{"id":54137,"date":"2020-03-04T16:22:37","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T22:22:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=54137"},"modified":"2020-03-04T16:22:38","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T22:22:38","slug":"%ef%bb%bfcoronavirus-cant-stop-one-fhsu-students-education-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=54137","title":{"rendered":"\ufeffCoronavirus can\u2019t stop one FHSU student\u2019s education in China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Diane Gasper-O\u2019Brien
<\/strong> University Relations and Marketing
<\/em> School children in China won\u2019t return to their classrooms until mid-March because of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

But students at Quality Schools International (QSI) of Zhuhai are still busy learning in their homes, and David Kalberg is still able to fulfill his student teaching requirements for his teaching degree from Fort Hays State University.

Kalberg, who will earn his bachelor\u2019s degree in elementary education online in May, moved with his wife, Kimberley, from their home in Idaho to China a few months ago when she took a job as a third-grade teacher at QSI of Zhuhai. He continued taking classes online and was pleasantly surprised when he learned he could student teach in China as well.

Even when the coronavirus disease outbreak was declared a public health emergency \u2013 \u00a0thus closing schools all across China on Feb. 3 \u2013 Kalberg\u2019s student teaching wasn\u2019t interrupted.

QSI is a group of non-profit international schools offering education in the English language in 37 different countries. So, in preparing for any type of unusual circumstances, its teachers already have been trained online, and students are enrolled in an online system.

Incorporating the skills he learned while taking classes online at FHSU, Kalberg converted the classroom curriculum for his QSI fifth-graders to an online format.

\u201cThis is definitely not what I\u2019d ever been trained for before,\u201d said Kalberg, a retired diesel mechanic who followed his wife into teaching as a second career. \u201cThe technology classes at Fort Hays State set me up for all this. I am very fortunate.\u201d

He credits Scott Gregory, the field experience director for FHSU\u2019s student teachers, for the seamless process.

One day, while Gregory was conducting a Zoom meeting online with some of the 100-plus student teachers he has this semester, Kalberg spoke of his situation in China.

While student teachers at many universities are supervised by on-campus professors, often limiting the distance for student teaching destinations, Fort Hays State is unique in the fact that it has a separate director for its student teaching programs. Coupled with its large online presence, FHSU can meet the needs of students anywhere, whether in a physical classroom setting in another state or online from China.

Kalberg is proof of that.

\u201cLearning has just changed a lot,\u201d Gregory said, \u201cand the online unit is a huge component. Because of that, we can be very, very flexible, which makes us very marketable.\u201d

Kalberg\u2019s days start a little earlier these days than when he taught in the classroom. About 6 a.m., he begins correcting homework that his students have sent him online. Soon afterward, he begins the conversations that he has with his students every day, both individually and as a group, using online conferencing call techniques.

\u201cI can\u2019t emphasize enough how beneficial the FHSU online program has been for me personally,\u201d Kalberg said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t be happier with the entire program.\u201d

Kalberg is planning to fly to Hays to walk across the stage at graduation in May. It will be his first trip ever to Fort Hays State, but he is anxious to meet Gregory and professors he had in his four years at FHSU \u2013 and to check out the campus version of his soon-to-be alma mater.

\u201cAnd,\u201d he said with a laugh, \u201cI need to get some more FHSU black and gold items.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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