Index of University Press Releases

Feb. 25, 2009

DWU students fill in while Hanson
School District teachers attend in-service

Austin Kaus • The Daily Republic

ALEXANDRIA — Traditionally, a teacher in-service means a day off for students.

But tight economic times and willing participants from Dakota Wesleyan University’s Future Teachers Organization this week led to a sharing of resources between DWU and the Hanson School District, allowing Hanson teachers to participate in two days of in-service while DWU education students gain classroom teaching experience.

Twenty-three members of Wesleyan’s FTO conducted classes at Hanson Monday, with 25 scheduled to teach classes today.

Leah Miiller and Amanda Aman are both 21-year-old junior education majors at DWU. While they’ve had previous experience helping with classes at L.B. Williams Elementary in Mitchell, leading Mrs. Deb Bell’s fifth- and sixth-grade classes Monday gave them reassurance that they are following the correct career path.

“I feel comfortable,” Miiller said. “This is what I’m supposed to do.”

Aman said she was excited to see the difference in teaching methods between her previous experiences with first- and second-grade students and Bell’s fifth- and sixth-grade classes this week.

What caught her off-guard, though, was Bell’s classroom, which is decorated with bright posters, various pieces of furniture and a beach umbrella.

“I’ve never seen such a bright classroom,” Aman said. “Her room is fantastic. I absolutely love it.”

Taking over teaching duties in Alexandria is just one example of DWU’s commitment to preparing education students to lead their own classroom, said Rene Pruitt, assistant professor and acting chairwoman for Wesleyan’s Department of Education.

“Our teachers (are) being hired right when they graduate because of the amount of classroom time they get,” Pruitt said. “By the time they student-teach, they’re just ready to be teachers.”

As Miiller and Aman took turns leading Bell’s classes, 24 Hanson School District educators were learning more about “Response to Intervention,” a program designed to help educators diagnose and address academic needs in students.

Kevin Lein, secondary principal for the Hanson School District, said giving current teachers an opportunity to focus on that program, while allowing future teachers to gain real-world classroom experience, is a win-win situation.

“This is just adding to what they have always used as a selling point of DWU: lots of hands-on experience,” Lein said.

Lein also intends to use data from the “Response to Intervention” program for a future dissertation.

While her students were off-campus and teaching Monday, Pruitt said she was pleased so many students took advantage of the opportunity.

“Our philosophy is that experiential learning is the most rewarding and valuable experience that they can have as far as teaching,” Pruitt said. “You can never learn in the (college) classroom what you can learn out in the field.”