Cambridge Teaching Experience for Pre-Service Teachers

Mason GEO and the Elementary Education program offer the Cambridge Schools Experience each spring semester. This study abroad experience provides an opportunity for pre-service teachers in the Elementary Education B/AM program or MEd in Curriculum and Instruction-Elementary Education program at Mason to immerse themselves in elementary teaching and learning in an international setting. The month-long experience, situated in primary schools in Cambridge, England, will provide Mason pre-service teachers with an opportunity to develop their instructional and management skills in collaboration with host teachers at the school site.

Students will be placed in pairs at a school site in Cambridge, England. At the chosen school site, each student will be partnered individually with a host teacher for the duration of the program. A Mason faculty member will accompany the students for the full four weeks and complete informal observations of each student during the four-week period.

In addition to their observations, students are expected to keep up with their Mason courses back home and complete online coursework through Blackboard. There will also be mandatory weekly evening seminars with the faculty member supervising the experience in Cambridge.The purpose of these seminars is to debrief school experiences, with a particular emphasis on making meaning of their new learning in an international context. These seminar discussions will culminate in a collaborative project and presentation that students will share with faculty at Mason and in their U.S. internship site, as well as their cohort peers.

Visit the Global Education Office website for additional information on costs, highlights, and how to apply.