Guest Article: The Benefits of Teacher Externships
By Jennifer Bauer: Profession-based learning (Pro-BL) is an educational trend that focuses on aligning learning experiences with real-world careers and professional skills. Pro-BL aims to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical application, ensuring that students are better prepared for their future careers. While great in theory, businesses often find the process daunting at the start. Leadership simply cannot envision how students, particularly high school students or younger, can integrate into current operations without being disruptive to operations. Teacher externships represent a low cost, low risk first step in the profession-based learning cycle. Teacher externships offer a range of benefits for businesses, teachers, and students. Here’s a breakdown of how each group benefits from these programs:
For Businesses:
- Talent Pipeline Development: Businesses can influence the educational content and skills being taught, ensuring that students are prepared for future roles within the company and the industry at large.
- Increased Industry Awareness: Externships help educators gain a better understanding of industry practices and trends, which they can pass on to students, generating more interest and knowledge about the sector.
- Enhanced Community Relations: Engaging with schools and teachers through externships builds positive relationships within the community, enhancing the company’s reputation and demonstrating corporate social responsibility.
- Recruitment Opportunities: Businesses get early access to emerging talent and can identify promising students for future internships or job opportunities, streamlining their recruitment process.
- Employee Engagement and Development: Employees who participate in externships often find the experience rewarding, leading to increased job satisfaction and professional development.
- Feedback and Innovation: Companies can provide feedback to educational institutions on skills and knowledge gaps, leading to curriculum improvements that better align with industry needs.
For Teachers:
- Enhanced Curriculum Relevance: Teachers gain practical, real-world experience that allows them to update and enrich their curriculum, making lessons more relevant and engaging for students.
- Professional Development: Externships offer teachers valuable opportunities for professional growth, helping them stay current with industry trends and new technologies.
- Broadened Perspectives: Teachers gain insights into different career paths and workplace environments, which can inspire and inform their teaching practices.
- Networking Opportunities: Teachers build connections with industry professionals, which can lead to future collaboration, guest speakers, and resources for their classrooms.
- Increased Motivation and Engagement: Experiencing the working world can rejuvenate teachers’ passion for their subjects, leading to a more dynamic and enthusiastic teaching approach.
For Students:
- Career Readiness: Students benefit from a curriculum that reflects real-world skills and industry requirements, better preparing them for future careers.
- Informed Career Choices: Teachers who understand industry needs can provide more relevant career guidance, helping students make informed decisions about their futures.
- Enhanced Learning Experiences: Real-world examples and practical applications brought into the classroom make learning more engaging and applicable to students’ future careers.
- Increased Motivation: Learning from teachers who have current industry experience can make academic subjects more interesting and relevant, increasing students’ motivation and engagement.
- Exposure to Industry: Through teacher externships, students gain indirect exposure to various industries and careers, helping them understand potential job roles and career paths.
There is a tremendous amount of flexibility in the design and execution of a teacher externship. The length, depth, and breadth are all negotiable. Any experience will be valuable to the business, teacher and student and the externship can serve as a valuable first step into an ongoing partnership.
About the author: Jennifer Bauer most recently served as the Business Development Specialist for Blue Valley CAPS, a Pro-BL program in the greater Kansas City area. In that capacity, she forged mutually beneficial partnerships between the program and area employers.