Static Internship Experiences for Elementary Education Students

Education students should be given the opportunity to stay with their coaching teacher for the whole year during their senior year internship. As the program exists currently at UofSC, students are placed in one grade level for the fall semester of their senior year and then moved to a different grade level to finish their year in the spring. But the grade levels must differ from the one that they were placed in for the spring semester of their junior year. These are the guidelines for elementary education majors so that we are given the opportunity to experience a range of grade levels and different modes of instruction. While this can be beneficial for many reasons, I think students should be given the opportunity to remain in one grade level for a whole calendar school year. I think this approach would be more valuable considering we, as seniors, could be going into the workforce the following school year. Staying in the same grade level for both semesters of their senior year was an option for the 2021 graduates due to the global pandemic. It was offered to some but not others for the current year.

There are many reasons that I think student teachers should be given the opportunity to stick with their coaching teacher and class for the entirety of their senior year. First, these aspiring teachers would be able to follow their students from the first day of school in August all the way until the beginning of May. The growth that elementary children have over the course of a school year is monumental. Being able to see the growth of the class from August to May is something that is rewarding and exciting. It also allows perspective teachers to see how much of an impact they have on their students. This growth is also something that education majors would not see until they had their own class in the real world if the program sticks to its current protocol.

Another reason that we would benefit from continuing with the same class throughout our senior year is the relationships that have been built with the students. We as student teachers put in so much work to develop relationships with our students in August. Relationship building is a crucial part of teaching. By having strong, personal relationships with your students they feel more comfortable in the classroom with you as their teacher. Children are more willing to learn when they feel like they are in a comfortable and safe space with someone that they trust. School can be like a home away from home for young learners, so it is important for the teacher to create personal relationships with each of their students. Staying with the same group of students will eliminate the need to start over with a new group of kids. This will allow the student teacher to jump right back into the class in January. Additionally, the relationship that is built with the interns and their coaching teachers also impacts the learning that the intern does. Having a coaching teacher that you have a good relationship with is important because it allows you to be your most vulnerable and teachable self. By staying with your coaching teacher as you move into full time teaching in the Spring, you will be able to pick up where you left off. The coaching teacher will already know what you need help with and what you need to improve on. Switching grade levels in between semesters would force student teachers to start from scratch with a new group of students and a new coaching teacher.

Solutions:

Elementary education majors get the opportunity to choose whether they stay in the same classroom in the fall and spring semester.
The elementary education program can work with the schools and coaching teachers to see if they are willing to have an intern for the whole school year.

Plan:

Create a petition that education majors can sign.
Create a presentation with my proposal and reasons
Bring the petition to the presentation to the staff at the College of Education

Evaluation:

To evaluate my plan, I would send out a survey to elementary education students, elementary education supervisors, and coaching teachers to get feedback from all parties. I would also be in contact with the faculty and staff at the College of Education at the University of South Carolina. I would ask them for feedback as well and the positives and negatives that they are seeing with the program. Additionally, I would reach out to the principals of the schools who volunteer to house interns to get their opinions on the changes as well. If the principals were willing to participate, I would go even further to gather data from students who had an intern in their classroom (taking all precautions necessary for confidentiality and with parental permission).