Student Teaching Program

For over 10 years, Centro de Estudios Interamericanos (CEDEI) has welcomed student teachers and facilitated their experience in Ecuadorian classrooms. CEDEI’s Student Teacher Program is designed for students earning bachelor’s degrees in education, who seek an international academic opportunity in which they obtain teaching experience in a different country, while they develop their proficiency in Spanish and experience the local culture.

Students specializing in Art, Music, Physical Education, Early Childhood Education, Middle Childhood or Early Adolescence (Elementary Education), Secondary Education, or Bilingual, ESL, and Spanish Education can participate in a six to eight-week program, according to their home institution’s requirements.

This program is a collaboration between a student’s home institution, CEDEI, and local schools, providing students with the opportunity to teach abroad in a multicultural setting, thus developing cultural competence. Student teachers are paired with English language teachers. Placements are available at the early childhood, elementary, and secondary levels. Through this program, students develop valuable classroom skills, such as flexibility, adapting on the spot, cultural awareness, among others.

Academic Benefits

• Classroom management, lesson planning, organization of material before class.
• Inclusion of different materials, such as visual material to convey a concept.
• Adaptation techniques when lessons don’t go according to plan.
• Breaking down material for new language learners.
• Individualization of lessons based on special learning needs and different levels of English.

Local school expectations

• Work with an English language co-teacher with whom they will complete all responsibilities, including in-class activities, door duty, recess duty, etc.
• Maintain the same class load and schedule as the co-teacher (approximately a minimum of 20-25 weekly, in-class, teaching hours).
• Be culturally sensitive, professional, and respectful in their conduct, language, and dress.

Contribution to the school community

• Exchange of knowledge about current teaching methods.
• Additional in-classroom support and collaboration.
• Intercultural exchange.
• Enhancement of the school’s local image.

NOTE: Teaching time at the local school is determined by the home institution´s requirements.

What the program entails

• Placement in a host school
• 51-53-day host family stay (includes 03 meals every day, laundry, Wi-Fi), 01 student per family
• 02 Lectures
• 120-140 hours Practicum
• Private transportation to and from CEDEI’s campus to the host school.
• 16-hours survival Spanish intensive course based on the student’s individual level
• Two weekend trips (Cajas National Park and Ingapirca Ruins)
• 02 dance lessons
• 02 pottery class
• Orientation sessions
• A welcome pack* 

In addition:

• Airport-Hotel-Airport transportation*
• Five orientation sessions: Information sessions are held on topics such as cultural adjustment, health and safety, living with a host family, and a general program overview.*
• The accommodations in Guayaquil are included for the arrival night and the night before returning to the U.S. (double, triple rooms). Single rooms have an additional charge.
• CEDEI’s administrative fees.

*Important: 

• The welcome pack includes: notebook, pen, small backpack, a local bus/tram transportation card, and a local mobile carrier SIM card – students need to have an unlocked phone-
• Upon arrival in Guayaquil, smaller-size groups (2-3 people) are received at the airport and transferred to the hotel by an English-speaking tour guide. 
• The journey from Guayaquil to Cuenca is facilitated by an English-speaking guide-driver. 
• Weekend tours are conducted as shared services.
• Additionally, orientation sessions would be conducted virtually two weeks before the students’ arrival.

Not included: International airfare, passport and/or visa fees if required (note that US Citizens automatically receive a three-month tourist visa on arrival to Ecuador); travel insurance; meals eaten outside those provided by the host family; optional entertainment and excursions; excess baggage fees; personal expenses, such as telephone calls, departure taxes (if applicable).

Practicum supervisor: The University has the option to send its own supervisor. Alternatively, we can connect you with a highly qualified US-educated professional in Cuenca with a Master’s in Education. She has a decade of experience in supervision, including a long-standing contract with the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. You can contact us at oip@cedei.org

Admissions

Fee per person in US Dollars

• 2-3 students USD$5620
• 4-6 students USD$5280

Program dates

Application