2019 FALL LYCOMING COLLEGE MAGAZINE

ycoming College’s education department truly embraces the tradition of a liberal arts education by offering a wide variety of enriching academic experiences and an opportunity to explore a liberal arts major to augment a teaching certification. Throughout their academic tenure, students work closely with multiple advisors and dedicated professors to build a foundation of skills necessary for successful teaching. We sat down with the faculty members of the education department to gain their perspective on the challenges in education today and how they aim to prepare tomorrow’s teachers to become creative instructors and inspiring role models. Rachel Hickoff-Cresko, Ed.D. Chair and Associate Professor of Education Hickoff-Cresko’s research interests include sources and development of reading self- efficacy, the education of at-risk populations, and teacher preparation. “It’s important to note that education isn’t offered as a major at Lycoming, but as a certification program that supplements academic content majors. Our students choose a discipline of study and a certification program or programs, so essentially it’s like getting a double-major. This provides them with a strong background and expertise in a particular field, in addition to the education certification(s). As a result, our students are well-rounded and have a lot of options once they graduate. Whether they enter teaching in a classroom, decide to pursue graduate school, or enter the field connected to their academic major, our students have pedagogical knowledge and leadership skills that can be applied anywhere. Our students must complete at least 20 hours of fieldwork every semester they are enrolled in an education course, beginning in the spring of their freshman year. Our goal is to get them out into the field early, which gives them the opportunity to apply research- driven practices in the classroom. We obviously can’t simulate in the college classroom everything they might encounter in a school setting, so it is imperative that we get our students into a variety of school districts and environments so they can experience it, thus getting them on the right path immediately. Our mission is to effectively prepare qualified people for the field. We have designed our programs to align course work, field experiences, and multiple benchmarks to allow our students to become successful, obtain their certification, and enter the field successfully.” F A C U L T Y S P O T L I G H T Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers Today L 24 LYCOMING COLLEGE 2019 FALL MAGAZINE