17 May 2013
Allyson Jewell teaching at Pettit Park Elementary
Come see how you can become a math, science, English, or social studies teacher in less than two years, at Indiana University Kokomo's Change to Education open house.
School of Education leaders will be available to talk about the 24-credit hour program from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, May 23, in the Kelley Student Center, Room 130.
Shirley Aamidor, associate dean, said the program is for people who already have bachelor's degrees in these subject areas.
"They already have the knowledge about their subject areas, and our faculty will prepare them to teach it in the most effective manner possible," Aamidor said. "We can also place them as permanent substitute teachers in one of our 24 partner schools, to gain hands-on experience and allow potential employers to see them succeed on the job. That is a positive for all the people involved."
C2E includes two semesters of classroom work, one summer session, and a semester of student teaching, leading to licensure in grades 5-12 in math, science, social studies, and English/language arts.
Aamidor said there is a demand for teachers in these areas, particularly in math and sciences.
"Their previous degrees, combined with our educational preparation, will make these future teachers very attractive candidates when they apply for teaching jobs," she said. "We are giving our students marketable skills, while also providing quality teachers in high demand areas to the schools in our region."
For more information about the open house, or requirements to enroll contact Aamidor at saamidor@iuk.edu or Nicole Gill at niagill@iuk.edu. Those interested may also call 765-455-9441 for more information.
Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.
11 March 2013
KOKOMO, Ind. — When Ashley Spraker was a little girl, she played school with her Barbie dolls, dreaming of the day she would be a teacher in her own classroom.
Junior Tyler Keck gets real life experience through the School of Education.She confirmed that decision her first semester as an elementary education student at Indiana University Kokomo, thanks to the program's focus on early field experiences.
"I worked in elementary classrooms my very first semester I was here," Spraker said. "That experience let me know I had made the right career choice, and gave me experience working with kids right away."
Tara Kingsley, assistant professor of education, said future teachers will have at least 200 hours in classrooms before student teaching.
"It's one of the unique aspects of our School of Education," she said. "We place our students in the field, and we place them in the field a lot. They learn to be outstanding teachers by teaching. Our program allows our students to experience the profession before they become teachers."
Kingsley teaches her reading methods class at Pettit Park Elementary School, a one-to-one technology elementary school in the Kokomo-Center Schools. Her class meets in the art room to discuss techniques of teaching reading, then immediately puts what they've learned into practice, working with children in their classrooms. They end the day with Kingsley, sharing their experiences and talking about what went well, and what they might need to study more.
Other School of Education classes partner with Kokomo's Elwood Haynes and Sycamore elementary schools.
"It's so helpful to be able to practice what we've just learned, so we can see what works for us, and what we need to study some more," said Spraker, a junior. "The Pettit Park teachers can also give us tips to help us improve our techniques."
Kingsley said the classroom experience helps the students grow as teachers.
"Teachers learn by doing," she said. "A technique can look good on paper, but until you take that plan and implement it with students, it's not real. They are able to try their ideas in a risk-free environment, so it's authentic. I'm able to serve as a mentor to them. I watch them in the classrooms, and get feedback from their host teachers, which I can use to improve their teaching. It's great to see the progress they make in skills and confidence through the year."
Allyson Jewell, a junior, said in addition to learning in her own class, she's benefited from working with the Pettit Park teachers.
"They teach you all of the new teaching strategies," she said. "It's really important for us to be in the field, starting early in college, so we can practice what our professors are teaching us, so we can grow in our skills. IU Kokomo does a good job getting us into schools right away."
Junior Tyler Keck recently helped fifth-graders improve their reading fluency using strategies he learned in his class.
"Having our class at the school helps us learn the book strategies, and then give them a real world context," he said. "It's a good balance of scholarship and the real world. Reading about teaching students is totally different from actually teaching them, and this gives us valuable experience."
The school and children also benefit from their efforts.
"We're helping the school, too, by being able to work one-on-one and in small groups, so the kids learn to be better readers," he said.
Pettit Park teacher Paul Dorisse, an IU Kokomo graduate, appreciates the extra assistance in his classroom, and said his students look forward to their weekly visits.
"They get so excited every week, and they all want one of the IU Kokomo students to work with them," he said. "I think we all benefit. I can help them learn some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of teaching, and they give me additional people who can work with my students. There is so much sitting in a college classroom can't teach you, you have to get out in a school, and get your feet wet."
Teacher Casey Hendricks is also an IU Kokomo graduates— in fact, seven of the 11 teachers at Pettit Park are alumni. Hendricks said all of her early experience was in Kokomo schools, starting with her first year.
"That helped me grow, from the beginning of my college career to graduation," she said. "I learned about how diverse students can be, and techniques to better teach them. It was great real world experience, and it made me a better teacher."
Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.
08 February 2013
IU Kokomo education student Miguel Tovar takes a closer look at a project while judging the Sts. Joan of Arc & Patrick School science fair. See more photos here.Even before he graduates from the Indiana University Kokomo School of Education, he will have valuable experience working with children, not only from student teaching, but also from community volunteer opportunities in area schools.
Tovar, along with classmates Megan Baer, Todd Clark, and Liz White, spent a morning judging the Sts. Joan of Arc and Patrick School science fair. They walked among exhibits, clipboards in hand, asking questions, examining display boards, and evaluating written reports, helping to determine the best projects.
Tovar said even though he's not going to teach science, the volunteer service will benefit him as a teacher.
"You can't just read a book about teaching and then teach kids," he said. "You have to learn to work with them. This gave me more experience working with kids. Even though it's not my specific area, I learned from it."
The four students are taking a scientific inquiry class, and Julie Saam, associate professor, said the hands-on experience would allow them to apply what they are learning.
"Judging a science fair is a valuable experience, because our education students can witness the results of a scientific inquiry project, and talk to students who have conducted the projects," she said. "This insight should help in their development of an understanding of how to conduct scientific inquiry, and how to teach it."
Baer said while she was helping the school, she also was gaining experiences that will make her a better teacher.
"It's a chance to work with kids and be in a school atmosphere," she said. "It's important for us because we're going to need this kind of volunteer help when we're teaching."
Liz White, who plans to be an elementary teacher, said she gained some ideas for inquiry projects she could do with her own students.
"It's interesting to see what the kids have done," she said. "It gives us a lot of ideas for experiments we never would have thought of, that we can teach later."
Todd Clark, a future English or special education teacher, said he also saw some good ideas for how to present a project.
The four IU Kokomo students were among 16 community volunteers judging the fair. Marcia Gillette, lecturer in chemistry, also was a science fair judge.
Sts. Joan of Arc and Patrick science teacher Stacey Hatfield said having a large panel of judges gives students the chance to have their projects evaluated multiple times. She was glad to have the students there to help, and said they will benefit from it as well, especially if they lead science fairs at their own schools later.
"They're seeing how the kids communicate at this age," she said. "As an education student, you're always looking for a chance to work with children."
Judging was also a chance to give back to the community, Saam said.
"We appreciate when the community asks for our students to serve," she said. "Our students are considered pre-service teachers, and they have skills in curriculum development, assessment, and instruction. They enjoy sharing their schools to enhance student learning in our community."
Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.
06 September 2012
KOKOMO, Ind. — Indiana University Kokomo education students will offer free, fun activities to children and their parents Saturday, while gaining valuable hands-on lesson planning experience.
Members of Educational Student Advisory Committee (EdSAC), an organization for education majors, developed Education Express, a train-themed educational carnival geared to children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Activities include story writing, modeling clay, puppet play, and worm races. Students also will talk to parents about how to replicate those activities to continue the learning process at home.
Jessica Beck, EdSAC president, said the group's goal is "to showcase a variety of interesting things parents can do to focus on literacy, and supplement what their child is learning at school."
Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight will kick off the event at 10 a.m. in Alumni Hall, with a proclamation honoring the day. Each child will receive a passport, and has until 2 p.m. to complete at least 10 stations, to earn a free book.
Refreshments, including Noble Roman's pizza and Coca-Cola products, will be available. Campus mascot Kingston Cougar will be available to meet his young fans as well.
Beck said planners wanted to give students a chance not only to develop and implement a lesson plan, but also to interact with children and their parents.
"It's one thing to be great with kids, but you have to be able to talk to parents, too, in order to be successful as a teacher," she said. "This also gives us a chance to give back to all the schools who allow us to learn in their classrooms as we develop our teaching skills."
Event sponsors include the IU Kokomo School of Education, the IU Kokomo Early Childhood Education Center, and Partners in Education.
Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.
06 September 2012
KOKOMO, Ind. — In a time of fierce competition for teaching jobs, nearly 80 percent of Indiana University Kokomo's School of Education 2012 graduates are employed at schools this school year.
Dean Paul Paese said this demonstrates the quality of teachers graduating from the program, and is encouraging news to those considering careers in education.
"This is a tribute to the performance and quality of our students, program and faculty," he said. "The public school corporations in our region had more openings than in the previous two years, and the expectation is there will be more openings in the next several years, because of retirements and need in math, science and special education. This is a great time to major in education at IU Kokomo."
Those who found jobs included the three graduates honored as Outstanding Future Educators by the Indiana Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
Vincente Lorenz
Tiffani Bonifant is teaching social studies at Taylor High School, Kourtney (Cox) Hainlen is teaching second-graders at Tri-Central Elementary, and Vincente Lorenz is teaching science at Kokomo High School. Hainlen and Lorenz both accepted jobs in the schools where they did their student teaching. All three believe their IU degrees, along with the awards, made them stand out from the other applicants.
Andy Robertson, director of student teaching, said the awards are the most prestigious recognition given to student teachers.
"We encourage our best and brightest future educators to apply for these awards. We have excellent education majors, and it is hard to choose just three. Tiffani, Kourtney and Vincente are outstanding representatives of our School of Education."
Bonifant enjoyed student teaching social studies at Western High School. She was pleased to receive the award.
"It certainly is gratifying to know I have been recognized for my hard work. To be recognized by IU Kokomo as one of the three most promising teachers isn't something I expected."
Hainlen dreamed of becoming a teacher since she was very young, playing school with her dolls, rather than house. She hopes having the award on her resumé helps her achieve her longtime dream of having her own classroom.
"I always admired my teachers and wanted to be like them when I grew up," she said. "I wanted to be the creative teacher who makes learning fun. It makes me feel really good, to know people think I am a good teacher."
She said her classes prepared her to succeed in the classroom, especially in teaching reading.
Lorenz previously earned an associate's degree in landscaping horticulture, then decided he wanted to teach. He especially enjoys working with special needs students, and may return to IU Kokomo to become a special education teacher.
Lorenz said he was happy, but surprised, to be one of the three IU Kokomo students chosen for the award.
"There are a lot of really good future teachers in our cohort, so I know it was competitive."
Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.
02 July 2012
KOKOMO, Ind. — Do you aspire to teach and are ready to switch careers? The Change To Education (C2E) program at Indiana University Kokomo provides this opportunity to anyone with a bachelor's degree to earn a teaching license in less than two years.
This fall semester, the School of Education will launch the C2E, a 24-credit hour plan that leads to teaching licensure in grades 5 through 12, in one of four content areas – math, science, social studies, and English/language arts.
"People who have science and math backgrounds are going to be in demand as teachers," said Paul Paese, dean of the School of Education. "We offer the degree to prepare them to be successful teaching those subjects."
Preparing more teachers in the sciences and math will fill a need in the region, as schools always require high-quality candidates for those areas. Paese soon expects the same demand for secondary teachers in other subjects as the baby boomer generation of educators begin to retire.
The program consists of two semesters, plus a summer session, of education-related coursework, which will be delivered in seminar format and online. This is followed by one semester of student teaching.
"We focus on essential teaching skills, such as development, curriculum, instruction, assessment and professionalism," Paese said.
Classes will be conducted later in the day, and many will combine online and classroom learning so students can continue to work. Field experiences may be accomplished by paid substitute teaching in one of the 25 school corporations associated with the School of Education's Center for Educational Partnership (CEP).
"Oftentimes being a reliable, prepared substitute provides you a foot in the door when you earn your degree and are ready to look for a job," he said. "Principals already know you and how effective you are in the classroom. This would be a great opportunity for our students."
Shirley Aamidor, associate dean, said school principals and other leaders may encourage volunteers and substitute teachers to enroll in this program, to earn certification.
"Principals probably know many talented substitute teachers who have bachelor's degrees, but no teaching certification," Aamidor said. "This will give them the opportunity to advance in their careers, while providing excellent teachers to our schools."
For more information about requirements to enroll, contact Aamidor at 765-455-9296 or saamidor@iuk.edu.
Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.
19 June 2012
KOKOMO, Ind. — Indiana University Kokomo will partner with area teachers to enhance science education, while also providing more opportunities for future teachers to build their skills.
Julie Saam
The School of Education received a $2,250 Scholarship of Engagement faculty grant from the Indiana Campus Compact to fund its science inquiry fellows project. The project includes a one-day workshop to prepare teachers in grades 5-12 to lead scientific inquiry projects.
Teachers who attend the Saturday, August 25, workshop may apply for a fellowship, which would provide classroom assistance from math and science education students.
Julie Saam, assistant dean for the School of Education, said the project benefits current teachers by offering assistance getting started teaching through scientific inquiry. It also gives future teachers a chance to work with students and hone their skills.
"We're enhancing what is already happening in these classrooms, and preparing our education students to be excellent teachers," Saam said. "Our students need to be out there. We can talk all we want in a classroom, but if they're not out there practicing it, they don't learn how to be effective educators."
It also fits with the campus' three themes, set forth by Chancellor Michael Harris, of academic excellence and student success, building relationships and making friends, and transforming the region.
Susan Sciame-Giesecke, executive vice chancellor of academic affairs, said the program extends the campus' community outreach of hosting the Howard County Science Fair, and hopefully will lead to more participation.
"IU Kokomo has been a leader in the promotion of local and state sciences fairs for years," she said. "The future of our economy is dependent on more students seeking college degrees in science, math and technology. This workshop will help teachers understand the importance of continuing science fairs and increasing student participation. We hope it will encourage more students to look at science and a college major and a career choice."
Saam said the goal is to show teachers how to start and complete a scientific inquiry project, and also how to organize and run a science fair.
"We want to help teachers understand how to go through the process of helping students choose questions," Saam said. "They can then help their students frame those questions to collect the data they need, and then lead them through collecting and analyzing that data, to come to a conclusion and back it up with the data."
She also wants to introduce teachers to community resources with expertise in scientific areas.
"There are people out there who can help students with research, or provide other resources. We want to make sure not just teachers with an inside track know what is available to them," she said.
The workshop is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, August 25 at Inventrek, 700 E. Firmin St. For more information or to register, contact Saam at 765-455-9302 or e-mail jsaam@iuk.edu.
Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.
12 August 2011
KOKOMO, Ind. – Anyone walking into the F.D. Reese Christian Academy classroom might think the students were just walking around a table, but the young students would say they are “orbiting” the table.
That’s just one of the concepts they learned while studying about our solar system during the academy’s summer enrichment curriculum, developed and taught by Indiana University Kokomo students Jessica Roller and Bethann Duly.
FD Reese summer program. See More
Just two days after they learned about the planets in our solar system, each of the youngsters was able to name each of the orbs. In addition, students studied photos of planets and correctly identified them, for which the youth were awarded a ribbon and a candy bar.
“I didn’t want to be in the education field at all, but after starting this program, teaching here has given me an incredible feeling,” said Roller, a psychology major, with a smile. “For me, the best part is when the students don’t want to go home and want to stay with us. They’re such great kids. We’ve actually learned much more from them than they have from us!”
In 2006, Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church began working on establishing a Christian academy. Two years later, F.D. Reese Christian Academy opened its doors. Earlier this year, Academy Principal Patricia Anderson approached both Roller and Duly about developing the curriculum and teaching the summer enrichment program.
“I love coming here every day,” said Duly, an English major. “These kids are brilliant, well-behaved and so bright! “These students do such a good job and learn so fast. They’re fun to teach. When we first started this, I didn’t know how I would feel and if I could teach little kids, but this has been such a great experience.”
In addition to science, lessons focused on reading and writing, art, and music. The young students even worked to create their own I Spy books. Each of the students – ages 4 through 6 - were assigned to write original riddles and rhymes that would accompany photos Duly had taken of various objects and toys the youngsters compiled. At the end of the program, each student was given their own copies of the class project.
Cedric Anderson Sr., father of two of the students, is more than pleased with the IU Kokomo students’ program.
“We really hope both Jessica and Bethann will come back next summer to help,” said Anderson. “They’ve done such a great job with the kids and encourage them to do their best. I’ve been impressed with their ability to not only teach our kids, but to also make it a fun experience.”
Five-year-old Indiriah Faison’s favorite part of the summer program was art and participating in the school’s first art contest.
“I like painting the best,” said Faison while working on a rhyme for the I Spy book. “I like going to school and am glad Mom lets me. I like learning about puzzles too.”
Cathy Barnes, IU Kokomo academic advisor, introduced Roller and Duly to the academy and encouraged them to get involved.
“This summer program is transforming everyone,” Barnes said. “It’s transforming the students in that school, the staff in that school and most importantly, it’s transforming our students. They are better women because of the effort they placed in that program this summer.”
Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.
21 December 2010
KOKOMO, Ind. – The Division of Education at Indiana University Kokomo has been renamed the School of Education in recognition of its success and quality. This accomplishment is a result of the hard work and dedication of the faculty and staff who ensure the best in instruction and preparation for the state’s up and coming teachers. The IU Board of Trustees approved the change at a recent meeting.
“IU Kokomo’s highly qualified faculty and staff are committed to our teacher candidates’ preparation and performance,” said Chancellor Michael Harris. “This renaming signifies the ongoing commitment IU Kokomo has to offering to academic quality and student success. We offer the best possible education for our students, and prepare exceptional educators for preschool through grade 12.”
15 September 2010
KOKOMO, Ind. – A delegation of five Japanese scholars specializing in social studies visited classes at Indiana University Kokomo and around the state this week to gain knowledge of teaching practices and theories.
Masato Ogawa, assistant professor of education at IU Kokomo, hosted three of the five educators on campus who observed Ogawa's elementary social studies methods and secondary social studies methods courses. These researchers are Professor Kotaro Yoshimura, Tohoku Gakuin University; Professor Tatsuya Watanabe, Tokyo Gakugei University; and Professor Takeshi Kamamoto, Okinawa University.
