{"id":998,"date":"2019-07-17T18:19:07","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.wpengine.com\/news-archives\/wcsu-dhsteachingfellows\/"},"modified":"2019-07-17T18:19:07","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:19:07","slug":"wcsu-dhsteachingfellows","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wcsu-dhsteachingfellows\/","title":{"rendered":"2014 WCSU-DHS ‘teaching fellows’ spend summer in the classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"ImageDANBURY, CONN. <\/strong>\u2014 Under the watchful eye of elementary education<\/a> majors at Western Connecticut State University<\/a>, high school students are learning to pass valuable skills along to younger students.<\/p>\n

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Eight Danbury High School students, designated as WCSU-DHS teaching fellows, are spending their summer in the classroom tutoring elementary school students to increase literacy and language skills. The high school students are interested in teaching careers.<\/p>\n

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The pilot program is a partnership between WCSU and Danbury Public Schools. The fellows are high school juniors and seniors also enrolled in Upward Bound. ConnCap\/Upward Bound<\/a> is a year-round program in which 120 students from grades 9-12 are given the tools to strengthen their academic and leadership skills. Students come from families where neither parent has completed a college degree or that qualify at certain income levels.<\/p>\n

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The tutoring takes place in small groups in classrooms at Ellsworth Avenue Elementary School. Each WCSU student, including some recent graduates, oversees two DHS teaching fellows as they guide their elementary students through a variety of experiential learning projects. Almost all of the elementary school students do not speak English as their first language.<\/p>\n

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There are four mentors from WCSU and eight high school students, all bilingual, speaking either Spanish, Portuguese, or in some cases, both. The program aims to eventually provide the education system with a more diverse faculty to accommodate the number of bilingual students in Connecticut schools. Funding for the program was through an award granted by the Connecticut Department of Education.<\/p>\n

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The theme of the summer program is organic gardening and sustainability. A community garden planted behind the school serves as a hands-on learning tool. Students learned about sustainable farming, as well as high-level vocabulary associated with gardening, such as \u201cphotosynthesis\u201d and \u201cfertilizer.\u201d <\/p>\n

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The elementary students are encouraged to use their improving literacy skills in innovative ways. By using new iPad software called Lego Storybuilder, students create comic strip stories in which they aim to persuade farmers to go organic. Through these exercises, students learn to persuade, justify and argue.<\/p>\n

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Yago Zoccarato, a junior at DHS, has been enrolled in ConnCAP since his freshman year. He is considering a degree in education at Western after his high school graduation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI like to help people with things. I like to tutor,\u201d he said, seated at a low table surrounded by various Lego bits and excited elementary students. \u201cI thought this was the perfect chance to see if I wanted to pursue a career in teaching. I notice that they actually learn things that we taught them. They have been using those words in sentences and stories they\u2019ve created.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Recent WCSU elementary education graduate Abby Radzimirski volunteered her time to mentor.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI want to help students looking to pursue education,\u201d she said, adding that it\u2019s important that they recognize the impact they have on the younger students. \u201cThey see that being bilingual is a positive thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In addition to teaching strategies, the teaching fellows are learning how technology interacts with and influences instruction. They also learn how to plan lessons, write curriculum and integrate drawing, reading and writing into everyday exploratory learning.<\/p>\n

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Dr. Robin James, a WCSU assistant professor in the Education and Educational Psychology Department<\/a>, said that the program is a great way for everyone to give back to the community.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s got a lot of layers, but it\u2019s successful because of the partnership between WCSU and Danbury schools,\u201d James said.<\/p>\n

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Because of the number of English-language learners in the program, James said the curriculum is designed to focus on strengthening literacy and English skills. Many of the fellows are bilingual and relate well to the students, James said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe teaching fellows remember what it was like to be like them,\u201d James said. \u201cAnd the elementary school students are seeing good role models.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In the fall, the WCSU-DHS fellows will be tutoring their peers at a high school after-school program.<\/p>\n

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For more information, contact the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.<\/p>\n

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Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England\u2019s best small private universities.<\/em><\/p>\n

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