Elementary ed students begin Guatemalan student teaching experience

Faculty member Kate Welsh (shown far left) shared her thoughts about essential visits and experiences while in Guatemala with two student teachers who will be spending their residency semester in that country. Shown with Welsh are Leslie Reiswig and Laura Lundell.

   When College of Education seniors head to their student teaching assignment this spring, two young women will have a much further commute from Laramie and their home culture.
   Laura Lundell (elementary education, Chugiak, Alaska) and Leslie Reiswig (elementary education, Spearfish, S.D.) will spend their residency semester at the Colegio Americano de Guatemala (American School of Guatemala, http://www.cag.edu.gt) in Guatemala City. Lundell will student teach in a third grade classroom; Reiswig will be in a second-grade class.
   Laura and Leslie were expected to arrive in Guatemala on Jan. 4. They will prepare for their life in their host country at a one-week language school before beginning their classroom assignments. Each will live with a teacher from the school during their stay.
    This is the fifth year that students from the Wyoming Teacher Education Program have been able to experience living in another culture while completing their residency requirements, via a memorandum of understanding between the school and the UW College of Education.
   The ASG is a private school, founded in 1945. Its mission is "to educate independent, critical-thinking, responsible, bilingual individuals prepared to meet the challenges of the future." About half of its students are from Guatemala; other students come from countries around the world. Teachers generally are hired from North America the United States and Canada who team teach with Guatemalan teachers.
Reiswig and Lundell anticipate a more unique experience than their peers with U.S.-based assignments. Both women expect to return from Guatemala with significantly sharper Spanish language skills. In fact, the opportunity to become bilingual and prepare for future assignments teaching second-language learners was a draw for them.
   "This seemed like a perfect opportunity to learn some Spanish and see another part of the world." Lundell says.
   Lundell also looks forward to working with the ASG's student population.
   "The overall diversity of the school will be interesting to work with," she says.
   Instruction and other school-based interactions will occur in English, according to Welsh. Interactions outside of school likely will stretch their Spanish skills more, particularly as they explore the area in their free time and possibly interact with students' families.
   "Living with English speakers and speaking English in schools, both of us will want to get out, travel, and speak Spanish as much as possible," Reiswig says.
    Lundell and Reiswig will not have weekly face-to-face contact with their supervising faculty members, as their peers will have throughout the semester. While that does introduce a bit of uncertainty, the students feel confident that access will be available when needed.
   "I have no doubt that if I called or e-mailed Kate with a problem, she would be there," Reiswig says.
   Kate Welsh, associate professor of elementary and early childhood education, will supervise the students using distance technology (e.g., e-mail and Skype). She also will visit them in Guatemala City in early March.
"We have technology to support us," Welsh says. "Ten or 12 years ago, it would have been much more difficult."
   Physical distance may separate them, but the trio has already had opportunities to build a closer relationship in advance of the residency semester than many student/faculty teams. Welsh, Lundell and Reiswig have had multiple conversations about what to expect in the semester away and about handling culturally sensitive issues that might arise during their time in Guatemala.
   The classroom experience should be a mix of familiar and unique factors. They will work with a curriculum that shares common ground with the materials they have used in teacher preparation classes. But it won't be a perfect fit so adjustments to approach are likely.
   Welsh says the school culture welcoming them in January is team-focused, affording them ample time during the day to plan and collaborate with their professional peers. The integration of planning time during the work day may be unfamiliar, but many of their professional peers will come from similar teaching backgrounds.
   Following graduation in May, both women look forward to teaching assignments in elementary classrooms. Lundell hopes to teach at the upper grade level, perhaps grades three to five, most likely east of the Rocky Mountains. Reiswig is open to teaching at any elementary level, with preferences for grades two or three. While she is open to teaching anywhere, she acknowledges some preference for remaining in the region.

 

Posted on Monday, January 05, 2009