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Preparing Elementary School Teachers through Community Based Learning

Students enrolled in the USF College of Education's Elementary Education Master of Arts in Teaching program discovered the importance of teaching students outside of the classroom during two of their courses.

(Tampa, Fla.) – Students in the OBÌåÓý¹ÙÍø's (USF) Elementary Education Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program explored the Tampa Bay community and learned how these locations could be applied to their classroom curriculum as part of a unique integration of two of their summer term courses.

For the second summer in a row, College of Education faculty Drs. Michael Berson and Katie Tricarico implemented a place-based focus in their courses, "Instructional Planning for Diverse Learners," and "Trends in K-6 Social Science Education." This model took students out of the classroom and into the community, bringing students to various locations in Tampa Bay to extend their studies.

Throughout the six-week summer course, preservice teachers and faculty explored the newly opened Robert W. Saunders Public Library, Junior Achievement BizTown, the Florida Holocaust Museum, and the Tampa Bay History Center. At each community site, students discovered the curricular offerings available to them as future teachers while learning about the ways that Tampa's history and location influence their experiences as citizens.

"The community-based learning experience enhanced my preparation as a future elementary teacher by allowing me to experience the different places in which I could bring my students to further their learning in a fun, meaningful way," said Mark Murphy, a student in the Elementary MAT program. "It also showed me ways in which I could integrat