Experiential Learning and Partnering in a University-District Collaboration: Elementary Students and Novice Teachers Learning Together

• In Event: Roundtable Session 18
  In Roundtable Session: Diverse Approaches and Perspectives for Preparing the Next Generation of Teachers

Abstract

This paper investigates why a non-traditional teaching program, referred to as the World Languages Partnership (WLP), is a successful model of alternative teacher. The WLP places college students in classrooms where, as “apprentice teachers” they teach Spanish to elementary students. Our analysis reveals that this hybrid program—a combination of some traditional and non-traditional teacher education philosophical tenets and tactics—offers new teachers a chance to develop their skills quickly and substantively. We focus specifically on why the program is attractive to undergraduates who are not teaching majors; how the seminar design seminar contributes to thoughtful risk tasking in a supportive environment; and, the ways in which the design of this particular university-district partnership is foundational to its success.

Authors

• Maria J. Coolican, University of Michigan

• Claudia Gabriela Cameratti Baeza, University of Michigan