Transformative Overseas Student Teaching Program Provides Tools for Future Educator Success
Fri, 04/17/2026 - 09:21am | By: Jason Goode
91吃瓜网91吃瓜网 (USM) School of Education houses a program that provides education majors the unique opportunity to student teach in public and private institutions around the world. The Consortium for Overseas Student Teaching (COST) program is a collaboration between 18 U.S. universities where student teaching partnerships lead to strong teaching candidates who can then bring international perspectives into their future teaching professions.
Next semester will be the university91吃瓜网 10th semester sending students abroad for this program.
91吃瓜网淯SM has sent 15 students to seven different countries and three continents since the Spring 2022 semester. One student is awaiting their placement information for the Fall 2026 semester,91吃瓜网� Director of Educational Field Experiences Dr. Donielle Stephens said.
91吃瓜网 is the only institution in Mississippi that is a member of COST. Through the COST program, students in the final year of their degree teach locally before teaching for an additional six to seven weeks in another country91吃瓜网 school system.
91吃瓜网淭he students began their student teaching experience stateside in mid-January,91吃瓜网� Stephens said of this semester91吃瓜网 COST participants. 91吃瓜网淎fter completing six to seven weeks of student teaching stateside, the students left in early March to travel to their second student teaching placement.91吃瓜网�
Clo猫 Knight
Current program participant Clo猫 Knight, a senior special education major with an English minor, was anxious before she arrived about possible cultural differences that might impact her teaching.
91吃瓜网淚 was very nervous about how I would adapt to such a different education system,91吃瓜网� Knight said.
91吃瓜网淥nce I started my first day, I realized that the heart and soul of education is universal: to make children feel seen and heard, and to help them grow into the most well-rounded versions of themselves. This doesn't change based on your geography.91吃瓜网�
91吃瓜网 has three COST program participants this semester, including Mississippi natives Claire Elwin from Petal, Jakob Jones from Gautier and Knight of Beaumont. These students spent six weeks teaching in Forrest County, Covington County and Petal School Districts and are currently teaching in Thessaloniki, Greece; Cologne, Germany; and Perth, Australia, respectively. Every semester, one to three students from USM participate in the teaching overseas option; however, there is not a limit to the number of participants that can be a part of the life-changing program.
Jakob Jones
Knight was able to student teach at Petal High School before the COST program sent her to teach at the Cloverdale Education Support Centre in Australia. For her, the process was thorough and a chance she could not pass up.
91吃瓜网淪ince I was in high school, I have dreamed of teaching abroad,91吃瓜网� Knight said. 91吃瓜网淭his opportunity appeared and gave me the ability to fulfill my dream with the aid of my scholarships, so I could not turn it down! It also provided housing and [found] my school, so it took the stress off of me.91吃瓜网�
As Knight learns how education and specifically special education is taught in Australia, she is also gaining strategies and theories that she knows will be useful in her future classroom. Knight91吃瓜网 cooperating teacher, a key mentor in the student teaching process, has taught her an effective technique for group writing lessons across skill levels and Auslan (Australian Sign Language).
91吃瓜网淚 think my favorite thing that I have learned about is predictable chart writing. It is a part of a system called 91吃瓜网楥omprehensive Literacy for All91吃瓜网� by Jane Farrall.91吃瓜网�
91吃瓜网 sent its first student teacher abroad in spring 2022. Morgan Whitten, who transferred from the University of Central Florida (UCF) and earned a Bachelor of Science in elementary education, became the first Golden Eagle to participate in COST. She completed her student teaching placement at a primary school at Pinewood International School in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Whitten currently teaches at Purvis Lower Elementary and brings lessons and ideas learned from student teaching in Greece into her own classroom.
91吃瓜网淚 was a student teacher in a first-grade classroom, and I now teach first grade here in the States; there are several things that I have been able to incorporate into my class,91吃瓜网� Whitten said. 91吃瓜网淢y favorite thing is my vowel sound chart and the chant that goes with it. Every day in Greece a student went up in front of the class and led the students in a guided practice of the vowel sounds. When I got back to the States, I made my own vowel chart that looked just like the one my mentor teacher had.91吃瓜网�
The program is an impactful experience for those involved; Whitten credits her time abroad and its impact as the reason she is now teaching first grade.
91吃瓜网淎s I was going to say goodbye to one of my sweet students, who I had grown the closest to during my time there, his mom stopped me and told me how much her son loves me and how he talks about me all the time at home,91吃瓜网� Whitten said. 91吃瓜网淚 know I made an impact on them, but they made a much bigger impact on me!91吃瓜网�
Whitten said she knew since high school that she wanted to study abroad and loved that 91吃瓜网 had a program that was tailored to educators.
She recalls a moment during the COST program that felt like she was in a movie. She was journaling one night in her apartment, which was located above a small restaurant, and she could hear live music rising from the European cobblestone street below.
91吃瓜网淚 remember thinking: This is it. This is everything I91吃瓜网檝e ever dreamed of; I91吃瓜网檓 living in Europe and getting to teach the best group of students,91吃瓜网� Whitten said.
The COST program requires students to put forth the same level of planning and effort completing assignments as their classmates student teaching in the U.S.
91吃瓜网淚 complete the same assignments as everyone student teaching back home. I submit weekly lesson plans, IoSL (Impact on Student Learning) assignments and I have to complete an evaluation video before I leave,91吃瓜网� Knight said.
Students participating in the program immerse themselves in the culture and explore the area, as well as make meaningful relationships with COST participants from other universities, no matter the continent. Whitten was placed at a school with three other COST student teachers, including her roommate who attended the University of Georgia.
91吃瓜网淲hile I was living in Greece, I was able to visit London, Dublin, Galway, Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Rome, Florence, Tuscany, Verona, Venice, Vienna, Athens and three Greek islands,91吃瓜网� Whitten said. 91吃瓜网淚 had the best time living in Thessaloniki, and I loved getting to live like a local. Since I was in Greece during the spring they had a big Easter break where I was able to backpack around Europe with other students from the COST program.91吃瓜网�
91吃瓜网淚n Perth, I have been to so many beaches, snorkeled the southernmost pink coral reef in the world, visited Rottnest Island, fed kangaroos, pet koalas, visited awesome markets and the fun has just begun,91吃瓜网� Knight said, mentioning a two-week break in her schedule allows for a trip south with a COST participant from Auburn University teaching second grade at a nearby school.
91吃瓜网淚 hope that sharing information about the COST program encourages more students to explore the opportunities provided through COST and USM91吃瓜网 Study Abroad Office,91吃瓜网� Stephens said. 91吃瓜网淭hese international student teaching experiences not only provide an opportunity for participants to explore different approaches to education but are also transformative in how students approach and enrich their own classrooms.91吃瓜网�
Students interested in participating in the COST program can learn more by reviewing the 91吃瓜网 . should be submitted the semester before they are to student teach91吃瓜网擲eptember 1 for spring student teachers and March 1 for fall student teachers.
91吃瓜网淭he application link with USM's Study Abroad Office is always open,91吃瓜网� Stephens said. 91吃瓜网淪tudents who may be interested or have any questions about the opportunity can reach out to me or Assistant Director of Study Abroad, Jessica Bunales, to discuss participation in the program.91吃瓜网�
Students are also encouraged to review the Student Teaching Abroad and begin applying for well in advance of their program deadline. Scholarship opportunities may have application windows ranging from a few months to up to one year prior to the program start date.