It has been said that BYU-I is a unique institution, and one program is allowing students to have immediate hands-on learning.

BYU-I’s Professional Preschool Education (PPE) major allows students to work directly with children while earning an applied associate degree.

PPE majors work in a program called ‘R Children.’ It is a two-year program that prepares students to work as teachers or directors in childcare centers or preschools or as qualified teacher’s aides in nursery schools, kindergartens and special education/inclusion classes.

“The actual experience is what sets it apart from other classes on campus,” said Neil Mecham, a professor in the Home and Family Department.

The program includes a diversity of children from the Madison School District.

“It is a unique experience to work with special needs kids. I have to be creative and help to get them really engaged,” said Aline Carson, a sophomore from São Paulo, Brazil, and a PPE major.

With the diversity comes unique challenges.

“It is a lot more complicated than people think it is,” Carson said.

Some of the required activities for students include labs, keeping a daily journal, completing skills sheets, language and weekly jobs such as preparing the children’s snacks.

One major requirement is to prepare three lesson plans per semester. Each preschool lab has four to six teachers with 18-22 children per class. Brandi Cotton, a senior from Moorpark, Calif., who wants to eventually teach high schoolers how to run a day care, spent over 20 hours preparing her first lesson plan for a 2 1/2-hour class.

In the beginning, students may even meet with the children in the children’s homes in order to get to know them better.

“I got to observe the atmosphere in the home, to see the child’s element. It helps break the ice between teacher and child,” Cotton said.