College of Education and Health Professions Students Excel Through Hands-On Learning

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Anahi Francis (third from right on the bottom row) and seven other College of Education and Health Professions students intern at Monitor Elementary.

Students in the College of Education and Health Professions consistently make their way out of the classroom and into real-world learning environments through internships and practicums. In the fall 2023 semester alone, 1,865 students completed internships and clinical practicums, preparing them for work after graduation while serving many communities in Arkansas and beyond.

The college prepares students for many caring professions, including teaching, nursing, speech-language pathology, public health, recreation and sport management, counseling, occupational therapy, athletic training and human performance research. Direct training helps ensure they're well-equipped in their chosen health or education field.

Graduate student teacher candidate Anahi Francis is currently participating in an internship at Monitor Elementary in Springdale, where she has practiced teaching in first- and third-grade classrooms. She's among the 250 student teachers who are interning in 47 school buildings in Northwest Arkansas while dedicating almost 121,000 service hours to local schools.

Before Francis' internship at Monitor Elementary, she participated in field experiences that allowed her to practice leading lessons while learning from experienced educators.

"I am truly getting to see what it is like working at an elementary school," she said. "These hands-on experiences have helped prepare me for my career by allowing me to be fully immersed in an education setting."

Students in the college's nursing and communication sciences and disorders programs embark on practicums in a wide array of clinics throughout the area as part of their specific degree programs.

Over 1,000 Eleanor Mann School of Nursing students are completing practicum hours at 70 clinical sites in Arkansas and surrounding states this academic year, with students transitioning to working with actual patients in acute and community settings after completing their foundational skills training.

In the classroom, counseling students gain experience primarily through mock sessions with classmates. However, second-year graduate student Cat Padon will start seeing her first patients in person this spring when she embarks on her practicum at Pinnacle Counseling in Rogers, an opportunity she feels is essential to her success after graduation.

Throughout this academic year, roughly 30 unique sites across campus and within the community are hosting 91 counseling students participating in either a practicum or internship. This experiential learning opportunity for students is broken down into three divisions: mental health, rehabilitation and school counseling.

These students are spending over 20,000 hours collectively this year at internship and practicum sites, providing direct services to patients in addition to participating in trainings, outreach units and continuing their education.

"In order for us to be able to do our job someday, we need that hands-on experience that a classroom setting can't really provide you with," Padon said.

With a wide array of practicum site options, Padon feels "lucky" to study within a program that is intent on finding a site that fits an individual student's skills and needs and determined not to let them "go into the profession blindly."

Additionally, this year, communication sciences and disorders students will complete clinical practicum hours in over 30 school districts, hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and outpatient clinics throughout Northwest Arkansas, gaining more than 22,000 combined hours of direct clinical experience before graduation.

Kaylie Mahar, a doctoral occupational therapy student, spent time completing a clinical rotation at a pediatric therapy clinic, and she said the experience helped her improve her skills and work on professionalism. 

"I was able to apply the occupational therapy process that I have learned in coursework to real-life clients and build strong relationships with the children I served and the staff I was surrounded by," she said. "I am so thankful for this experience."

Mahar's training inside and outside the classroom has prepared her for her clinical rotation this semester, a final step in readying occupational therapy students for their careers post-graduation.

Over 130 exercise science students in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation are devoting about 18,000 service hours through internships at 40 sites this academic year. Students are provided with a wide range of fields to choose from for their internship sites, like athletic training, medical sales, prosthetics and more. 

This year, public health majors are contributing almost 20,000 hours of collective practicum work across 50 unique sites like the American Heart Association, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkoma, and the Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center.

"We strongly believe in the importance of providing meaningful and transformative experiential learning opportunities for our students. Internships and practicums that allow our students to receive hands-on training are an integral part of every degree program we offer," said Dean Kate Mamiseishvili. "I'm so proud of our students who are serving Arkansans while continuing to improve their skills." 

For more information on the college's departments and programs, visit the College of Education and Health Professions website.