Thank you for volunteering to host a UNI Level 1 field experience student in your classroom this semester. This beginning exploratory experience is 30 hours over 10 weeks, occurs before the student has been admitted to the UNI Teacher Education Program, is intended to give students an awareness of the diverse nature and work of schools and the joys and demands of teaching, and encourages reflection regarding their decision to become a teacher. Below is an outline of suggested activities for UNI students, mentor teachers, and the Field Experience Coordinator in the Level 1 experience.

Assignments the UNI student will complete during the experience / Classroom activities for the UNI student / Assistance the Mentor Teacher could provide / Roles of the Field Experience Coordinator
• Contextual Factors of Your School, through which the student researches student demographics, student achievement data.
•Weekly Log and Reflection Journals written description and reflection on instructional routines, classroom management and motivation strategies, student interactions, and multiple roles and responsibilities of teachers.
•Reflection on Professional Dispositions, a self evaluation of attitudes, beliefs, and dispositions critical to education
•OSHA Training, Criminal Background Check, Mandatory Reporter of Abuse Training / •Observing teachers engaged with students
•Observing teachers engaged with other teachers or parents(team meetings, parent-teacher conferences)
•Observing students and analyzing their work
•Actively Assisting the teacherwith routine tasks (taking roll, handing out and collecting work, circulating around room, answering student questions, creating instructional materials, grading papers etc.)
•Asking questionsand seeking teacher perspectives
•Interacting with and teaching individuals, small groups of students, or the whole class / •Schedulethe student for one morning or afternoon per week, include student in all facets of your teaching duties during that time.
•Modelgood instruction, classroom management, and motivating students.
•Share and explainyour classroom management plans and routines, point out and name the strategies you use, describe ongoing instructional decision-making and adjustments made, and share lesson plans
•Identifyimportant classroom and student characteristics that impact your instruction, provide information regarding student characteristics and background
•Give feedbackand make suggestions on teaching.
•DirectUNI student to assist in ways that serve your students best and target interactions using the Interactions Matrix that you would like the student to try.
•Engage in reflective dialog with student.
•Complete theevaluation of the UNI student with the Field Experience Coordinator / •Provide Support for Mentor Teachers
•serve as liaison between school and university, building a relationship of trust and support. •provide regular communication, resources, and guidance. •meet with teacher in periodic school visits to provide information and resources and to follow up on student involvement and professionalism. *be available for additional support requested by teachers.
•Provide Support for UNI Student
-observing with the student in the classroom and coaching involvement (5 visits)
-reflective journaling with the UNI student, guiding their thinking and observations, asking questions about planning, assessment, and teaching strategies, diversity, etc.
-direction and support with assignments.
-communicate any teacher concerns and facilitate action plans to address these.

LEVEL 1 SUGGESTED TIMELINE

Time-line / Weekly Focus of Experience and Level 1 Classroom Activities / Assistance the Mentor Teacher could provide
Weeks
1-3
Sept. 16th—Oct. 4th / FOCUS: Getting to Know You, the Students, Your Classroom
•The L1 student observes your classroom routines, curricula, management, and begins to know the students.
•The L1 student will reflect on classroom interactions they are comfortable beginning immediately and those they would like to attempt later in the experience and will ask the mentor teacher for their preferences on interactions.
•The L1 student documents their participation via written reflections on activities, interactions, student behavior, and focused observations.
•The UNI Coordinator will visit to talk with you and to observe and conference with the L1 student / •Share information about how you organize and manage your classroom and about the students in your classroom, (gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, culture, language, special needs and disabilities, learning styles, etc). A seating chart will help teach student names and provides a place to record observation notes. Assisting with attendance and checking student papers will reinforce the students’ identities. •Explain specific examples of how student characteristics impact your own instruction. •Identify opportunities for interactions in the classroom and target specific areas on the Interactions Matrix for current and future interactions.
Weeks
4-6
Oct. 7th-25th / FOCUS: Becoming Involved in Informal Instructional Routines
•The L1 student may not be ready to plan or implement formal lessons, but can be involved in assisting with classroom routines, assisting individuals or small groups of students, etc.
•Level 1 student documents their participation via written reflections on activities, interactions, student behavior, and focused observations.
• The UNI Coordinator will visit to talk with you and to observe and conference with the L1 student. / •Show the L1 student how to be involved in your classroom and in other facets of your job outside the classroom. Consider clerical, assessment, and instructional assistance, as appropriate.
•Focus the student’s observations in ways that assist you (tracking participation, individual student on-task/off task, etc.).
•Create targeted interaction opportunities for the L1 student, especially with individuals or small groups of students. •Communicate any midterm concerns about the student to the supervisor.
Weeks
7-9
Oct. 28th—
Nov. 15th / FOCUS: Deepening Engagement with Students and Understanding their Diverse Needs
•The L1 becomes more comfortable and confident in your class and increases their interactions with and understanding of students. Some L1s may be ready to attempt to plan and implement a more formal lesson.
• Level 1 student documents their participation via written reflections on activities, interactions, student behavior, and focused observations.
• The UNI Coordinator will visit to talk with you and to observe and conference with the L1 student. / •Share information about the students in your class, samples of their work, background information, and how you adapt your instruction to meet their needs.
•Recommend and share resources, curricula, instructional strategies, and motivation or management techniques you would like the student to attempt to use in the last few visits.
•Create targeted interaction opportunities for the L1 student, especially with individuals or small groups of students, or even a whole class lesson if the student is ready and you are comfortable.
•Give feedback on the student’s interactions, reflections, and developing autonomy.
Week
10
Nov. 18th-22nd
(make up days through 12/20) / FOCUS: Reflection on the Experience
•The student reflects on what they have learned about themselves, teaching, and student diversity as a result of the experience, considers areas for improvement and professional growth, and decides if teaching is a career to pursue.• The UNI Coordinator will visit to talk with you and to observe and conference with the L1 student. Ideally a 3-way final evaluation conference is held. / •Provide feedback on changes and growth you have noticed in the student over the course of the experience, suggest improvement areas.
•Complete the L1 Evaluation, ideally in a 3-way conference with the UNI Coordinator, and return this to the Coordinator. If the student needs to make up time, keep in mind that UNI Finals Week is Dec. 16th-20th