Intercultural Student Teaching
The Intercultural Student Teaching (IST) Program at Capital University is an optional, challenging and rewarding supplement to conventional in-state student teaching through which participants request placements in cooperating schools, families and communities in Australia, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Tanzania, or Wales. Participation in the IST program does not extend your time at Capital, as it is completed during your regular semester of student teaching. Capital University students seeking licensure in early childhood, secondary and intervention education as well as music and art education may participate in the program.
The IST program is organized around three stages:
Stage 1: Preparatory Phase
During the preparatory phase, project applicants will:
- Attend EDUC 283 class (2 credits) sessions and participate in the Spring Workshop.
- Read articles on education, history, culture and contemporary issues (social, economic, political) in the host nation.
- Submit overseas placement application.
Stage 2: Ohio Student Teaching
- Participants in the IST Program will successfully complete 10 weeks of student teaching in an Ohio elementary or secondary school before reporting overseas.
Stage 3: The Overseas Student Teaching Experience
- The overseas placement period spans six to eight weeks.
- Housing in the overseas community is typically arranged by the head teacher of the school that accepts the student teacher.
- IST program participants should expect differences in organization, structure, procedures and philosophy between their Ohio schools and host nation schools. Such differences will be explored during the preparatory phase of the IST program in EDUC 283.
Navajo Nation Program
In partnership with Global Gateway for Teachers, Capital University is now offering Navajo Nation Program, another unique student teaching and cultural immersion experience. Student teachers live and work for a full semester on a Navajo Reservation in Arizona, New Mexico or Utah. There, they teach in either a public reservation school or a Bureau of Indian Education school. In exchange for room and board in reservation dorms, student teachers coordinate after-school activities for students staying in the dorms, provide tutoring and homework assistance, or help in the dorm cafeteria. The goal is to become a part of the community. Student teachers may visit students’ homes, develop personal friendships with the adults they work with at school and in the dorms, attend tribal council meetings, and observe and participate in tribal celebrations and ceremonies.
