Education Majors Engage with Early Learners at Community Leap Day Event Thursday, March 5, 2020
“With the University being in an urban location, I have had the opportunity to work with people from so many different backgrounds and walk to many of my classroom observations ... Point Park has provided me a wonderful experience in supporting my education goals and I am very grateful.”
Five Point Park University School of Education students celebrated Leap Day by helping to lead an interactive event, in collaboration with Matt’s Maker Space and several other Pittsburgh education organizations, designed for early learners and their families at St. Paul’s Episcopal Nursery School in Mt. Lebanon, Pa.
“I truly enjoyed volunteering at the Maker Space event because I loved interacting with the children and introducing them to something new,” said Gina Foreman, a junior Pre-K through fourth grade and Pre-K through eighth grade special education double major from North Allegheny High School in Wexford, Pa.
The education majors helped preschoolers with hands-on learning activities such as mixing slime, creating a button, designing a print and experiencing the power of wind by forming a circuit to make a light bulb shine or a fan spin.
“One of my favorite parts was seeing the children's faces when they would peel back the stencil and see the art they had created. I also enjoyed seeing all of the creative ways the children painted a stencil and how every child made something different and beautiful!” said Lily Fields, a sophomore fourth through eighth grade math education major from Palmyra Area High School in Palmyra, Pa.
Assistant Professor of Education Virginia Chambers, Ed.D., and Kamryn York, M.Ed., part-time education faculty member, graduate assistant and Ed.D. in leadership and administration student, joined the students at the event, in which approximately 300 attended.
“We are very focused on engaging our students in the education community as much as possible,” Chambers said.
“Point Park has been a great place for me to get involved with many community volunteer experiences such as College Now mentoring, the Carnegie Library, Literacy Pittsburgh, Matt's Maker Space and Strong Women Strong Girls,” explained Madisyn Hale, a junior fourth through eighth grade English education and Pre-K through eighth grade special education double major.
“The University has given me so many experiences in the different sectors of the education field that I would not have had otherwise,” added Hale, a graduate of Hempfield Area High School in Greensburg, Pa.
Savannah Knopsnyder, a junior Pre-K through fourth grade and Pre-K through eighth grade special education double major from Somerset Area High School in Somerset, Pa., is also grateful for the opportunities she has received at Point Park.
“My education career goal is to become a teacher who can effectively work with all students and implement many different teaching techniques. Point Park is helping me achieve this goal by having us observe and explore many different types of classrooms and teaching techniques for the classroom,” Knopsnyder said.
Montour High School graduate Madison Corcoran’s career goal is to teach high school history or special education.
“With the University being in an urban location, I have had the opportunity to work with people from so many different backgrounds and walk to many of my classroom observations. The small class sizes and convenient location were two large driving factors in attending Point Park. The professors have been extremely helpful through creating in-depth and real-life experiences for all of us,” explained Corcoran, a junior secondary education social studies and Pre-K through eighth grade special education dual major.
Corcoran added: “Point Park has many organizations on campus that align with my goals as a future teacher. Two clubs I am involved in are Future Educators of America and Strong Women, Strong Girls, which have both offered me with incredible experiences in educational practices and mentoring. Point Park has provided me a wonderful experience in supporting my education goals and I am very grateful.”