School of Education Students Design Curriculum for PBS Television Program

Yupa Saisanan, EdD

Webster University School of Education (SOE) students recently had the chance to participate in a unique opportunity – one that will showcase their expertise on public broadcast television.

Under the supervision of Interim Dean of the School of Education Stephanie Mahfood, a group of six SOE undergraduate students designed 20 lessons for the Nine PBS show "Teaching in Room 9." This series features educators from across the region as they teach short lessons in school-readiness skills. Each episode of "Teaching in Room 9" incorporates lessons aligned to Missouri and Illinois state standards in reading, math, science and social skills, with a strong emphasis on literacy. The launch episode of this season was aired on Monday, Sept 16, 2024. Nine PBS will release one episode a week for the next 16 weeks.  

“We wanted our lessons to be super engaging and creative in order to capture the audience's attention in only a small amount of time,” said Samantha Finder, a senior majoring in Elementary Education. “We were told from the beginning that we should not limit our imagination in any way. This allowed us to come up with some very fun activities and ways of explaining things. When you are in the classroom, there are limits based on the environment, resources provided and student needs. But "Teaching in Room 9" allowed us to run wild with creativity.” 

The lessons planned by Webster SOE students will feature content about day versus night, shapes, tying your shoes, learning colors and more. The SOE students explained that lessons were created with inclusivity at the top of their minds so everyone can enjoy them. “As teachers, it is important to remember to be inclusive for all audiences, especially through a video format like "Teaching in Room 9,” explained Milan Henline, a senior majoring in Education with an Emphasis in Secondary Mathematics. “We must be mindful of using large visual aids for those who may have issues seeing, using simple languages and engaging with the audience.”     
 
Although the SOE pre-service teachers were creating content to educate others, they found themselves learning a lot from the process as they branched into teaching outside of a traditional school setting. They also had the opportunity to practice new strategies in their instruction. Alyssa Pratt, a senior majoring in Elementary Education, enjoyed the creative freedom this project offered, saying it caused her to look at things differently. “Creating lessons for "Teaching in Room 9" was a helpful exercise in thinking outside the box. Instead of writing a scripted lesson about colors, I chose to make it interactive. Having the freedom to be creative was very beneficial and helped me reframe the way I look at my job as a teacher.” 
 
Jessica Berman, who graduated last spring and is now working as a Spanish teacher, echoed this. “This project allowed me to branch outside of my comfort zone, all the while providing proof that I know more and am capable of more than I had previously thought.”

The biggest takeaway among Webster students was the real-world impact that they would be having. “My favorite part about being involved in this project was the opportunity to affect students all over the state,” Berman said. “As a budding teacher, it is already a huge task to help the students within your classroom develop. Having the opportunity to help students outside of my classroom develop is something I will forever treasure.” 

Webster’s School of Communications was tasked to produce this project. Students enrolled in the Topics in Film, Television, and Audio Production course gained real-world experience by writing the shooting scripts for Room 9 teachers, designing the set, creating props for different classrooms, shooting, editing and sound recording for all episodes.

Mahfood expressed excitement about the level of detail she saw from SOE students as they planned lessons for the show. “Our pre-service teachers have once again created a curriculum that is engaging, creative and impactful. They do all of this in their own time, and it truly shows the type of educators we are producing at Webster University. We’re proud to provide SOE students with hands-on opportunities like "Teaching in Room 9" to further prepare pre-service teachers for their future careers and help them grow in confidence during the process,” Mahfood said.