“I thought it was great,” Villaseñor, a 2005 San Diego State University-Imperial Valley graduate, said. “We need seminars like these.”
Villaseñor was one of 65 substitute teachers, community members and students who elected to spend four hours at San Diego State University-Imperial Valley in Calexico on Tuesday evening to gain skills and facts about substituting in the classroom.
“It’s an information session, but also a training seminar,” said Olga Amaral, chairwoman and coordinator of the department of education at SDSU-IV.
Held in the school’s art gallery from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, the session focused on three groups of individuals who could benefit from extra substitute teacher training. “One idea was if anyone inside the community wanted to go out and substitute, this session would get them started in the process,” Amaral said. “We also thought it was a wonderful opportunity to give students some experience until they become licensed teachers.
“The other group is people from the community that are substitute teaching but might think hearing new strategies and tips may help them,” she said.
Four speakers from the Imperial County Office of Education, the Brawley Elementary School District, the Calexico Unified School District, and SDSU-IV led the audience through various topics dealing with substitute teaching.
Those topics included how to become a substitute, what it takes to be a good substitute teacher, ideas on methods subtitutes can use in the classroom relative to curriculum and discipline, and additional tips and strategies from a panel of experienced substitute teachers.
“I attended the workshop because I wanted to have knowledge that can help me and benefit me in the long run,” Villaseñor said.
“We needed feedback from actual substitutes and teachers.”
The individuals who went through the course each received a handbook for substitute teaching and a certificate that Amaral said will become a boon on these bud- ding teachers’ résumés.
“We have a lot of students here that are doing teaching careers,” Villaseñor said. “I think we need to keep doing this every year.”
Amaral said she was excited at the turnout for the firstever substitute training seminar at SDSU-IV, adding she hopes the event will become an annual one.
“I think that anytime you bring a group together to talk about effective practices in education, it will eventually translate to more effective practices in classroom in K-12 schools,” Amaral said.
“Anything the university can do to support that is a benefit to the overall community.”