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NOTE: Program complete
Course: Aug 14-Dec 8, 2017
Travel: Nov 4-13, 2017
SPC College of Education students will volunteer in the public schools in Negril, Jamaica, for approximately 35 hours in a one-week period, through an organization called Great Shape!, Inc., that was established in 1988.
One of Great Shape’s programs is called SuperKids, an initiative to help improve literacy with Jamaican children. In addition, volunteers work with children in the areas of art, computers, music, and physical education. In the schools, College of Education preservice teachers will teach small and large group lessons, work side by side with Jamaican teachers and interact with children in a variety of activities throughout the school day. The experience would count towards part of the required practicum hours (up to 25) for EDE 4942.
Think you can’t afford to study abroad? Scholarships and other ways to fund your study abroad program are available. Explore scholarship options now.
Available courses – Students must enroll in the course listed below during the fall 2017 semester in order to be able to participate.
Note: Students must confirm with an academic advisor that they meet all college enrollment requirements AND course prerequisites to be eligible to enroll in the course listed. Students receiving financial aid must confirm with a financial aid advisor whether their study abroad course will be covered by financial aid.
Professor: Cher Gauweiler
EDE 4942 Integrated Language Arts, Children’s Literature and Social Science Practicum 1 credit
Lead faculty contacts
After you submit the application online, we will review your application and e-mail you with details of scheduling your interview with the Jamaica program lead faculty, Melissa McAllister , 727-712-5205.
Student Travel Blog – For a taste of what it’s like to study abroad in Jamaica, or to follow our students as they travel, read posts from the Jamaica blog below.
During my first practicum, I was given the opportunity to volunteer in Ocho Rios, Jamaica with Great Shape Inc!. Great Shape is an organization that empowers the children and families of Jamaica and the Caribbean by providing access to education and health care. Upon arrival, I discovered that I was going to be working at the … Continue reading A Week in the Life of a Practicum Student Living in Jamaica
Help us make the Jamaica Education Study Abroad School Supply Drive a success! In the upcoming fall semester, a group of SPC College of Education student volunteers will be headed to Jamaica to work directly with children from first through sixth grades, helping them increase their reading skills. These children live in rural areas where the literacy rate is just … Continue reading Make A Difference For Children In Jamaica – School Supply Drive Aug 9-18, 2017
You think you know what to expect, but you don’t. You have been studying Education, you’ve worked in low-income schools, you’ve been on mission trips in America, you’ve been to all the “Study Abroad” meetings; it’s still not what you expect. You prepare by talking with the leaders that went last year, you make creative … Continue reading Can love be the strategy? #Jamaica
I don’t even really know what to say after this trip! It has been a week since I got back home and I don’t think that I have been able to process it all yet. The experience to work with the students of Jamaica was an amazing experience that I will never forget. The smiles … Continue reading Words cannot even come to explain! #Jamaica
It was Thursday that week and I did not feel connected with the kids quite yet. I was kinda disappointed, but I figured I wouldn’t have my moment with them. As a pull out activity that day, I was the one who was going to take the lead and do it, so I figured I … Continue reading Rapping in #Jamaica
If dislike is the opposite of like, is disaster the opposite of aster? The decision to be a part of the Jamaica Education study abroad program was chock full of emotional high and lows. At first I was incredibly excited to have the opportunity to travel to Jamaica and teach for a week. I spent … Continue reading Feeling the Aster – Jamaica 2015
My heart is so full with the beautiful connections and memories that I have made with my Jamaican students while studying abroad. My favorite part of the trip was receiving all the generous love from the students at St. Paul Primary. From the moment I walked into the school, I was welcomed with numerous hugs … Continue reading My heart is so full! #Jamaica
Coming into this experience, I was unsure of what to expect. I have worked with plenty of kids during my short 21 years of life, but none of them touched my heart quite like the students of Peggy Barry Primary in Jamaica. The students have so little, yet enjoy every bit of what they have … Continue reading Pinky Promise – Jamaica Study Abroad Education 2015
The smiles on the student’s faces when we showed up to the school warmed my heart. I knew right from the bat that this experience was going to be something unlike anything I have ever been through. I was eager to begin my day and meet all of the students. It didn’t take long for … Continue reading #Jamaica: It didn’t take long for them to show their amazing personalities that I fell in love with!
Today was day 2 at Church Hill Primary school here in Hanover, Jamaica. It was definitely a bit of an emotional roller-coaster, but the children are so sweet and filled with joy! We started the day out in grade 1. The students were so excited to see us back again and we got to watch … Continue reading Study Abroad #Jamaica