Model Classroom Opens on Lambuth Campus

December 9, 2024 - Pre-residency teaching candidates at the University of Memphis Lambuth Campus now have a tool to better prepare them for advanced coursework and residency. Faculty in the College of Education (COE) announced the completion of a model classroom at Varnell Jones Hall, creating an atypical classroom for education students.

“The connection of the immersive experience is what’s going to make this place unique,” said Dr. Tiffany Lonoza, a clinical assistant professor at UofM Lambuth.

Dr. Sandra Cooley-Nichols, chair of COE’s Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership (ICL), came up with the idea during a department faculty meeting. Lonoza and fellow Lambuth faculty member Dr. Torre Kelly acquired funding from now retired COO and Dean of Lambuth Campus Dr. Niles Reddick and went to work putting together a setting that looks nothing like a college classroom, and that’s the point. Interactive presentation boards, table groupings, even a small library with children’s books help students feel, as Lonoza puts it, “more connected to the profession.”

 “(Preservice teachers) now have access to modern classroom technologies and are encouraged to use these tools in their instruction. They’re provided opportunities to practice teaching in this environment and sharpen their skills,” she said.

Currently, UofM Lambuth offers two Bachelor of Science in Education (BSEd) programs: Teaching All Learners (TALN), which gives dual licensure in Elementary (K-5) Education and Special Education for K-8 or 6-12 settings, and Educational Careers, a non-licensure program for students interested in working in education without earning a teaching license.