Standard Three: Field Experiences and Clinical Practices

3a. Collaboration between Unit and School Partners

Description of School Partners

The unit works with public school districts located in Clark County, Ohio to deliver field experiences and clinical practice.

  • Clark-Shawnee Local School District
  • Greenon Local School District
  • Northeastern Local School District
  • Northwestern Local Schools
  • Springfield City School District
  • Southeastern Local Schools
  • Springfield-Clark Career Technology Center
  • Tecumseh Local Schools

The unit also works with public school districts located outside Clark County.

  • Mad River Local Schools
  • North Canton City Schools
  • Urbana City Schools
  • West Liberty-Salem Local School District

In addition, the unit interacts with various local parochial and private schools.

  • Catholic Central
  • Emmanuel Christian Academy
  • Ridgewood School

A partnership agreement exists for each partner school district. These agreementsdelineate mutual responsibilities including the selection and qualifications of field and clinical teachers and the orientation and training of school personnel who supervise field and clinical experiences(EXHIBITS3_1_Agreement).The terms of the agreements are flexible based on needs of partner districts(EXHIBITS3_1_AltAgreement). Springfield City School District (SCSD)wanted additional screening of teacher candidates. A process was collaboratively designed that included a structured screening interview of teacher candidates at the end of the junior year conducted by the Directorof Student Teaching (ST) and the Human Resources Director or designee from SCSD. In order to be placed for student teaching in the SCSD, candidates must successfully complete the structured interview. The field and clinical experiences provided under these agreements provide candidates with authentic educational experiences used to aid in candidates’ development of the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary for student learning.

3b. Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Field Experiences and Clinical Practice

Candidates in the unit’s program participate in varied field experiences and clinical practice (EXHIBITSS3_2_FieldDesc-Program, S3_2_FieldDesc-Course, and S3_3_StuTchPlcmts, S3_3_DistTypology). Candidates’ experiences in pK-12 school settings begin with entry-level courses. Candidates are gradually introduced to schools as social and cultural settings through observations and analyses of classroom life. Candidates work with students individually through tutoring sessions that range from homework assistance to assessment-based phonics instruction. After being admitted to the teacher education program, candidates’ field experiences become more substantial and complex. Candidates create and implement lesson plans and units of instruction to whole classes and small groups. Candidates are responsible for demonstrating student learning through assessments and using data to plan further instruction based upon students’ needs (EXHIBITSS3_5_FieldEvalForm,S1_4_PerfOutcRubric).

The clinical experience of student teaching occurs during candidates’ last semester at the university (EXHIBITS3_6_STOrientation). Through a gradual release of responsibility, candidates progress from observation to teaching one subject area to eventually taking lead responsibilities for planning, instruction, assessment, and classroom environment. (EXHIBITsS2_9_FinalSTEval,S3_7_SuggTimeline)

Selection, Support & Evaluation of Clinical Faculty

Clinical faculty sharetheir expertise to support candidates’ knowledge, skills and dispositions.(EXHIBITS3_8_SelectionCriteria) Criteria areprovided on a Teacher Record Form(EXHIBIT S3_9_Co-opTchRecFrm)and placement confirmed following communication with principals, faculty & students. Due to the sensitive nature of the information, the ST Director keeps positive/negative feedback on file in her office for future reference.Cooperating teachers (CT) collaborate with course instructors for field experiences and with university supervisors (US) for clinical practice. Course instructors personally supervise the field experiences associated with their courses in partner schools. University supervisors must meet the requirements of licensure and prior successful experience in a PreK-12 setting. Clinical faculty working with student teachers and university supervisors are given descriptions of their roles. (EXHIBIT S3_10_RoleDescription)

Spring semester of junior year, the ST Director interviews each candidate applying for clinical practice. During these meetings, perspective student teachers discuss previous field experiences and interactions with cooperating teachers. The ST Directortakes note of this feedback in making placements for clinical practice and in an advisory capacity for future field placements. In addition to this informal feedback, at the end of clinical practice, student teachers and cooperating teachers complete surveys reviewing their interactions during clinical practice and while students express their views of the unit’s program, we accept the evaluations of each cooperating teacher as their view of the program(EXHIBITSS3_11_ExitSurvRespCF, S3_12_ExitSurvRespStu, and S3_ 13_CFEvals).

Cooperatingfaculty and university supervisors are provided with support opportunities prior to and during their work with student teachers. An orientation prior to clinical practice includes copies of materials and how they will be used during the clinical practice. Orientation meetings cover a range of topics from approaches to mentoring pre-service teachers to management of paperwork.The ST Directorleads these orientations.Meetings are also held during the clinical experienceto continue to address these topics and provide support for thecapstone project that each candidate must complete(EXHIBITS S3_6_STOrientation andS3_14_SupportFacMtg). All supervisors are expected to attend, but if a conflict arises, the ST Director meets with them individually.

The ST Director, course instructors, supervisors and clinical faculty keep in contact throughout candidates’ field and clinical experiences. This is accomplished through in-person conversations, emails, letters, textsand phone calls. All involved are kept abreast of candidates’ progress and needs throughout the experience. In situations when a candidate is struggling in either field experiences or clinical practice, support is provided for the cooperating teacher and candidate through conferences and if deemed necessary, the implementation of a formal plan of action (EXHIBITS1_9_EducSuccessPlan).

Field Experience and Clinical Practice Guidelines

For course-related field experiences, instructors provide candidates and cooperating teachers with guidelines related to course outcomes.Expectations for field experiences are presented through letters to cooperating teachers, course syllabi, and field experience evaluation tools. Candidates receive these documents in class and online. Clinical faculty are presented with a folder containing these materials before field experience begins.

Candidates participating in clinical experiences, their pK-12 cooperating teachers and university supervisors have access to the student teaching handbook. The student teaching handbook includes the mission of the unit’s program, description of the student teaching placement, overview of the clinical experience policies, duties of all clinical practice participants and assessment tools. The handbook also includes guidelines for how to resolve conflict, problem solve and make sure clinical faculty, supervisor and student teacher expectations match. (EXHIBITS3_15_STHandbook)The student teaching handbook, calendar and other student teaching resources are posted on Moodle, an e-learning platform used by the university.

3c. Candidates’ Development and Demonstration of Knowledge, Skills, and Professional Dispositions

Assessment of field experiences is based upon the level of the associated course. In entry-level courses, field experiences are used as subjects for reflective papers and case study projects. These assignments are aligned with the unit’s outcomes and are assessed by the course instructor. In some courses at this level, cooperating teachers provide additional formative feedback to the candidate. In upper-level field experiences, cooperating teachers assess candidates using a rubric based upon the unit’s outcomes. Course instructors also assess field experiences after completing observations of the candidate in the school setting (EXHIBITS3_5_FieldEvalForm). In-depth course assignments are also used to assess field experiences. For example, in EDUC 311, students conduct an action research project based upon the guided reading group they work with during the semester.

One requirement to initiateand complete clinical practice is candidates’ cumulative and education GPAsas outlined in Standard 2 (EXHIBITS3_16_GPAs).GPA is reviewed as a criteria for admission and continuation in the program(EXHIBITS3_ 17_GPA-Req) and at the conclusion of the semester preceeding student teaching. Clinical experiences are evaluated with both formative and summative assessments.University supervisors conduct a minimum of six observations of student teachers in their pK-12 placements (EXHIBIT S3_7_SuggTimeline). A formative observation tool is used for observations. (EXHIBITS3_18_LessonEvalForm) Pre-observation and post-observation meetings with the candidates are held to discuss what has been planned for the lesson and to explore the effectiveness of the lesson taught. Clinical faculty conduct observations using the same form and provide feedback for candidates. Formal midterm and final evaluations (EXHIBITs S3_19_MidTermForm, S2_10_FinalSTEval) are completed using the performance outcomes rubric (EXHIBIT S1_4_PerfOutcRubric). The assessment tools address the knowledge, skills and dispositions of candidates and align with the unit’s nine outcomes.

Continuous Improvement

Implementation of TaskStream, as an electronic portfolio system for candidates, has helped the unit begin collecting data in a more streamlined and accessible manner. Due to this shift in data collection methods, the unit plans to collect and assess data that in the past has been difficult to access. For example, data collection for field experiences includes rubrics completed by cooperating teachers that are held in candidates’ records. Through the use of TaskStream, those forms may now be recorded electronically and the data used for the unit as a whole to more formally assess the progress of candidate during field experiences.

TaskStream will allow the unit to collect more concise data on field experience sites. Presently, candidates self-report their field experience placements during an interview with the Director of Student Teaching. In the near future, course instructors will record field experience placements by candidate TaskStream accounts along with district poverty and minority levels. The field experience placement data will then be held in one central location and accessible for decisions on future placments.

A prototype of a formal teacher of record form for field and clinical experiences, similar to the form in use for student teaching, will be field tested Fall 2015.The cooperating teachers participating in the program will complete either an electronic or paper form in which they will self report their years of teaching experience, grade levels taught, and teaching settings. Cooperating teachers will also have the chance to report their gender, age and race/ethnicity. The data from this form will be added to TaskStreamto centralize data collection. The purpose of this data is track all pre-service field experience and clinical placements to ensure better preparation of candidates for a variety of experiences in their first years of teaching. Candidates and the overall program will benefit from a variety of experiences including typology of districts, student poverty levels, and percent of minorities. Candidates will experience a variety of grade level placements and be mentored by experienced teachers with the appropriate licensure.

EXHIBITS

S3_1_ Agreement

S3_2_FieldDescProgram

S3_2_FieldDescCourse

S3_4_DistTypology

S3_5_FieldEvalForm

S3_7_SuggTimeline

S3_8_SelectionCriteria

S3_9_ClinicalFacRecFrm

S3_10_RoleDescription

S3_11_ExitSurvRespCF

S3_12_ExitSurvRespStu

S3_14_SupportFacMtg

S3_15_STHandbook

S3_16_GPAs

S3_17_GPAReq

S3_18_LessonEvalForm

S3_19_MidTermEvalForm

S3_6_STOrientation

S3_1_AltAgreement

S3_3_StuTchPlcmts

S3_13_CFEvals