Meagan Fitzgerald, KUSA11:24 a.m. MDT March 18, 2015
Photo: KUSA
LAFAYETTE - A unique after-school program is proving that learning can be fun and a bit unconventional. It's called El Pueblo Mágico, or the Magic Community, and it's facilitated by students at the University of Colorado Boulder.
While many of us know learning happens in all sorts of ways, we typically think of the classroom which is the more traditional setting. However, there isn't much that's traditional at the El Pueblo Mágico after-school program.
"Our School of Education students, who are studying to become teachers, are here working alongside the children," Susan Jurow, associate professor in the School of Education at CU Boulder, said.
Jurow said her students are trying to excite fourth and fifth graders about science-technology, engineering and math. It comes with a twist, because the kids are the experts.
"It's going to become learning that's meaningful to the kid, because it came from their own interests or their own experiences," Jurow said.
The kids are leading the way and having a good time while they learn, but at the El Pueblo Mágico after-school program the learning goes both ways.
"It really helps us learn classroom management. We ourselves can expand and help kids learn things in other ways," CU student Aaron Fox said.
The methods may not be traditional, but so long as it's engaging, fun and memorable, professor Jurow said it's going to help students and their teachers.
"We want them to start thinking about learning, how to engage kids in learning that is fun and meaningful and not just being told how to think about things," Jurow said.
Distinguished Professor Kris Gutiérrez began the El Pueblo Mágico program at Sanchez Elementary five years ago. The program is based on the model she developed 20 years ago at the University of California Los Angeles.
(KUSA-TV © 2015 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
Watch the 9 News Denver story on the School of Education's El Pueblo Mágico after-school program at Sánchez Elementary School, where elementary, undergrad, and PhD students engage in STEM learning and inquiry side-by-side inspired by the kids' interests.
Related Faculty: Susan Jurow, Kris Gutiérrez