UNI awarded grant to pilot yearlong student teaching program
The University of Northern Iowa was awarded a more than $500,000 grant by the Iowa Department of Education and was selected to be one of two Iowa institutions of higher education to pilot a yearlong student teaching program.
UNI's College of Education and the grant's second recipient, Dordt College in Sioux Center, will implement the program, evaluate its effectiveness and offer insight to the Iowa Department of Education at the completion of the initiative.
This program will offer UNI student teachers an authentic teaching experience before graduating and working in their own classrooms. Student teachers will fully immerse themselves into host schools by:
- Carrying out daily classroom instruction
- Attending university coursework taught onsite
- Participating in professional development trainings
- Joining parent teacher conferences and other activities done every day by teachers
The student teachers and their host teachers will co-teach, with the students doing more observation early in the program and transitioning to more lead teaching as they gain experience. During the initial year, about 30 student teachers will participate in the pilot program.
"We are very honored that we are able to showcase the expansiveness of our Teacher Education Program at UNI through this pilot," said Dwight Watson, dean of the College of Education. "We have always taken great pride in being innovators and pioneers in teacher preparation. The awarding of the pilot will allow us to research the feasibility, effectiveness and scalability of yearlong student teaching. Our collaborative school districts are excited about the possibilities."
For more information about the student teaching pilot program, visit the Educate Iowa website. For more information about UNI's College of Education, visit the UNI COE website.
News and Events
Regina Dixon-Reeves, the faculty diversity/development specialist at the University of Chicago, will be the keynote speaker at the 6th Annual Diversity Town Hall. The event is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 22, in the Commons. A Diversity Fair will precede the event from 1:30 to 2 p.m.