GSC Education Students Collaborate With LCMS Students in Seminar Series
By Karolina Philmon, GSC marketing manager
Gordon State College education students hosted a group of seventh graders from Lamar County Middle School for a series of Socratic seminars on building positive student-teacher relationships, followed by a Q&A session and campus tour on Tuesday, April 8.
This marks the third year of the event, which began as a collaboration between Dr. Julie Little, GSC associate professor of education, and Heather Davison, LCMS 7th grade science teacher.
“These events provide younger students with the opportunity to not only explore a college campus but also engage with current college students in a meaningful way,” Little said. “Meanwhile, my [GSC] students gain valuable insight into the perspectives and needs of the students they will one day teach.”
Little and Davison taught together at LCMS for several years, with Davison introducing Little to Socratic seminars, a method now integral to all of Little’s courses. A few years ago, they decided to bring the seventh graders and Little’s teacher education students together for a seminar, with the middle school students compiling a list of topics for the education students to choose from.
“The [LCMS] students were incredible during the seminars. I particularly enjoyed watching and listening to my [GSC] students during the Q&A, as they offered advice on the importance of performing well in school now and how to navigate college in the future,” Little said. “It was as though they were speaking to their younger selves or to their younger siblings.”
Dr. Jessica Watson, superintendent of Lamar County Schools, also visited to observe the seminars, which were held simultaneously in three separate classrooms. Little said some of the middle school students were initially apprehensive but soon became comfortable and engaged in sharing their experiences with the [GSC] students.
“I value the opportunity for my education students, who will soon be teachers, to engage in meaningful conversations with students outside the classroom. It allows them to gain valuable insight into the perspectives of the younger generation on school and life,” Little said.