Open House Held for WVNCC Education Lab and IDEA Center
West Virginia Northern Community College Education Lab and IDEA Center's Wednesday night open house introduced WVNCC students, faculty and the greater community to the child development and tutoring center services available at the relocated IDEA Center.
The IDEA Center opened in August at its new location on the WVNCC campus in the former Student Union building. Since the center reopened its doors, Director Helen Bradley and other staff have been spreading the word about the facility to get more students through their doors.
The IDEA Center moved from its former building on Warwood Avenue due to its new partnership with WVNCC. The community college now utilizes the IDEA Center for its Education Lab program.
By getting more students into the IDEA Center, WVNCC education students can obtain the observation and volunteer hours required for their degree through the Education Lab at the IDEA Center.
"With all these pre-service teachers at Northern, we need children to come in because these Northern students need experience," Bradley said. "The IDEA Center is here to help pre-service teachers gain the experience and work with students one-on-one or in a small group."
The IDEA Center is open to potty-trained children ages 4 and older Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. by appointment. During a session with a WVNCC education student or IDEA Center staff member, the child can receive either child development classes or tutoring services.
Development classes include social studies, science, math and history classes. During tutoring sessions, children can bring in their homework for pre-service teachers and IDEA Center staff to work with them on.
IDEA Center services are offered to the greater Wheeling community and WVNCC students at a discounted rate. WVNCC Education Program Director Maclaine Murad noted that the more children in the program, the more observation and volunteer hours are available for WVNCC education students to obtain.
Every WVNCC education student is required to obtain 80 observation or volunteer hours. Murad noted that the IDEA Center allows students to obtain their hours while still on campus.
WVNCC education major Olivia Thornton looks forward to getting observation hours at the center. She noted that collaborating with other pre-service students while tutoring would be beneficial.
"Having the opportunity to work with younger kids is really good practice for us because we're going to make mistakes, but we're able to learn from them," Thornton said. "One of the best things a teacher can do is learn from other teachers."
Apart from in-person child development and tutoring services, the Education Lab also provides online tutoring services through the Partnerships to Advance Learning Systems Program, which WVNCC has partnered with ASSET, Inc. to provide. Pre-service students at WVNCC satellite campuses in New Martinsville and Weirton can tutor and teach children electronically through the program.
Other WVNCC majors, including those in nursing and information technology programs, have also begun participating in internships through the IDEA Center.
"Northern, the IDEA Center and ASSET are joining forces so that we can combat the national teacher shortage," Murad said. "If our students are in New Martinsville, we can connect them to the children here at the IDEA Center so they don't have to drive."