Karen Girouard 2000

Karen Girouard spoke to approximately 130 students, enrolled in *Introduction to Experiential Education, in March 2007; the majority of students were freshmen majoring in biology or biochemistry. Karen is a Science Teacher at Ayer High School (Ayer, MA), a position she has held since graduating from NU in 2000 (although she is currently on maternity leave).

Karen's take home message to current students was: When I graduated, I already had a lengthy resume, due to all of my Co-op experiences. In addition, Co-op provided me with an opportunity to experience my chosen career before I graduated. I knew I wasn't going to enter the workforce after graduation and say, "What was I thinking?"

*Introduction to Experiential Education is a semester-long series of weekly classes, all of which are intended to teach students about the types of experiential education opportunities available to them, including Co-op, and how to find and use existing resources both on and off campus. In addition, students receive instruction and guidelines in such areas as resume writing, job interviewing skills, and professional behavior and ethics. Finally, Co-op employers and former students are invited to speak to current students about the value of the Cooperative Education Program and its important connection to career development options for students.

Karen's Experiential Education Experience at Northeastern.

I started at Northeastern in 1995 and began my experiential education in 1996 with a 6-month co-op at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Upon my return to Boston and to classes, I got a work-study position in a research lab at Northeastern, where I purified proteins, ran assays and worked with HPLC and a laser. My next co-op was 6 months at Forsyth Dental Center in the Cytokine Biology Department. I was in charge of maintaining human cell lines in a tissue culture lab and performing Western blots and bacterial transformations. Both of these lab jobs (as well as my lab classes at Northeastern) were important for my career as a science teacher because I could speak to my students from my own experience. For example, our Biology text briefly touched upon tissue culture, and I was able to expand upon what the cells "eat" and how to maintain sterile conditions.

In my third year at Northeastern, I began to focus on my future as an educator by starting the education classes and accompanying pre-practicum hours. I volunteered at a group home for adults for my special education class and at a Saturday morning tutoring program for another class. I also observed science classes at the John D. O?Bryant School and looked for the principles of good teaching that we learned about in our Methods and Materials I class. At that point I still hadn't taught a class, but the co-op department and sociology department helped me set up a service learning project. My job was to design a curriculum and deliver it to first graders at an after school program. I was so nervous at the beginning, but each week I delivered my lesson, reflected on what went well and what didn't, and made improvements for the next week. The following fall, I returned to the school and to new first graders and delivered the same curriculum but with new and improved lessons.

With all this experience under my belt, I was hired as a long-term substitute at Cushing Academy. I spent one undergraduate semester as a real teacher! I taught two Biology classes and a Life Science class and coached figure skating and was a dorm mom. This was an incredible learning experience, particularly in classroom management, learning styles, and test design. Finally, it was time for me to student teach. I taught at City on a Hill Charter School. I felt very confident working under a mentor teacher, and I loved getting feedback and improving each day.