Student Fieldwork Handbook

Statewide STUDENT FIELDWORK HANDBOOK

ECI 308 PRACTICUM

Elementary Education Student Fieldwork Handbook

for the (Statewide) Traditional Course of Studies

Name: ______

Introduction

The ECI Practicum experience is designed to give you an opportunity to work in a school classroom setting prior to your student teaching. The overall objective is to allow for a successful educational experience upon which you can build as you further your growth in the field of education. This handbook is specifically for students that are in the traditional or cohort statewide programs. You must complete 45 classroom practicum hours before you student teach. One practicum or teaching lab hour equals 45 hours in an elementary or middle school classroom observing, teaching and assisting the mentor teacher. This is a hands-on experience, not just sitting in the back of the room.

The 308 Practicum and You

How will you complete your field experience requirements? The main goals of your practicum experience include:

1. To give you a chance to observe professionals in education and to make career decisions.

2. To enable you to see and enact practical applications of course theory.

3. To offer you a variety of strategies, materials and equipment that you might adopt during your fieldwork.

4. To provide opportunities for you to design and teach lessons in a classroom setting with children

Traditional Programs *(Statewide option)

If you’ve had plenty of experiences teaching children, the traditional course of studies may be best for you. Student practicum experiences will include 15 literacy block hours and 30 hours of classroom experience integrated with all of your methods course work, building on math, science, social studies, and technology classes. Experiences will be required and processed in your classes as part of specific course assignments.

Cohort Programs: *(Statewide option at selected sites) Your “methods classes” will include time in a classroom with children. Your instructors will define, plan and implement specific requirements as an extension bridging their course to the real world of an elementary or middle school. For two or three semesters you will be with the same community of teacher candidates and you will be well on your way toward building a network of education professionals.

Basic Requirements for the 308 Practicum:

An overview:

1. Once you have been placed with a school please write your cooperating teacher a note (e-mail is fine) introducing yourself, sharing your course assignments and when you’ll be in their class. Ask for best times to be in their classroom if appropriate.

2. You may start your practicum as soon as your placement has been finalized and when your instructors give you the assignments you’ll need to do as part of your field experience. Please establish a regular schedule with the teacher so he/she will know when to expect you.

3. Please follow the school’s visitor policy. This is important! Most schools require you to sign in and out of the school office. If you haven’t sent in for your fingerprint clearance card, this would be a good time to get this done. Visit the statewide student advisement center and get specific information for your local area.

4. Be punctual, dependable, and dressed appropriately. Please notify the school and your mentor teacher if you must be absent for an emergency.

Practicum Information:

Your practicum supervisor or methods instructor will place you in a school with a teacher. There will be a fieldwork contract, time sheet and written assignments you will be responsible for documenting and putting together in a portfolio/notebook. Your portfolio will be due to your practicum instructor or methods instructor two weeks before the end of the semester. It will need to include the following written assignments that you will need to have in your portfolio.

Written Assignments:

The following are written assignments that will document the learning that has occurred as a result of the practicum experience. Turn these in to your practicum instructor or methods instructor. Your methods instructors will include other assignments to enrich and extend their courses, but the following assignments should be maintained in a portfolio and turned in two weeks before the end of the semester.

1. The Journal

A journal documenting each of your classroom visits. This should share/focus upon what upon what you learned in each of these visits and the implications for your future classroom teaching. You’ll need to analyze and synthesize your reflections without making any value judgments about the cooperating teacher. Try connecting the experience to the teacher you want to be.

Some things to look for when you’re in the classroom are:

What are the implications for your future classroom teachings?

What are you learning about class management?

How does the teacher move from one subject to another?

What are the daily routines of the class?

What instructional methods are you seeing?

2. Assigned Readings

Two articles on teaching & classroom management. Choose the articles. Read each article and synthesize the reading with the practicum experience. One page.

3. Nuggets of Wisdom

From casual dialogue with children, teachers or professors, what truths or epiphanies have you learned.

4. Mentor Teacher Student Evaluation Form

This needs to be filled out and signed by the mentor teacher and becomes a part of your practicum portfolio.

Practicum Checklist for Traditional Program

Beginning of Practicum

______Your practicum may be set up by an ECI 308 instructor for your first practicum, or your methods instructor for each subsequent one .

______Contact the cooperating teacher that you have been assigned. Please call or go to the school just to introduce yourself. You may do this electronically if you know your teacher’s e-mail.

You should make this contact within one week of your assignment. You’ll need to share your schedule with your cooperating teachers class routine before making times that you can be in their class.

My cooperating teacher’s name is: ______

The best times for me to attend their class is: ______

______Complete your contract (in this packet) between yourself and the classroom cooperating teacher within two weeks of receiving your placement assignment. Be sure it is signed, dated and in your portfolio.

Middle of Practicum

______ALWAYS contact your school and / or your classroom mentor teacher any time you will not be able to attend the school you’ve been assigned to.

______Mid-Term assessment. Share your experiences with the instructor or graduate assistant assigned to the cohort. Bring your portfolio with your contract, time sheet and journal reflections.

End of Practicum

______Complete all your hours and your portfolio two weeks prior to the end of the semester. Please hand in your portfolio to the 308 instructor or the methods instructor coordinating your practicum.

_____ Your portfolio should have the following artifacts in this order:

1. The contract.

2. Journal reflections that share dates and times in the classroom.

3. Assigned reading assignments.

4. Nuggets of wisdom.

5. Practicum timesheet.

6. Practicum evaluation (completed by Mentor Teacher)

ADVICE FOR SUCCESS!

You are wearing the regal robe of “teacher candidate”. Be prepared for any work your cooperating teacher expects of you. Avoid trying to be one of the students. Learn your students’ names. Avoid touching students. Support behavior norms set up by the teacher. Follow all school procedures. Be discreet with comments and opinions. Please.... No value judgments about teacher or children.

You may be asked to teach a lesson and write a plan from your cooperating teacher or professor. There are worksheets in this handbook that demonstrate different types of lesson plans you might use.

ECI 308 Fieldwork Contract

______will be observing / assisting at ______

ECI StudentSchool

______in ______classroom according to

the following weekly schedule:

Day(s): Time Arriving: Time Leaving:

The 308 teacher candidate is responsible for contacting the cooperating teacher immediately upon receipt of this assignment.

The 308 teacher candidate is responsible to have this contract signed at the beginning of the practicum and have the cooperating teacher complete the evaluation form in this packet.

______

Cooperating Teachers Name Teacher Candidates Name

______

Date

If you have any problems understanding your assignments for this practicum, please contact your instructor.

If you have problems with your placement please contact either your instructor or statewide advisor.

Practicum Evaluation

(Cooperating Teacher’s Evaluation)

STUDENT:GRADE: Pass Fail

SS#:DATE:

TEACHER:GRADE LEVEL:

Please circle:1 = Very seldom, not making progress toward target outcome behavior

2 = Making progress toward target outcome behavior

3 = Satisfactory performance on the target outcome behavior

NA = Not applicable, not observed

123NAThe student consistently demonstrated professional behavior, habits, and dispositions including dressing appropriately, being punctual, and being prepared with lesson plans and teaching materials.

123NAThe student demonstrated an understanding of how children learn by designing and implementing effective learning opportunities and environments in your classroom.

123NAThe student demonstrated an awareness of developmentally appropriate activities to enhance learning opportunities for the children in your class.

123NAThe student shows an awareness and sensitivity to multiculturalism, diversity, and special needs within your classroom.

123NAThe student relates well with children, peers, teachers, and others.

123NAThe student can accept constructive criticism for their professional growth, and adjusts behavior accordingly.

123NAThe student can communicate effectively both orally and in writing, using grammatically correct English.

123NAThe student has an acceptable level of content knowledge; both conceptual and procedural, for what they are teaching.

123NAThe student shows a developing awareness of the school contexts as a community within a community.

123NAThe student has demonstrated knowledge of teaching literacy skills across the curriculum.

123NAThe student can use and develop or use assessments effectively to assess student learning.

123NAThe student uses time efficiently, and completes assigned tasks.

Additional comments about student:

(Classroom Teacher’s Signature) (Student’s Signature)

This evaluation is based on my The student’s signature means that

observation of the student’s workhe/she has seen the evaluation; it does

during the practicum.not imply that he/she agrees with the results.