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College and Departmental Opportunities for Transformational Learning

College of Education and Human Services

Internships/Practica

Briefly describe any internship, fieldwork, service learning, and/or practicum opportunities that are available in your department. Provide an example.

" I touch the future. I teach." Christa McAuliff

Students who are interested in becoming teachers* will find that the COEHS offers opportunities to observe children and youth in school settings early on their program of study. These opportunities include two pre-internship field courses plus one culminating student internship experience that allow students to participate in activities and programs for children and youth with supervision and support. For instance, many of our students are placed in professional development schools where they are able to have the on-going support of a professor in residence and a resident clinical faculty member. Furthermore, at least one experience for each student must be done in an urban school setting. Altogether, these experiences offer students opportunities to interact with a diverse population of pupils as well to practice skills required of an effective teacher. These field experiences take place in Duval County and other neighboring school districts.

COEHS students also have the opportunity to spend part of their internship semester in Belize or Plymouth , England where they are immersed in the culture of the host country and its school curriculum.

* Teacher Education Programs:

  • Pre-Kindergarten – Primary Education (age 3 – grade 3)
  • Elementary (grades K – 6)
  • Middle School Education, with a track in: Mathematics/Science (5-9)
  • Secondary Education, with majors in:
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Physics
    • English
    • Mathematics
    • Social Studies
  • Physical Education, with tracks in:
    • K-12 Physical Education
    • Sport Leadership
  • K-12 programs:
    • Art Education
    • Music Education
  • Exceptional Student Education K-12
  • Hearing Impaired K-12

Courses

  • EDF 3945: Field Lab I
  • EDF 3946: Field Lab II
  • MUE 3944: Music Education Field Lab
  • EDE 4943: Practicum II: Student Internship
  • EEX 4861: Internship (Exceptional Ed)
  • EHD 4940: Deaf Education Field Practicum

The COEHS also offers students a program of undergraduate study in Sport Management where there are numerous opportunities for field experiences as well as a culminating student internship experience. The program of study provides an academic foundation in sports management that can be applied in a variety of sports settings. There are two concentrations within this degree program: Sport Management and Community Sport. The Sport Management concentration is appropriate for students who seek careers in professional sport, college athletics, or sport entrepreneurship. The Community Sport concentration is appropriate for students who seek leadership and/or instructional careers in settings offering sport, fitness, and recreational programming. Of further significance is that students receive valuable employment training though practicum and internship experiences in chosen settings including: college recreation or athletic programs, community recreation agencies, sport organizations or business, sport facilities, and professional sports teams. Internship placements have included:

  • Association of Tennis Professionals
  • Boys and Girls Clubs of Jacksonville
  • Jacksonville Suns Professional Baseball Club
  • Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Jacksonville Beach Parks and Recreation Department
  • Jacksonville YMCA's
  • Sports Marketing Group (runs Alltel Stadium)
  • The Mariott at Sawgrass
  • Tournament of Players Club (TPC)
  • PGA Headquarters
  • UNF Athletics

 Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects

Briefly describe any opportunities available for undergraduate research or creative projects in your department. Provide an example.

  • In TSL 3550: Principles and Issues in TESOL students do creative projects tied to a video series called “The New Americans.” These projects include original works of art, children's books, games, dances, mobiles, surveys and polls, research projects into themes explored in the videos, power point presentations and quilts.
  • Students enrolled in EEC4213: Teaching Beginning Reading ad Writing or LAE3211: Methods and Resources for Literacy Development work with an instructor in some continuing research project to help struggling readers, assessing the impact of preservice teachers through a tutoring program and identifying strategies for children placement at Holiday Hill Elementary School .
  • In EEX 4604: Educational Management of Exceptional Children students design a behavior change study as the critical task assignment. In this study, students work with their professor and a school teacher to select a child who needs to improve an academic or social behavior based on the IEP goals and objectives. In collaboration with the instructor and the school teacher, the student designs an intervention for the school child. As part of this experience, the student completes an extensive review of the literature before a child selection is made, secure parental approval, and plan with the teacher on a schedule that will work for the student.
  • Students in Foundations of Literacy (LAE 3210) complete an extensive children's author study.  After choosing one children's literature author to focus upon for the duration of the semester, each student completes a research paper on the author which states the author's background and writing interests.  The student creates a visual and handout to introduce her/his future students and peers in LAE 3210 to a specific author.  Also each student completes various literacy activities that can be used introducing the author to a class. 
  • Students in the Educational Technology introductory course create electronic portfolios. This semester long project provides students with the opportunity to showcase their creative assignments in field work and two other courses. Also, in all of the introductory educational technology courses, a number of selected literacy activities have been chosen and infused with technology for use in the course. These activities include reviewing electronic books, planning and developing classroom activities with eBooks, and using a technology enhanced literature circle activity as part of the class. Additionally as their culminating project each student creates an online learning resource - a WebQuest - that can be used by students to teach about the topic of their interest.
  • Students have the opportunity to study an aspect of education such as literacy needs in the country of Belize during the summer months.
  • The Sport Marketing class in the Sport Management major develops game-day promotions for UNF athletic events.
  • Students in the EDG 2710: Teaching Diverse Populations have the opportunity to conceptualize issues of race, class and gender and its impact on societal issues particularly the education of students in a democracy. Serious attention is paid to engaging conversations and dialogue with classmates of ethnic populations other than their own. Students confront their own attitudes towards difference in a variety of ways. This may be through the use of case studies and multicultural films focusing on issues of concern close to home as well as in a global democracy. They are asked to reflect on these concepts and their impact on the work that they will do as teachers.

Study Abroad

Briefly describe any study abroad opportunities that are available in your department. Provide an example.

Students have the opportunity to complete part of their student teaching internship and sport management field experiences in schools in Plymouth , England through an articulation agreement with the College of St. Mark and St. John . During this experience, COEHS students are placed in primary and secondary schools working in classrooms for students with and without disabilities or if they are sport management majors, they receive field placements in sport facilities including one with the Plymouth Argyle, a championship football league team. COEHS students participate in the school culture as well as the campus life of the host institution and can travel throughout England and neighboring countries during their weekend breaks. COEHS students can also immerse themselves in the cultures of the Belizean people through a short term internship in the country of Belize . Depending on the semester, students in the College of Education and Human Services have participated in 10 day short term TLO experiences in the USA and European countries including a 10 day train travel education course cross continent, and throughout Western Europe .

The COEHS hopes to begin internships to Murmansk , Russia , in the near future.

Other Opportunities

Because transformational learning opportunities don't always fit easily into the three categories listed above, please describe any other TLOs in which students in your department engage. These could be activities that are part of a class or an outside activity such as a service project.

There are four student clubs in the COEHS, and they are very active in combining their studies with service projects that reach out into the community. The organizations are the Student Council for Exceptional Children (SCEC), The Student National Education Association (SNEA), the Association of Childhood Educators International (ACEI) and the Student Sport Management Association (SMA). Examples of club activities include adopting families for Christmas, clothing drives, book drives for schools both domestically and internationally, and providing leisure and recreation activities for persons with disabilities in the Jacksonville communities.

Class projects also exemplify the spirit of the transformational learning opportunity.

Students:

•  recently participated in a service project through a refugee program sponsored by the Lutheran Social Services (LSS). UNF has donated eight surplus college computers to refugee families that had been supplied with educational software including ebooks and dictionaries collected and installed by students in an honors educational technology course.

•  have also presented a program of Poetry Theater and storytelling at the UNF Child Development Center Family Festival as part of a project founded by the Cummer Foundation of Boston .

•  in the Integrated Math, Science and Social Studies course spent two days working with the St. Johns River Water Management department completing the Water Education for Teachers (WET) workshop. They analyzed watersheds and water quality, studied the Florida aquifer, and learned about conserving and protecting Florida waterways.

•  in the Sport Management major have participated in various recreation experiences at the Wolfson's Children's Hospital.

•  in Exceptional Student and Deaf Education, Sport Management and other programs have often submitted proposals and traveled to state and national conferences.

•  have participated in the ESOL Center for Teaching and Learning at West Riverside Elementary where they have provided school tutoring programs for ESOL children as well as services for families at the ESOL Family Resource Program.

•  have participated in an after school tutoring program at St. Clare Evans Academy (2004-on-going). In this activity, UNF students tutored 5 th & 6 th grade students in a diverse, urban school setting.

•  Leaders from the NEA and CEC clubs traveled to Denver , Colorado and Salt Lake City , Utah to the National Student Conferences where they had the opportunity to meet with other student leaders from across the USA and learn/share experiences in student organizational leadership.