Educator in the Workplace (EDU 570) offers relevant first-hand knowledge of workplace environments, expectations and experiences. Learn ways to help your students connect what they are learning in the classroom to the world of work. This graduate level education course provides experience for educators by meeting the requirements of the state academic standards for career education and work and is eligible for up to 60 hours of Act 48 hours.

Bring workplace experience into your classroom. After three days of classroom training, spend three days at a pre-selected business from your community collecting concrete examples that will support the lessons young people need to enter the future world of work. 

Bringing relevancy to the classroom is one of the biggest challenges facing educators today. When asked, “Why do we have to learn this stuff?” an educator needs to be prepared with responses that are valid and relevant to students. Gaining real-life experiences in the workplace provides the educator with concrete examples to support the lessons being presented. The workplaces who provide such opportunities are directly impacting the future workforce. As more cooperation exists between schools and businesses to provide educational experiences for educators and students, young people will be better prepared to enter the world of work in the future.

The Educator in the Workplace (EIW) program has been in existence since 1994 and has gained popularity in both the education and business arenas. In this program, educators venture into the business environment to observe and experience some of the same demands and responsibilities that employers will place on future graduates.

The professional exchange of information and practical experience among educators and employers brings credibility to the classroom. Teachers who gain experience in the business community enhance their performance in the classroom by giving actual testimony about how skills learned in the classroom relate to the business world. Employers also gain a new perspective on the role of educators and school life in the twenty-first century. Through having teachers who have participated in EIW, students can directly see how classroom learning is connected to the workplace.

“After this program, I can truthfully tell my students that algebra is vital to the medical professions and give them examples I saw at Chambersburg Hospital.” 
- Sharon Boyles (Shippensburg Area School District)
 

Logistics
Choose from two locations, York Learning Center or Lincoln Intermediate Unit 12 for the three days of classroom instruction including orientation, a panel discussion, valuable information for students and follow-up presentations and activities. Three days will be spent on-site at a community workplace gaining exposure to skills that can be imparted to students. 
 

Benefits

• Concrete examples about how skills learned in the classroom relate to the world or work.
• Networking in the business community for future resources.
• Highlights and simulations for job preparedness.
• Ability to assist students as they prepare for future employment.
• Modeling appropriate employability skills for students.
• Understanding the importance of effective social and communication skills.
• Opportunity to develop community resources for classroom or school activities.
• Good public relations for educators and their school districts