fun activities that can be classroom wide is important.
- Explain how this experience might relate to your future goals or develop your interpersonal skills?
How this experience might relate to my future goals, would be in knowing the importance of making sure that children are provided with the support and guidance needed in order for them to grow. Even though I was just observing, not getting hands on experience, I was able to learn that it’s key that students are introduced with routines and also know when they have done something wrong, so accepting their actions. I was also able to see how school can be taught virtually to younger students. Specifically, I now have the knowledge on how to plan, organize and prioritize the lesson plans for both in-person and virtual students if something like the pandemic were to occur again.