Lights, camera, credentials; a new single-subject theater credential has arrived at Cal State Fullerton this fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first cohort of credential candidates are prepared to step off the performing stage and step into the classroom as teachers, ready to inspire the next generation of performers. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Previously, there was no certification or license specifically for teaching theater. Students would have to pursue an English certification to teach their desired subject in the classroom. But new changes came when a 2016 California bill proposed that the subjects of dance and theater have their own dedicated curriculum for credentials.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bill initiated the work to establish a specialized theater credential in 2021 which finally made its way to CSUF.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This pivotal moment in theater education piqued Amanda Rose Villarreal\u2019s desire to come to CSUF as an associate professor in theater and dance and spearhead the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really excited about the opportunity to come here and start strong,\u201d Subject Coordinator Villareal said. \u201cAnd help the state and Cal State Fullerton establish a really strong tradition of good pedagogical training to theater teachers that could continue.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A common issue seen in some California schools is the lack of substantial theater programs for students to participate in early on in their academic careers. As someone who didn\u2019t have the chance to participate in the performing arts in-house until high school, Villarreal recognizes the importance of molding strongly-trained theater teachers for the betterment of young students\u2019 education.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMany theater educators across the country got great training in theater, but very little training in how to teach theater,\u201d Villarreal said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
CSUF\u2019s two-semester program centers on equipping candidates with the knowledge, support and experiences to excel in their own classrooms as role models and supportive figures to their K-12 theater students. These are essential resources for candidates to carry forward as they navigate what is recognized as an independent career path after college.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things that I realized everywhere I went is that a theater teacher is a one-person production team,\u201d Villarreal said. \u201cBeing a theater teacher is both really, really rewarding, but it’s kind of isolating at the same time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Quite often, a single theater teacher is assigned to a whole school, leaving limited support for theater teachers while on site. However, the program at CSUF helps cultivate a close-knit connection among the candidates while simultaneously preparing them to oversee a classroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tylor Scott Jenkins, a CSUF graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree and now a credential student, is stepping into the teaching role for the first time. Jenkins is working at Capistrano Valley High School as a student teacher on par with the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing on my site student teaching, it is directly transferable, being able to subconsciously transition learning material from my courses at Cal State Fullerton into the educational environment,\u201d Jenkins said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He is one of the 11 candidates selected to revisit the grade-school setting and receive fresh insight into influencing how theater is taught in the classrooms, working also to improve the attention and support offered to students.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe learn about supporting undocumented students,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cOr we are learning about the school-to-prison pipeline, we even discussed Florida\u2019s \u2018Don\u2019t Say Gay\u2019 bill.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The program is a gateway for candidates to put their knowledge to the test, advocating for students as mentors with the ability to create a safe space for learners to grow and for teachers to match that growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They have taken it into their own hands to crowdfund for their group to participate in a thespian conference come spring, with the intentions to network with the outreaching theater education community spread across the nation \u2014 a valuable opportunity to become integrated into the career field.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing that we would love more than to have exposure to the industry,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cLearn how to be better teachers, market ourselves to those that are also learning in the industry and get their wisdom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the cohort’s first half of the program wraps up soon, the curriculum and learning environment in the course has allowed these select students to unify under shared experiences and apply that to their roles as teachers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get to share our experiences about learning and growing,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cTalk about what we learned in class in the previous week at Cal State Fullerton and how it applied to our students at our (teaching) locations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lights, camera, credentials; a new single-subject theater credential has arrived at Cal State Fullerton this fall.\u00a0 The first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49718,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,6054,15,7183,1058],"class_list":["post-49717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-class","tag-education","tag-teaching","tag-theater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}