F&M Science Teaching Internship Description
The internship has been designed to meet multiple needs within the community. Elementary schools typically find it difficult to provide adequate instruction in science due to lack of materials, teacher training, and available time during the day's schedule. The F&M science intern will bring both instruction and materials directly to the school to address this issue. It is hoped that the regular classroom teachers will discover information that they find useful, and will be able to supplement the intern's instruction during other time periods.
F&M interns may serve as ambassadors for the North Museum, enabling its message, and extensive collections, to reach a wider audience than might be possible.
F&M students are typically involved in community service of one kind or another, but science majors at the college find it difficult to participate as fully as they might like due to the time commitment in laboratories and research projects. The internships provides majors the opportunity to bring their skills and knowledge to the community. Many of the students who participated in this internship are interested in teaching as a career, and this program gives them first-hand experience in the classroom.
Description of Responsibilities
The intern duties include:
-reading the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Academic Standards for Science and Technology.
-devising lesson plans in keeping with the Department's standards.
-preparing complete lesson plans each week, utilizing North Museum and/or College resources.
-being present on an assigned day and time to instruct the children in hands-on, inquiry-based science.
The classroom teacher will be present at all times to aid with classroom management, but the intern is responsible for instruction.
Each intern will meet with the academic advisor as needed to report any problems and to discuss the final project.
Each intern will complete lesson plans for the upcoming week and preview those the F&M reader and their teachers. Upon approval, students will implement those plans. Lesson plans and summaries will be turned in to the F&M academic advisor at the end of the project.
Each intern will keep a ~5 page journal of the internship experience to be turned in to the academic advisor at the end of the semester. This will include information on science pedagogy, classroom dynamics, science educational strategies, and the student's perception of their experience.
Each intern will write a paper on a pre-agreed subject that links aspects of their classroom experience with a broader topic. For example, an intern had a child with special needs and chose to research that particular challenge for the paper topic.
If the intern is ill and unable to meet the full classroom duties they must notify their teacher by phone and email as soon as possible. The intern needs to make up the missed instructional period as students will be assessed on the entire curriculum.