Future teachers use technology to provide support to students during COVID-19 crisis Written by Laurie Hamer | Education & Wellness
During the COVID-19 crisis, more than 70 University of Wisconsin-Platteville education majors took on the challenge of providing more than 100 homebound K-12 students in 11 school districts in Southwest Wisconsin with online tutoring support to ensure they continued gaining knowledge in a wide variety of subject areas. Beginning in March, UW-Platteville students were paired with more than 60 elementary students, 20 middle school students and 20 high school students. Using Zoom, the future teachers read books on a variety of topics aloud to younger students and tutored older students in math, science and language. UW-Platteville students tutored students through mid-May, but some volunteered to continue tutoring until the younger students school year ends. When the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the university, the School of Education had students who still needed to complete contact hours for a variety of courses, said Dr. Jen Collins, director of the School of Education at UW-Platteville. We also realized that, with the closing of K-12 schools, there were families who needed support in navigating online learning for their children. We took advantage of this unique opportunity and paired our future teachers with those students. Families were provided with free tutoring and our students were able to gain valuable experience teaching in an online environment. It was a win-win. UW-Platteville students said the learning experience was invaluable and provided them with an opportunity to connect with students 2020 College Guide - Page 4
and develop skills that will make them more marketable to future employers. In a time where we couldnt physically be together, Zoom tutoring allowed us to fulfill what we are most passionate about working with children, said Maria Bast, a senior elementary/earlychildhood education major at UW-Platteville from Platteville, who tutored four elementary students in reading and math. We were fortunate to have been given this opportunity. Tutoring benefited the elementary students we worked with, but it also gave my classmates and me time to develop a new skill set, teach different subjects, work with different grade levels and meet new students. It was a great way to connect our university to the surrounding communities. The tutoring program was a wonderful and valuable experience, said Kaley Mumma, a junior agriculture education/horticulture major at UW-Platteville from Byron, Illinois, who tutored a ninth- and tenth-grade student in history and plant science. I had great students who were patient with me as I adjusted to online tutoring. It was also a great opportunity to brush up on my early 1900s history. The alternate delivery tutoring experience was exceptionally unique, providing reward and challenge, said Ethan Wilkinson, a senior health education major at UW-Platteville from Baraboo, Wisconsin, who tutored a secondgrade student in reading and language arts. It was an experience that allowed me to learn about my abilities as an instructor and provided a unique learning opportunity for my student. Grant, Iowa, Lafayette Shopping News
