New education course partners schools with community
Augusta, Ga.- Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver will be one of the many community leaders serving as a lecturer in Augusta State’s new place-based education course being offered this summer.
According to Andrew Kemp, assistant professor in ASU’s Department of Teacher Education, the purpose of this course is to help teachers bring real-life examples into the classrooms through the assistance of local leaders and organizations.
This 10-day program begins Monday, June 18, with a course overview, and Copenhaver will visit the class on Tuesday, June 19, to discuss the various elements of the city’s government. Other activities include the students conducting an ecological survey of the forest in Evans, Ga., learning about communications from the staff of local news stations, walking tours of Historic Downtown Augusta, and discussing information on the city’s waterways at the Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy at Phinizy Swamp.
Kemp says the students enrolled in this course are practicing teachers who have the responsibility of taking what they learned from the program and developing 10 lesson plans. The teachers must also design a service learning project to be used by their students as an effort to get them more involved in learning about the Augusta area.
“A lot of the educational references presented to our children in the textbooks are not easily accessible to them. However, if teachers could share actual information from our area and apply it to the necessary subject area, students may be more apt to grasp the topic,” Kemp said.
To follow up on this story idea, call Danielle Harris, media relations specialist in ASU’s Office of Public Relations and Publications, at 706-737-1876.
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About Augusta State University
Augusta State University, a unit of the University System of Georgia, is strategically located in the second largest city in Georgia. Offering70 programs of study leading to associate, bachelor, master, and specialist degrees, the university successfully blends a strong liberal arts foundation with specialized degree preparation to ensure graduates have the knowledge and skills to succeed in a global environment. With an enrollment of nearly 7,000 diverse students, the university measures its success by the success of its students.
