Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo is the capital city of the Dominican Republic.  The Dominican Republic is located in the West Indies and occupies the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola. Santo Domingo offers an exciting student teaching experience.  Student teachers will be placed in private English-speaking schools.  Students will complete approximately eight weeks of student teaching in a Michigan school and then complete the remainder of their student teaching experience in Santo Domingo.  Schools have been chosen for their high academic standards, their diverse student and teacher backgrounds, and their curricular offerings.  For example, one school avoids reliance on standard textbooks and encourages its teachers and students to work with authentic materials and primary sources.  This unique approach to curriculum will enrich teacher education students' knowledge bases and pedagogical skills.  Teachers come from many countries including the Domincan Republic, the U.S., Haiti, Cuba, Argentina and Canada.  Most of the students enrolled in the identified K-12 schools are upper middle class.  Custodial and security workers are also present at all school sites.  Politically, the Domincan Republic has been one of the most stable countries in Latin America since the 1960's.  Domincans are very friendly, open and willing to share the beauty of their language, culture and country.

Program Mission:

  1. International experiences are a means to further the student’s personal and professional growth and development. Students should develop both an understanding of another culture and increase their ability to make comparative decisions and judgments.
  2. These experiences are preparation for intelligent participation in the student’s own society and the furthering of an international understanding.
  3. Experience in the Dominican Republic can also be a stimulus to a student’s growth in academic competence. This experience builds on eight weeks of student teaching in Michigan to provide continuity and support for the preparation of teachers for multicultural classrooms.

Costs and Financial Aid:

  1. Previous program fees were $4,200-$4,500.   The fees includes room and board, field trips, health insurance, and the study abroad administrative fee.  Additional costs inlcude airfare,  passport, and personal expenses.
  2. Financial aid provided by CMU may be applied toward the cost of this program. It is also possible to apply for aid based on the program's additional cost. Students are encouraged to apply for the various available scholarships both through TEPD and CMU. Click here for TEPD scholarship information and click here for OIE scholarships for study abroad.

Accommodations:

Students will live in Dominican family homes, centrally located in the capital city. Their home stay families will provide room and board.

While studying in the DR, student teachers will:

1.  observe different school organization and methods of teaching subject matter.

2.  learn to work with people in unfamiliar situations.  Such opportunities will help to develop tolerance and self-confidence.

3.  be living in a home environment for an extended period of time and, thus, experience learning in greater depth than a trave/study course.

4.  become prepared for changes in American culture and society that may likely take place during their lifetime.

5.  broaden their world view.

6.  be more marketable with an international experience.  The international experience provides an added dimension to a student's teaching background which interests prospective employers.

Enrollment requirements:

In addition to the minimum qualifications for all student teachers, students participating in this program should be open to new cultures, flexible and be willing to learn some basic conversational Spanish.

Students will be required to attend all student teaching seminars pertaining to the Dominican Republic in Mt. Pleasant during the first eight weeks of the student teaching program.  Students are also required to attend all student teaching seminars and excursions while in the Dominican Republic.

Applications:

Three applications are required.

  1. A TEPD Student Teaching Application.
  2. An International Student Teaching Application.
  3. An Office of International Education application.

For further information, please feel free to contact Ann Neal at 989-774-4411 or e-mail neal1al@cmich.edu.