CEDAR FALLS - The photos taken inside Leigh Martin's first-grade classroom look like they could have been shot in just about any Iowa school.

There is Martin, the smiling teacher, surrounded by a handful of adoring students who are obviously proud of the handiwork laid out before them. The posters on the wall look like the decorations that hang in many elementary classrooms.

But Martin's only teaching experience is thousands of miles away from her hometown of Cedar Falls. Before earning her teaching degree from the University of Northern Iowa, Martin, like all education students, had to complete a student teaching assignment. Instead of returning to her childhood schools, Martin chose to explore the world and signed up for an international experience in Cairo, Egypt, through the Out-of-State/International Teaching Program.

"You make the most of every minute while you are there," Martin said of her student teaching experience. "Every free second you are planning a weekend getaway, knowing that you are only there for the short term."

The program, in its 15th year on the UNI campus, places between 70 and 100 students a year, including between 20 and 30 from other education schools. Martin said about half are placed in schools within the U.S. borders, with the rest choosing an international experience.

Savannah Conlee, a senior in elementary education, is currently teaching in Tanzania at the International School Moshi at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro.

"When I was presented with the opportunity to student teach internationally, I quickly became excited about the possibility of not only seeing the culture, but being able to live within and among the African people for a period of time," Conlee wrote in an e-mail from Tanzania.

Students are primarily placed in three kinds of international schools. Department of Defense schools teach American curriculum to American students on military bases. American/International schools, like the one where Martin was placed, teach American curriculum to students from various countries. Students also can be placed in host country schools in English-speaking countries, where they would teach the curriculum of the country to students from the country. Those placements are limited to eight weeks, and the other eight weeks must be spent in an U.S. accredited school.

Martin was one of the few students who chose to continue her teaching career abroad following graduation. She landed a full-time job at an American/International school in Egypt and taught there for two years before moving to another American/International school in Brazil.

"I felt there was still more to learn. I felt I just kept becoming a better teacher because of my experiences," she said. "It helped me become more culturally sensitive. I had students in my class from various cultures, languages and religious backgrounds."

Conlee said her experiences have not only increased her appreciation and knowledge of other cultures but also forced her to become a more "thoughtful and creative" teacher.

"Having grown up within and been trained in the American education system, I can say that the educational system here (in Tanzania) is far different from anything I have experienced," she wrote. "Without a large amount of resources, I have had to create and develop a majority of my teaching materials and curriculum here."

Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1570 or emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.