凯尔西·肯德尔
在过去的几周里, Sarah Oliver has received hands-on experience in front of a classroom through the 达顿教育学院 and Professional Studies’ Teacher in Residence program. Now, she is set to graduate in May with a degree in elementary education.
The Hampton native came to ODU in Fall 2021 after earning an associate at Virginia Peninsula 社区 College. Most of her experience at the University has been within Darden College, 准备从事教年轻学生的职业.
Oliver said each class she took leading up to her student teaching experience taught her invaluable information that will help her in her future classroom – which she already knows will be decorated with bees.
The most impactful experience was the Teacher in Residence program, she said.
一群同窗教师, a University supervisor who assists the student teachers outside of the classroom and classroom coaches provided advice and help where Oliver needed it. Overall, Oliver feels ready for her first teaching job.
“That’s the best part of the program for me – all the support,” Oliver said.
Oliver, an elementary education major, is currently a resident teacher at Hunter B. Andrews PreK-8 School in Hampton teaching third grade, and she will be there until school lets out for the summer.
整个学期, 奥利弗看着她的教练, 和她搭档的老师, lead classroom instruction before slowly starting to get more involved. She would step in to help with a lesson here and there. 到第五周, Oliver was the main teacher in the classroom leading all the lessons with guidance from her support system.
“It was scary at first, but it was so worth it,” Oliver said. “因为我已经学会了, 这么多, and I gained a lot of confidence in my ability to actually be a teacher.”
She will walk away at the end of the year with practical experience in classroom management and teaching strategies. She knows how she wants to make her lessons fun and engaging, 所以奥利弗喜欢在教学时讲笑话. 这是她从教练那里学来的. It helps capture the third graders’ attention and build a relationship with them, Oliver said.
Everything she learned will help her as she gets ready to step in front of her own class for the first time. The University supervisor let the group “go shopping” for classroom supplies to help get their classrooms started. 奥利弗抓了一些适合不同阅读水平的书, 数学课上的计数器和骰子, 蜡笔和贴纸.
Oliver will start at Bassette Elementary School in Hampton next year. Whether she will teach third or fourth grade is still undecided, but she is excited for either.
“萨拉工作非常努力, 非常专注和专注, 驱动,拉-内卡·布朗说, 是驻校教师项目的主任. “我真正欣赏她的地方, and I would say will make her an excellent educator, 她知道如何全力以赴完成任务吗.”
布朗说，奥利弗在汉普顿试点了这个项目. 作为半岛上的“孤军奋战”, Brown said it would have been easy for Oliver to end up isolated and feeling like she was in it all alone. 但事实并非如此. Brown was impressed by the way Oliver reached out to the other student teachers and the University supervisor for help when she needed it.
“I think that comes from a place of strength and confidence that she knows what she knows,布朗说. “What she doesn’t know, she’s willing to learn from her colleagues.”
This was the ninth year of Darden College’s Teacher in Residence program and there have been multiple changes throughout the years. This year was the first time the student teachers were paid and there were changes to how long the program lasted. The cohort of six student teachers – five in Norfolk schools and Oliver in Hampton – entered their classrooms in January and will remain there until the end of the K-12 school year.
This provides new opportunities for the cohort to experience the end of the school year, which includes state testing and getting ready for the fall. They will learn how teachers pass on information for students with specialized learning plans and close their classroom for summer break.
An extended paid research residency for undergraduate education majors provides new opportunities for teacher residents to experience what it is like to work for their host districts. They learn the culture and climate of not only their host school but the hiring district. This makes the transition into being a classroom teacher easier, because they have a network of people from their residency experience who will support them as a new teacher.
Brown said there are plans to expand the program so more students in undergraduate teacher licensure programs can get financial support and residency experience.