Workforce Solutions Panhandle initiated a new paid educator externship program to offer a unique professional development opportunity for educators by connecting the classroom to the workplace. Teacher Externships provide educators a way to work alongside industry professionals to learn how classroom content and learning strategies are applied in the workplace.
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About Teacher Externships
Workforce Solutions Panhandle in cooperation with Region 16, Amarillo College, and Panhandle Community Partnership will be providing teacher externship experiences in June & July. Teacher Externships offer a unique professional development opportunity connecting the classroom to the workplace. They provide an experience in which teachers spend time in a workplace to learn through direct experience about trends, skill requirements, and opportunities in industries related to their subject in order to enrich and strengthen their teaching and bring relevance to student learning.
Teacher externships offer a professional development experience that is often transformative for educators and their students. All students should be prepared for college and/or careers; therefore, teachers must constantly update their own knowledge and skills about current workplace practices, requirements, and tools by gaining an “on the ground” understanding of economic and career trends that will affect their students. The externship experience helps teachers connect classroom content with students’ future career interests and helps students develop both the academic and technical skills required in the world they are preparing to enter.
The purpose of a teacher externship is to engage in activities in business and industry, and/or service-based organizations, to learn how classroom content and learning strategies are applied in the workplace. Teachers improve their pedagogical practices by incorporating new methods, labor market information, and employment skills that meet current industry standards. The educational goal of an externship is to increase a teacher’s ability to connect theory and practice and bring an understanding of workplace practices and policies (e.g. problem-solving methods, practical applications of theory, leadership concepts) into the classroom, thus increasing the relevance of student learning.
