The School of Education’s Cindy Kuhrasch was featured in an article for the Winter 2020 issue of On Wisconsin magazine, published by the Wisconsin Alumni Association.
Kuhrasch is the coordinator of the Physical Education Teacher Education program in the School’s Department of Kinesiology.
The article, which is titled “Student Teaching During a Pandemic,” focuses on how Kuhrasch found a way for her physical education students to complete the student-teaching requirements for their majors and for state licensure during the coronavirus pandemic.
With all Dane County public schools operating virtually this fall, Kuhrasch had to think outside the box, and found a solution at St. James Catholic School just south of campus. St. James is offering in-person and virtual instruction for its younger students, and virtual instruction for older students.
The school initially had turned to Kuhrasch when its physical education teacher took a leave of absence due to family concerns. Kuhrasch then decided to fill the position herself and became the cooperating teacher for her UW students, explains the article.
The article notes the unusual circumstances have created a unique bonding opportunity for the UW students, as student teachers who would typically be spread out across schools are all working in one place.
“Because they’re all here, the conversations they’re having are so rich,” Kuhrasch said. “I walk in and it sounds like a teachers’ think tank. They’re just bouncing ideas off one another, like, ‘Maybe this will be too hard for this class, or we should think about this kid’s needs.’ It’s really incredible.”
The full On Wisconsin magazine article is available here.