Over the course of their time at ̽̽, students in the College of Education and Social Services (CESS) build an impressive resume of high-impact experiences while sharpening their professional skills. On any given day, students engage in meaningful field work, internships, service-learning, research, and other activities.

Enjoy a few moments in time with some CESS students during their first eight weeks of the fall semester.

Alden Ducharme student teaching at Winooski Middle School.
Middle Level Education senior Alden Ducharme student teaching during his field placement at Winooski Middle School. (Photos: David Seaver)

“I am very thankful to be placed in a culturally diverse school where I have potential for growth," says Alden Ducharme about his student teaching experience this semester in ̽̽ alum Chris Magistrale's English Language Arts classroom at Winooski Middle School. "It is challenging work, but the education program here made me feel prepared going in, and they always fully support me throughout my student teaching placements. Throughout my time in the program, I’ve had opportunities in many different schools to experience a variety of teaching styles.”

Ducharme is the first student to move through the CESS Scholar of Distinction program that provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to have their academic research recognized on their final transcript. "My Scholar of Distinction project analyzes how pre-service mathematics teachers facilitate mathematics discussions," he explains. Associate Professor Carmen Petrick Smith is Ducharme's faculty advisor and research partner on the project. He is also part of an undergraduate research team (led by Petrick Smith) exploring how in-the-moment feedback can help pre-service teachers learn to launch inquiry-based mathematics lessons.

Students engaged in a group discussion on the ̽̽ Green
Students enjoy time outside on the ̽̽ Green engaging in a conversation about proficiency-based learning and related topics while reflecting upon practicum experiences in their respective school field placements. (Photos: Doug Gilman)

“I enjoy EDSC 216 because of its practical application to our field placements and future career,” says Secondary Education major Kristen Mangiapanello ‘23 about Professor Eliana Castro's course. “It’s awesome to have a professor who cares so much and dedicates time and effort into creating lessons and units that we can use in the future. It's great to be able to apply things we talk about in class and see them show up in an actual school classroom during my practicum.”

Aspiring educators in the course study and apply constructivist learning theory, differentiation, and authentic assessment with a focus on cross-disciplinary collaboration.

“They're in school classrooms observing how theory and policy translate into practice,” explains Castro. “They have such valid questions about how to negotiate the challenges teachers face and their commitments to sound pedagogy into their teaching practice."

Students working together on a group project
Human Development and Family Studies juniors and seniors work together in small groups to create concept maps of Family Stress Theory. (Photos: Doug Gilman)

In Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) Professor Nicole Conroy's Family Theories class, students demonstrate their understanding of Family Stress Theory's assumptions, key concepts, and utility for better understanding and supporting families' unique circumstances.

“HDFS as a major has given me the tool kit to become a more culturally competent, informed, efficient, and empathetic human services provider,” says senior Emily Neumann, who applies perspectives and frameworks from Conroy’s class in her current internship placement with Vermont Works for Women at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility.

"As future human services professionals, and with senior students currently placed in their internships, theory application is a key skill in effectively bridging scholarship and practice. Students' visual representations reflect the HDFS approach to working with individuals and families, capturing the transactional dynamics between individuals, family systems, and the broader social context," Conroy explains.

Students talking on the front steps of Waterman building.
Social Work seniors gather on front steps of Waterman building to engage in a thought-provoking conversation focusing on topics chosen by two different students every week. (Photos: Doug Gilman)

During their junior and senior years, students in the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program learn through a cohort model, progressing through 32 credits of their coursework together as a group and fostering close relationships with one another and with program faculty. Together, they grapple with social issues and policies, developing theories and skills to influence change that improves the lives of vulnerable and marginalized people and diverse communities.

"The cohort creates an environment where learning is optimized by the students' ability to be vulnerable and trusting with each other,"   says BSW Program Coordinator JB Barna. 

In cohort's recent gathering, Grace Peace and Liz MacMannis led interactive discussion topics of their choice.  Peace brought the students' attention to a podcast about religion and spirituality in social work. MacMannis focused on a video called Indigenous Women Keep Going Missing In Montana. "The video details specific cases in the movement to find and bring justice to missing and murdered Indigenous women in the U.S. and Canada," she explains. "My peers and I began to scratch the surface of the conversation around the startling statistics of missing and murdered indigenous women and how we, as budding social workers, can be cognizant of this issue in any work we do."

Students in Kelly Becker's class creating art on campus near the fountain on the ̽̽ Green
Students create an art installation on campus using chalk, their imagination, and inspiration from each other. (Photos: Kelly Mancini Becker)

Inspired by the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, education students in Kelly Mancini Becker’s EDEL 159 Integrating the Arts class celebrated National Dot Day by decorating the walkways around the fountain on the ̽̽ Green. Becker says the activity was designed to highlight the importance of art making in the community and the positive impact of the arts on students and our world.

The book teaches that everyone can create art if they have support and an opportunity, so all you have to do is start with one dot and you can “make your mark.”

Learn more about the nationally recognized undergraduate programs and graduate programs available in the College of Education and Social Services at ̽̽.