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

                                                                             

STUDENT ANECDOTE

 

“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.”

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

 

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.

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OVERVIEW                                                                       

 

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/)

 

PURPOSE

 

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.