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File photo by David Norris
BY LANCE SCHWARTZ • CHIEF COMMUNICATION OFFICER
Dr. Alanna Lienig
Summer teaching experience rewarding for Lienig Bethany Associate Professor of Education Alanna Lienig enhanced her own classroom experiences while spending a portion of her 2021 summer break teaching at a middle school in Minnesota School District 191. This diverse school district includes parts of the Twin Cities suburbs of Burnsville, Eagan, and Savage. Lienig teaches a variety of education courses at Bethany, and the summer teaching position proved valuable for her on several levels. First, it was the opportunity to perhaps instruct the very same elementary students Bethany education graduates would find in their own first classrooms. “I missed teaching younger students and this was an opportunity to stay current with my practice. I was also looking for an opportunity to work with diverse populations and Early Language Learner (ELL) students,” explained Lienig. The summer classrooms where she taught were full of young students with special circumstances and learning needs. “I taught fifth graders at Eagle Ridge Middle School in Savage. My classroom had a mix of students who
didn’t have good attendance during the school year because of COVID, students with a disability, others who were behind academically or socially, and some English language learners.” And while the students had their own unique needs, the classroom wasn’t considerably different than a normal middle school setting. Lienig said, “The teaching focus was on math, reading, and social skills. We used a lot of science experiments and art to help students engage in the math and reading topics. We took field trips about once a week, and incorporated physical exercise in the schedule every day. We used positive behavior interventions and supports to proactively help students achieve success socially.” However, while the classroom setting was similar to traditional learning situations, the parent/teacher progress interactions definitely proved to be far from familiar. Lienig said, “I gained experience with students from communities I had not worked with before including early language learners who spoke Russian, Spanish, Persian/Dari, and Somali/Arabic. I used a translator service to communicate with parents over the phone.” The entire summer teaching experience was quite rewarding for Lienig—her own learning in these diverse classrooms will ultimately prove to be valuable for the Bethany education students she mentors in college classrooms, and in their student teaching experiences while on the path to becoming teachers and education professionals.
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