Internships / TA's

Environmental Education Internships - Great Lakes

Au Sable Institute offers an environmental education internship for those wishing to learn how to effectively communicate their love of the creation. This may include those who are seeking a career in natural or cultural interpretation or a future classroom teacher wanting the skills needed to teach in the out-of-doors. Others may wish to enter a profession related to environmental studies and would like the skills needed to communicate environmental concepts and policy to the public. Still others may be seeking skills to initiate an environmental education component in their church, Christian camp or school. The internship consists of training and supervised teaching.

Schedule
Four Environmental Education Internship Sessions are offered at Au Sable during the school year for those who desire to learn to communicate their love of the Creation to others. Interns may participate in any of the following sessions:

2007 Winter Internship January 29 - March 2
2007 Spring Internship April 2 - June 1
2007 Autumn Internship September 10 - November 2

Training and Responsibilities
The first week of the internship is devoted to training and preparation to teach. The following topics are covered during initial training and throughout the internship: learning theory, philosophy of environmental education, concepts of environmental education, principles of interpretation, characteristics of children, lesson plan development, resources and professional organizations, special emphasis on our role as stewards of creation, and training to teach Au Sable's curriculum. In subsequent weeks, interns put this information to work as they teach K-12 students, under supervision of the Coordinator of Community Programs, Patricia Fagg.

The internship is designed to develop confidence and competence in teaching, particularly in the area of environmental education. Ample opportunity to teach is given, with interns often logging over 150 teaching hours within each internship session. Teaching by interns is given periodic critiques, including evaluations using videotapes. Interns are exposed to a wide range of environmental education curricula and professional organizations. Special emphasis is placed on the role of environmental education in carrying out our mandate as stewards of God's Creation.

Teaching
Au Sable offers a kindergarten through grade twelve sequential environmental studies program to the local school systems. Currently there are over 5,000 participants from 26 school districts in this program. The Au Sable program is mainly restricted to the school day.

After the training week is completed, each intern teaches five days a week for the remainder of the internship session. Some teaching will be done for large groups (up to 60 students) in classroom settings. However, most of the teaching day, an intern will be teaching a small group (8-10 students) as part of a field study.

Each intern teaches under the supervision of the program coordinator. Periodically each intern's teaching will be critiqued. At least one video taped teaching segment will be used in evaluating the intern's teaching skills.

Stipend
Interns receive housing plus a stipend of $150 per week.

Eligibility
Many interns are biology or education majors. However, since environmental studies are interdisciplinary, applicants come from a wide range of academic backgrounds. Applicants should be at least in their junior year of college, and have a commitment to sharing with others an enthusiasm for environmental stewardship. Anyone may apply but preference will be given to students or alumi coming from Au Sable Institute's participating colleges and those affiliated with the Institute through the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities.

Course Credit
Interns, at their option, may arrange for course credit, following approval by their college teacher education program, in Environmental Teaching Methods (Educ330), Directed Teaching: Elementary (Educ345), and/or Directed Teaching: Secondary (Educ346). Tuition is at the rate of the home college.

Application Procedure
A letter of application, indicating the sessions for which you are applying, resume, and three letters of reference should be sent to Environmental Education Coordinator, Patricia Fagg.

Contact
Patricia Fagg
Au Sable Institute
7526 Sunset Trail, NE
Mancelona, MI 49659
(231)587-8686
fagg@ausable.org

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