Southeast Missouri State University recently awarded a $1,000 Innovative Teaching Grant to Jennifer Criblez, teacher at Cape Central High School, as a part of the Emperor Penguin sponsorship program with Cape Public Schools.
“SEMO is committed to nurturing education that allows all students the opportunity to reach their full potential,” said Lenell Hahn, director of admissions. “This program allows us to give back to the community that has supported us for so many years.
The goals of the Innovative Teaching Grant are to support excellence in teaching and improve student learning through financially supporting activities designed to enhance material taught in a course. The money awarded from the grant will be used in Criblez’s AP Human Geography course towards the costs of field trips to both St. Louis and around Cape Girardeau.
The goal of these field trips is to give students a hands-on experience in political and land-use patterns in urban settings and regional agriculture and economic development occurring locally.
Students will have the opportunity to meet with industry leaders in both St. Louis and Cape Girardeau. These fieldwork experiences will not only allow students to better understand the course material but will also allow them to learn about new fields of employment and network with potential mentors.
As part of the excursions, students will conduct fieldwork research and observations, which they will later present on. Fieldwork experiences are crucial for students to better understand the material as well as challenge them to use their writing and statistics skills.