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Issue: 814 Date: 3/31/2006
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Future educators get on-the-job training in China
UMSL students participate in new study-abroad program
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| From left: Wang Hongkui, principal of Fuxin Middle-Senior School; Cody Ding, assistant professor of education at UMSL; Helene Sherman, professor and associate dean of undergraduate education in the College of Education at UMSL; UMSL students Mitzy |
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Student teaching is considered the capstone experience forundergraduates and teaching certificate-seeking students in the Collegeof Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The college offersnumerous student-teaching opportunities in rural, suburban and urbansettings, primarily in the St. Louis area.
However, a new agreement allows select students to complete their degreeby student teaching at Fuxin Middle-Senior School in Fuxin, China.
The study-abroad program started last fall with a cohort of fiveundergraduate students. This semester, nine students are participating.The UMSL students teach American history, literacy and culture courses.
"I had an extraordinary student-teaching experience in Fuxin, China,because the students were so eager to learn," said Jimerlean Farr, whowas among the first UMSL student-teachers to participate in the program.
Classes at Fuxin Middle-Senior School start at 7 a.m. on weekdays and,for most grades, run until 8 or 9 p.m. Children also attend school onSaturday and Sunday mornings. Most classes enroll 60 to 70 students --more than double the typical classroom size in the St. Louis area.
The large class sizes presented a challenge and required creativity,said Farr, who in December earned teaching certification and a master'sdegree in education from UMSL.
"I learned how to be creative and use a variety of teaching strategies,"she said. "I did a lot of group work, because students could worktogether, learn from each other, help each other and share materials."
Farr found the student-teaching program so rewarding that she hasaccepted a full-time teaching position in Shenyang, China. She starts inJuly.
Mitzy Mergenthaler earned teaching certification and a bachelor's degreein education from UMSL in December after spending the semester in Fuxin.
"The experience gave me a global understanding of life and education,"Mergenthaler said. "They value their teachers and education in such anextreme way that we're not used to here."
Mergenthaler, who's serving as a substitute teacher in the RitenourSchool District and expects to find a full-time teaching job thisspring, hopes the study-abroad experience will help her locally.
"If I could teach there, then I can teach anywhere," she said.
Cody Ding, assistant professor of education at UMSL, suggested startingthe study-abroad program at the urging of Lisa Wang, professor ofeducation at Shenyang Normal University in China. Wang now serves as anadviser to UMSL student-teachers in Fuxin.
With just over 800,000 people, Fuxin is considered a small city byChinese standards, Ding said.
"Though there are language and cultural differences, the teachers andadministrators at Fuxin Middle-Senior School and their Americancounterparts share a common goal, which is pursuing academic success,"he said.
Helene Sherman, professor and associate dean of undergraduate educationin the College of Education at UMSL, worked with the UMSL Center forInternational Studies, Missouri Department of Education and ShenyangNormal University to make the study-abroad program possible.
"Chinese officials assess the program's first semester as a success,"Sherman said. "They commented that our student-teachers taught in a waythat their students were engaged."
Wang Hongkui, principal of Fuxin Middle-Senior School; Zhang Shusen,vice mayor of Fuxin; and Ji Wansen, commissioner of the China EducationBureau, will visit the UMSL campus in July to learn about the College ofEducation and the teaching profession in the United States.
Visit http://coe.umsl.edu for more information about the College ofEducation at UMSL.
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| UMSL student-teacher Mitzy Mergenthaler (center) poses with a class of nearly 80 students at Fuxin Middle-Senior School in Fuxin, China. |
UMSL student-teachers, from left, Leslie Griggs,Mitzy Mergenthaler and Gwyn McPherson take a break from the classroom to visit the Forbidden City in Beijing. |
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| Helene Sherman (left), professor and associate dean of undergraduate education in the College of Education at UMSL, and Lisa Wang, professor of education at Shenyang Normal University in China, enjoy a meal in Fuxin, China. Wang serves as an adviser to UMSL student-teachers in Fuxin. |
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