A Novel Learning Experience I-DREAM Internship Embedded in a STEM Academy

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Published: May 13, 2026
Keywords:
IDREAM Grant I-DREAM Grant rural teacher preparation preservice teacher internship

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Robin Roberson
Sean Carmichael

Abstract

This scholarly essay discusses a novel idea for developing preservice teacher skills prior to student teaching, an idea which came about after an I-DREAM preservice history teacher intern was embedded in a summer STEM academy. This article uses Self Determination Theory and Experiential Learning Theory to frame the events, results, and implicatoins of this unconventional internship. The authors are extremely grateful to the managers of the I-DREAM Grant for providing this experience. 

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): Chronicle of Rural Education
Section
Articles
Author Biographies

Robin Roberson

Robin Roberson earned her PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Oklahoma. Prior to earning her degree, she taught middle school through high school science for over a decade in rural schools in Oklahoma. Since earning her degree, Robin has taught Educational Psychology and Developmental Psychology at East Central University, a small regional university in Oklahoma. 

Sean Carmichael

Sean Carmichael is a newly-minted History teacher at a rural school in Oklahoma (spring 2026).