Field Experience

Students planning to obtain MATs need not wait until graduate school to get firsthand experience leading a classroom. Allegheny offers a broad array of experiential learning opportunities in schools, including research projects, internships, service learning, and paid positions.

Internships

Education-related internships provide practical experience. Some carry academic credit and even those that do not are included on a special internship transcript.

  • Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center
  • Center for Economic and Environmental Development
  • The Crawford County READ Program for Adult Literacy
  • The French Creek Project
  • McKeever Environmental Learning Center
  • “Creating Landscapes” Summer Program (an interdisciplinary exploration of learning through the arts and sciences offered to pre-schoolers through high school students)

Service Learning

Volunteer work can be beneficial to students, both personally and professionally. Here are just a few educational endeavors in which our students are involved:

  • Foreign Language Clubs – after-school programs in German, French and Spanish. Allegheny students meet weekly with students in three local elementary schools to explore the culture and language of another country.
  • Science fairs and after school science clubs are conducted in local elementary schools by members of Chemii (chemistry club), Biology Club, and the geology department.
  • First District Elementary School’s Butterfly Garden Project.
  • A biochemistry class receives guidance on teaching and managing adolescents, then designs and presents a series of lessons to ninth and tenth grade students.
  • Creek Connections

Employment

Paid work experience builds confidence, knowledge and resumes, while helping students to supplement their incomes.

  • Allegheny employs students in many academic disciplines to provide tutoring services for fellow students.
  • The Writing Center sponsors the Writing Fellows Program, a semester of paid, intensive training for future writing tutors.
  • Teaching and lab assistants.
  • Seminar Assistants, Resident Advisors and Directors, and Orientation Advisors are all trained to function as educators in various capacities.
  • Allegheny partners with nationally recognized programs such as Summerbridge and Northfield Mount Hermon School. Through these partnerships Allegheny students develop curricula, hone their teaching skills, and then act as lead instructors in enrichment programs.

Other Special Opportunities

  • College/Schools Collaborative (C/SC) is a group of educators from Allegheny and the Crawford Central and Penncrest school districts committed to facilitating mutually beneficial projects for area teachers and students. C/SC gives Allegheny students a chance to work with practicing teachers and is a source of funding for student-designed and student-run educational initiatives.
  • The Outdoor Learning Center (OLC) provides a K-12 outdoor learning curriculum and field trips to centers like the Erie National Wildlife Refuge, Pymatuning State Park, Woodcock Creek Dam, and a new multi-acre center located at the Crawford County Industrial Park. Allegheny students are involved with helping children from three local school districts take advantage of the opportunities available through the Ourdoor Learning Center. Independent Studies

Visit the Allegheny College Center for Experiential Learning (ACCEL) website for more information about specific educational experiences.