Student Teachers Bring the Wild West to Life at Cedarville Elementary

A group of third graders dashed across a field, ropes in hand, learning about transportation the cowboy way. It wasn't a field trip - it was a classroom without walls where student teachers swapped worksheets for Wild West adventures.

When planning her lessons, Professor Candace Nelson often considers whether her students would rather learn about transportation by doing a worksheet, listening to a lecture or stepping into an activity like roping a cow. She would always choose the cow.

An adjunct professor of education at Cedarville University, Nelson leads a senior-level course called Teaching Primary Social Studies designed to give education majors hands-on experience in lesson planning and event preparation. The course culminates in Geography Day, a two-day social studies event hosted by Cedarville University's student teachers for third-grade students at Cedarville Elementary School.