Kayla Zapcic
Kayla Zapcic

Head of the Class

Kayla  Zapcic

Class of 2021 鈥 Lancaster, Pennsylvania
On the field, defending the goal is her top priority, but for Kayla Zapcic 鈥21, a goalie on the women鈥檚 field hockey team, there鈥檚 more at play.

 

Since the beginning of her sophomore year, she has been interning at Sudlersville Elementary School in Queen Anne鈥檚 County, shadowing and student-teaching in both kindergarten and first grade classrooms. After being accepted into the program at the beginning of her junior year, she is on track to earn her teaching certification in the state of Maryland, alongside her human development major.

Working closely with the education department, Kayla is grateful for the guidance of her professors. 鈥淲hen it comes to finding your placement for your elementary school field experience,鈥 she explains, 鈥淸the department] is very diligent, making sure you have everything you need.鈥

 After finishing most of her distribution requirements, she began focusing on her education course load throughout her sophomore year, while simultaneously shadowing in a kindergarten classroom. 鈥淚 love bringing the values and concepts we learn at 今晚六合彩开奖结果 to real life in the classroom,鈥 she adds.

The next year, in a first-grade classroom, Kayla put her teaching skills to the test - writing and teaching her own lesson plans independently. Each week in her Processes and Acquisition of Reading course, she writes a lesson plan, three of which will be taught throughout the course of the semester to her first-graders. Bringing her own lessons to the front of the classroom is nerve-wracking, yet exciting. 鈥淯sing the Maryland State Standards, I get to think of my own lessons and create fun, learning activities to bring to my class.鈥

In the education department, seniors are expected to teach full-time throughout their spring semester, a plunge that Kayla is thrilled to take. Immersing herself in the classroom environment, she can鈥檛 imagine a better way to prepare for her future as an elementary school teacher.

Back on campus, Kayla is consistently improving her teaching approach, particularly through her coursework. In Professor Clarke-Vivier鈥檚 Educational Psychology course, she learned new approaches to teaching, particularly as it relates to a student鈥檚 well-being and emotional health.

鈥淲e learn about teaching effectively in a classroom, while also making sure we don鈥檛 neglect the human aspect of a student,鈥 she explains, 鈥淗e/She is a human being with thoughts and feelings of his/her own, which we must take into consideration.鈥

Apart from teaching, Kayla is a Shorewoman at heart. Standing in the crowd at last year鈥檚 War on the Shore game, she truly felt the camaraderie on campus. Hundreds of students filled the stands as Goose Nation鈥檚 men鈥檚 lacrosse team fought Salisbury on the field. Regardless of the loss, everyone was unified and excited, and that鈥檚 a moment she鈥檒l never forget.

 

 

 

 

 

Kayla's Four Year Plan

Year 1

Favorite ClassGeneral Psychology

Imagine taking a course with four different professors, each teaching their own specialty within the same discipline. That was General Psychology for  Kayla and her classmates, an experience like none other. 鈥淚t was really cool to be exposed to so many different teaching styles,鈥 she explains, 鈥渨hile simultaneously knowing that you鈥檙e being taught by the best in that field at 今晚六合彩开奖结果.鈥 At the culmination of this class, the foundation was laid; Kayla knew she wanted to pursue a minor in psychology.

Year 2

Making the Transition Education Internship, Kindergarten Classroom

As a sophomore, she had already finished the brunt of her distribution requirements; shifting her focus to education, Kayla  was ready to begin shadowing in a classroom. Along with her education classes, she began interning in a kindergarten classroom. 鈥淭he combination of these two things really solidified the fact that I wanted to be a teacher.鈥

Year 3

Learning b y DoingWriting Lessons

In the education department, real-world experiences are limitless. As an intern in a first grade classroom, Kayla is bringing her coursework to life. Writing lesson plans in her Processes and Acquisition of Reading class, she will teach three of them over the course of her first semester. Using Maryland State Standards as a guide, Kayla is thrilled to stand in front of the class, teaching on her own, while engaging the students. 鈥淸This internship] is setting me up to be comfortable in front of a classroom,鈥 she says, which is an indispensable skill to learn so early in her career.

Year 4

Looking Forward ToStudent Teaching

In the spring of her senior year, Kayla will be in the classroom every day, student-teaching full-time. She is thrilled to take on this new responsibility, learning hands-on with her students, while being mentored by the teachers at Sudlersville Elementary School, as well as her education professors. After graduation, she plans to work in Maryland as an elementary school teacher. 鈥淚n my experience so far, I really like teaching first grade.鈥