Northwestern Oklahoma State University-Alva played host to 10 Woodward High School students recently for the high school’s “Teach Oklahoma” course.
Teach Oklahoma was designed to mentor high school students about teaching and provide fundamental knowledge about the teaching profession in Oklahoma. The course is supported through the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
While visiting Northwestern the students participated in teacher preparation classes for subjects such as reading, intermediate language arts and more. They were able to have an open dialogue about the teacher preparation program and participate in prepping courses such as intermediate math methods and elementary school programs.
Woodward High School’s students were able to see the types of work Northwestern’s teacher candidates create in their programs, like the course requirement of Northwestern teacher candidates needing to video-record their own lessons to use as a reference. The students were able to watch some examples of videos to show the length of preparation that goes into creating and sharing a lesson plan.
The high school students also toured the campus.
Students attending included Krystina Cales, Adrian Carmona, Macy Duncan, Nico Gonser, Maria Gutierrez, Zachary Jimenez, Tatum Lewis, Jessica Smith, Morgan Shurtz, Sahira Villegas, and sponsors JoLynn Love and Michelle McDonald.
Dr. Christee Jenlink, professor of education, chair to the Division of Education and associate dean of the School of Education, understands and believes in the importance of students actively learning and getting hands-on experience especially in the teaching field.
“The Teach Oklahoma program is more critical than ever in light of the teacher shortage not only in Oklahoma but across the nation,” Jenlink said. “The program provides immersive experiences for high school students who are considering a career in teaching. With Northwestern’s history of excellence in teacher preparation, having the Woodward students visit the campus to experience the program complements the work that is occurring in the Teach Oklahoma course at Woodward High School.”
Northwestern’s teacher education program, which is housed in the Division of Education, is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and approved by the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability (CEOA).
For more information about Northwestern’s teaching programs contact Jenlink at (580) 327-8450 or cljenlink@nwosu.edu.
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CONTACT FOR RELEASE
Erin Davis, University Relations Specialist
eedavis@nwosu.edu 580-327-8480