INTERNATIONAL
FIELD EXPERIENCE BELIZE
EDN 455 / 592: Selected Topics, Teacher
Education Candidates, K-12
Spring,
2012
Instructor: Dr. Dennis S. Kubasko, Jr. Office
Phone: 910-962-3367
Office: 173 Friday Annex Cell
Phone: 910-409-7436
Email: kubaskod@uncw.edu
Instructor Web site: http://people.uncw.edu/kubaskod/
Instructor: Dr. Susan Catapano Office Phone: 910-962-2321
Office: 377 Floor Education Building
Cell Phone:
910-409-7436
Instructor
Web site: http://people.uncw.edu/catapanos/
International Program Web site: http://www.uncw.edu/ed/international/
Course Web site: http://people.uncw.edu/kubaskod/international.html
“As a budding teacher, this chance to experience school systems and
students that are out of my realm of familiarity would show how other countries
and cultures conduct themselves in academic environments; this type of
opportunity doesn’t come along often.
The traditional internship gives me an opportunity to work with a local
fellow teacher but the trip to Belize will take this one step further and give
me the chance to interact with attending peers as well as teachers from Belize.
I have the philosophy that people should travel and with the growing population
of students that come from Central America and Hispanic backgrounds, everyone
should be culturally aware. Travelling
to Belize will forge new friendships and provides the opportunity for globally
connected classrooms.”
From the UNCW Catalogue:
Undergraduates: EDN 455. International Education Field Experience. Prerequisites: Only taken during practicum semester. Only Senior student standing. Admission to Watson School of Education, permission of
instructor. This course is designed
to provide experiences in a selected educational setting as part of a study
abroad program. Application process for enrollment. Three credit hours.
Graduates: EDN 592. International
Education Field Experience.
Prerequisite: Only taken during practicum semester. Only Graduate
student standing. Admission to Watson School of Education, permission of
instructor. This course is designed
to provide experiences in a selected educational setting as part of a study
abroad program. Application process for enrollment. Three credit hours.
This International Field Experience (EDN 455 / EDN 595) will provide 5 weeks of daily experiences in selected primary or secondary schools in San Pedro, Belize. Students will keep electronic journals, provide documentation of the similarities and differences of the Belizean educational system studied, and develop curricula based upon their international experiences. Students will also engage in a service project in Belize that is student focused and serves the needs of the school-based community. This international field experience will focus on the following: current issues and trends in global education; the development, implementation, and assessment of curricular materials; and the evaluation and use of technology in the classroom as well as other effective instructional strategies.
“In the age of globalization, an intimate understanding of a foreign culture is both a valuable academic asset and an enriching personal experience. As a leader in education, the Watson School of Education is dedicated to providing education students with the opportunity to work and study in schools throughout the world.” (From http://www.uncw.edu/ed/international/)
“At UNCW, passionate and engaged teaching, learning and research matter. Students consistently praise the quality of their interactions with faculty and express satisfaction with their overall educational experience. The faculty culture emphasizes teaching and mentoring, incorporating research as an important component of the undergraduate learning experience and a service to the state. International experiences are encouraged through study abroad programs and language and culture studies on campus.” (http://www.uncw.edu/facts/)
The purpose of this course is to provide teacher candidates with: 1) active participation in a five week field experience in a Belize using their indigenous curriculum; 2) the opportunity to teach lessons during the field experience, thereby giving students an opportunity to instruct Belizean children, merging US teaching methodologies with Belizean strategies; 3) and negotiating understanding of each student’s conceptual framework with an international educational framework.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. Students will record and reflect on daily observational experiences in a selected school in an international setting.
2.
Students will compare and contrast the Belizean
schools of study using electronic journaling through reflective practice.
3.
Present
and defend a philosophy for teaching children at your assigned grade level.
4.
Students
will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions applying a variety of
instructional strategies to novel settings.
5.
Students
will provide observable evidence of mastery of the North Carolina Professional
Teaching Standards.
6.
Students
will provide a comparison between societal and cultural factors in the
United States and Belize.
7.
Students
will prepare and thoughtful and reflective analysis on what you have
learned to your own teaching experiences.
8.
Students will engage in a service-orientated
project and demonstrate evidence of having completed the effort.
Meeting TimeS
Fall Semester, 2011
·
Students are
expected to attend three organizational meetings during their methods semester.
o
Friday,
October 21st: 3-5 PM
o
Friday, December
2nd: 3-5 PM
o
Thursday,
December 8th: 3-5 PM
Spring Semester, 2012
·
Students are
expected to attend three in-service meetings during their student teaching
semester.
o
Friday,
January 13th: 4-6 PM
o
Friday,
February 10th: 4-6 PM
o
Friday,
March 2nd: 4-6 PM
·
Students are
required to attend a full day departure meeting on campus
o
Monday,
March 19th: 9 AM-3 PM
Depart
for International Field Experience in Belize – Wednesday, March 21st
Arrive back
from International Field Experience in North Carolina – Saturday, April 28th
SUPERVISION
Instructor Availability: Supervisors “on
site” for five weeks in San Pedro, Belize.
ASSESSMENT
1. Educational Identity and
Philosophy (50 pts)
A. Philosophy of Education (25 pts).
o Submit prior to leaving Wilmington
o Submit after returning to Wilmington
o Product should be 1-2 pages in length
B. Teacher identity (25 pts)
o Reflect on your current identity as an educator based upon the international field experience; include comments on what you learned in relationship to the time invested.
o Apply international opportunities to past teaching experiences and contexts in the United States: What have you learned? How have you changed? What will you remember?
o Prepare a thoughtful and reflective analysis on what you have learned and can apply to your future teaching experiences.
o
Product should be 3-5 pages in length.
2.
Field Experience and Practice (50 pts)
A.
Notebook (10
pts)
o You will be expected to observe, document, and reflect on 5 lessons in Belize.
o Where possible, teach 3 lessons at a selected primary or secondary school.
§ Reflective comments on the positive and negative aspects of each of the 5 lessons you observe and 3 lessons you teach. These comments must be thoughtful and incorporate your past student teaching internship. Your analysis should incorporate the new 21st Century Standards. (1 page per lesson taught)
o Extensive discussion will take place in a bi-weekly recitation class at a site to be determined.
o Please see WSE field experience student evaluation form to be provided.
B.
Blog and video
journal (40 pts)
o
Using
blogger.com to post and keep an electronic blog of your experiences in Belize
§
Post
to the electronic blog bi-weekly (2 posts x 5 weeks = 20 posts overall)
o
Using
FLIP cameras as video recording devices to create lesson(s) that your
partnership teacher in North Carolina can use with your past internship
students.
3. Service Project
(50 pts)
A. Students can either engage in a group
effort or act individually to return something to San Pedro island’s schools
and children
o
Examples
can include (but are not limited to): Create and facilitate competitive academic
events (i.e. Science Olympiad Science Fair, Math Counts), after-school tutoring
programs, volunteering in literacy projects, theatre productions, environmental
literacy programs, meet and greets, Habitat for Humanity type of work, etc.
B. Students will submit a log book and
group report based upon the following criteria:
o
Prepare
a short description of the service you’ve undertaken…this can be the same for
students engaged in group projects.
·
The
description should be no more than one page in length
·
The
service projects will be posted on the website for public consumption, so
choose wisely!
o
Each
student should invest 20 hours into the project
·
Document
your time invested using the following logbook:
·
Be
sure to enter time devoted to service and activity undertaken.