SUMMER 2020

INTERNSHIPS TAKE ON NEW SHAPE

Completing a required internship continues to be a major academic degree component for many students. Education interns, in particular, were challenged as their assigned schools were closed due to COVID-19, forcing the students to demonstrate their flexibility with remote learning technology and different strategies to communicate with students.

Social studies interns connected COVID-19 to current events in the topics they were teaching.

Margaret Wilson Gillikin, an assistant professor of history and director of the social studies education program, said in geography classwork the virus played out in discussions of where it originated and where it has spread. In government classes, the virus was tied to issues related to voting, access to services and the government’s role in people’s lives. In economics classes, it connected through the economic shutdown and its impact.

“And finally in history classes, as we are living through a major historical moment that will be taught in history classes around the world for years to come, the tag line ‘We are all in this together’ is

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really what civic engagement is all about,” said Gillikin.

Intern Beverlee Fernandez, a graduate student from Spartanburg, quizzed her Northwestern High School students in a U.S. History class she helped teach.

“One way to maintain some sense of the old normal was to have students answer a question of the day. Some days it would be something more conversational,” Fernandez said. “A more serious question I asked was how do they think COVID-19 will be recalled in history textbooks, and a common answer was that it will be remembered for disrupting everything, and for creating a sense of panic and fear.”

Fernandez also homeschooled her eighth-grade son during her internship.

“I think with parents being thrust into a position of helping their children with school work, it just demonstrates how important teachers are to communities,” she said. “It’s my hope that there will now be a greater support for educators.”

At Rock Hill High School, Ian Young, the school’s social studies department chair, gave high praise to his intern, Robert Napoli, who assisted for three weeks into the quarantine period.

Napoli, a graduate student from Horry County, had established a rapport with students and was able to quickly transition to a full list of responsibilities. “This work continued into the quarantine, and the quality of assessments created was thought pro- voking and very clear,” said Young about his intern. “Clarity for students in this challenging time has proven to be very important. Robert really focused on working backwards when creating assessments, considering what the final product should look like and working backwards with instructions to ensure students are clear regarding expectations.”

Irene Natsis, another social studies intern at Rock Hill High School, said she and her mentor teacher, Emily Stover ’13, had to tailor activities to meet the needs of students that may not have access to the internet. “The activities created had to be representative of the content, but manageable for students with limited resources,” said Natsis,

INTERNSHIPS TAKE ON NEW SHAPE

Robert Napoli

a senior who will join her father on the staff at Catawba Ridge High School this fall.

The Fort Mill resident sent videos or messages to let the students know what was expected of them. They also used a platform called Canvas that allowed them to upload assignments, videos, activities and grades and to send emails.

Stover said Natsis was a natural when it came to building relationships with students.

“This was particularly an asset when we switched to e-learning because she was able to keep some students participating that may not have completed all of the work normally. Having her work with me during this time was incredibly helpful, and I even learned some new strategies from her.”

Beverlee Fernandez

- Emily Stover, mentor teacher, on student Irene Natsis.

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