College students get a taste of teaching and elementary students get a change of pace during a partnership program in the Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools.

Since last fall, Cara Rieckenberg, environmental education coordinator for the district, has served as a liaison between the school district and the College of St. Catherine.

Rieckenberg also works as an adjunct faculty member at the college. She said the program benefits a variety of teachers and students.

The “multifaceted” program has dimensions to meet a variety of needs, Rieckenberg said. Students gain new perspectives and have more adult interaction to assist with large class-sizes, teachers gain updated perspectives on new curriculum, and college students and professors hear feedback on what’s happening in education in a classroom setting.

Funding for the program was provided by the Jeffers Foundation, which gave $42,000 to cover program costs for the 2006-07 and the 2007-08 school years.

Rieckenberg said coordinators hope to expand the program in coming years, to bring the same style of experiential learning to students as they move on to middle school.

Lori Maxfield, associate professor of education at the College of St. Catherine, said being the faculty-in-the-field coordinator has been rewarding.

This fall, 21 college students worked in the schools as part of a professional service development model, she said.

The benefit? The students learn “what are the realities of today’s classroom,” Maxfield said.

The fieldwork experience lets the students team with teachers to develop lessons, evaluate student learning and be evaluated themselves for their teaching.

The program expands beyond a typical student-teaching scenario because of the environmental education the training teachers bring to the curriculum. The college students find ways to use the GLOBE environmental curriculum with the students.

“It has been one of the most positive experiences,” Maxfield said. “It was a very valuable experience for them. They were all very professional.”

College faculty members also take advantage of what’s going on in local classrooms. Last spring, Maxfield taught second- and third-graders about the water cycle. She also offered consulting to the classroom teachers if “they needed some resources or additional ideas.

“For the faculty out observing the students, you have the opportunity to be in a real classroom. We’re not just preaching out of the textbooks our students use,” Maxfield said.

“I would say we’ve had a tremendously wonderful experience with Prior Lake,” she said. “The classroom teachers have been outstanding mentors to our students.”

Sometimes, what the local teachers say reinforces what the college students hear in class, Maxfield added.

“They probably listen to them more than us on some things,” Maxfield said. “They’re a dedicated staff.”

First-grade teacher Linda Jorgenson of WestWood Elementary School said there was “a lot of interaction at all levels” to make the program work. She said her students were sad to see their college teacher leave after the six-week stint in the classroom.

“It was very exciting for me to see the collaboration with elementary schools and the college level,” Jorgenson said.

The student teacher in her classroom gained a comfort level as she interacted with the students, she said.

“She was very nervous. It was only her second time in a classroom,” Jorgenson said.

Jorgenson said they were able to talk about different curriculum, teaching styles, classroom situations and interactions as the partnership continued.

“It’s exciting to provide an opportunity for new teachers to have success in the classroom,” Jorgenson said.

The teachers brought “different teaching styles and new energy to the classroom,” she said. It also taught the children to listen to a new authority figure.

“I think an added benefit was there was an extra set of eyes and hands to provide children with what they need,” Jorgenson said. “It was truly a collaborative effort.”

 Joanna Miller can be reached at (952) 345-6375 or jmiller@swpub.com.