Pencils are being traded for dry erase markers, college textbooks are being replaced with math workbooks and presentations now include leading group reading sessions. The WVU Parkersburg spring 2020 student teacher candidates are making the final transition from student to professional by sharing the classroom with experienced teachers in five W.Va. counties, including Jackson Pleasants, Roane, Wirt and Wood.

The West Virginia University at Parkersburg’s Education Division presents the following student teacher candidates:

Hanna Argabrite

Paige Burner

Hannah Hamon

Hannah Harvey

Shawni Hill

Brittany LaMar

Camie Martinez

Alexis Saunder

Laura Taylor

“I am excited to apply the teaching theories and strategies we learned to the classroom and improve my own methods as I get a real feel of what it is like to be a teaching professional and create positive relationships with the students,” said candidate Shawni Hill.

Hill is a Joseph Badgley Minority Scholarship recipient. Established in November 2017, the scholarship is made available to self-identified minority students enrolled at WVU Parkersburg with the intent of completing a baccalaureate degree in elementary education.

“Receiving the Joseph Badgley Minority Scholarship has been wonderful because it offers the extra monetary support that makes schooling a possibility,” said Hill. “Being a mother of three and having a husband that works to provide for the family, the scholarship allows me to pursue my education while also making sure the needs of my family are met.”

In the elementary education program, students gain hands-on experience as early as their freshman year observing and practicing teaching skills in real school settings. This includes learning key decision-making skills, creating effective lesson plans, developing and assessing one-on-one and group instruction, integrating new technologies into the classroom and more.

“Starting today, our WVU Parkersburg students will leave our classrooms for elementary classrooms as they aspire to be teachers,” said Dr. David Lancaster, WVU Parkersburg Education Division chairperson. “At the end of their clinical placement, they will be a certified teacher; they will also be my colleague and considered to be a hero in many of their students’ eyes. I am so proud of these wonderful individuals.”

Visit wvup.edu/education to learn more about WVU Parkersburg’s accredited programs.