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SUNY New Paltz

Department of Elementary Education

EED 301Fieldwork I

Instructor / Consult your class schedule for your instructor’s name
Fieldwork Liaison / For questions regarding the location of your placement contact:
Heather Finn

Course Times and Locations / Fieldwork hours: TBD by you and your cooperating teacher. One morning a week for at least 10 weeks* to total at least 40 hours
Meeting times are posted on the website.
Credit Hours / 1 credit
Website /

SUNY New Paltz Catalog Course Description

Teacher candidates explore and respond to issues related to Reading I, including evaluating the literacy environment, conducting a successful read aloud, and documenting experiences related to Language Arts in the classroom environment.

Teacher candidates will spend at least 10 mornings in their placement for no less than 40 hours in a school setting (pre-k through second grade) during a minimum of 10 visits as they immerse themselves and become acquainted with pre and primary school settings, cultures, and teaching-related activities. The regular school visit schedule allow candidates to make sense of teaching and learning in action.

Student Learning Outcomes

Teacher candidates will…

  • complete at least ten half-days* in their primary classroom setting and become familiar with the flow of a typical school day
  • analyze the learning context of the classroom, identify students with specific learning needs, and brainstorm supports and modifications for these students.
  • analyze the literate environment in the classroom.
  • identify the components of the edTPA handbook.
  • reflect upon the instructional environment of the fieldwork classroom by providing final written commentary on the fieldwork experience.

*Different school districts define their own “instructional day.” A “morning” means a half-day.

Required Course Materials:
  1. edTPA Early Childhood Education Assessment Handbook. (Available for download on Blackboard Community- edTPA STU CANDIDATES site.)
  2. Common Core State Standards
  3. Fieldwork journal (can be any format you prefer; you will consult these for Assignment 3, but you will not hand in the journal for this class)
  4. Articles available for download
  5. LiveText account (see below)

LiveText Information for Initial Certification Programs (B.S./B.A.; M.A.T.; M.S. for T.)

All candidates accepted to Education programs leading to initial teaching certification (B.A., B.S., and MAT/MSforT programs), as well as the MS.Ed. programs in TESOL, Literacy, and Special Education, are required to have a LiveText account. LiveText is an assessment management and ePortfolio platform with a number of benefits to candidates; over the course of your preparation program, the assessment of several assignments and observational assessments will be performed using LiveText. If you already have a LiveText account, you do not need to purchase another, though you may need to contact LiveText to have the account switched to SUNY New Paltz if your membership was obtained at another institution.

Beginning in Fall 2016, the LiveText membership has been associated with registration for a single key course in each initial certification program (i.e., EED 301; EED 501; SED 353; SED 551; ARE 303). This means one of two things: If you have a LiveText membership when you enroll for one of these courses, great! You can simply complete the LiveText Course Fee Waiver and submit it to the Dean’s Office in Old Main 114. If you do not have a LiveText membership, when you register for one of these courses, the membership will be automatically added to your student bill, and within the first few weeks of the semester you will be contacted via email with instructions for activating your account.

Course Schedule:

Fieldwork for this course is at a time that is mutually agreed upon by you and your cooperating teacher. Please be mindful that you are required to meet complete a MINIMUM of ten half days and a minimum of 40 hours. Please consult the school district calendar-- in order to meet your requirement, you may be required to stay late, start early, or add an additional day or two during mutually agreed-upon times with your cooperating teacher. Details for scheduling this will be provided at Orientation.

Grading

A grade of S (satisfactory) or F (fail) is given for this course. In order to earn a “satisfactory” grade, you must meet the attendance requirement, complete all assignments in a satisfactory and timely fashion, and receive the recommendation of your fieldwork supervisor and cooperating teacher to move into the next fieldwork placement next semester. A hard copy of your completed evaluation and timesheet must be received in order to earn a satisfactory grade.

Participation and Attendance

It is imperative that all teacher candidates be at every orientation and subsequent course meeting. In the event of an unavoidable absence, please contact the course instructor via e-mail and provide appropriate medical or other emergency documentation. It is the responsibility of the candidate to meet all seminar course requirements prior to week sixteen of the seminar semester.

Professionalism

Professionalism includes dress and decorum. When you visit your Field 1 placement, dress as you would for a day of teaching. Consult your CT for further direction about professional dress at your site. Decorum is demonstrated through attentiveness and initiative, as well as through your attention to the following:

  • Punctuality and attendance is a must!
  • Notify your cooperating teacher if you are going to be absent. The teacher will be counting on your help that day. ALSO CC YOUR FIELDWORK SUPERVISOR AND HEATHER FINN ON THIS EMAIL
  • IF YOU ARE LATE OR LEAVE EARLY NOTIFY YOUR SUPERVISOR AND HEATHER FINN VIA EMAIL.
  • Always keep the lines of communication open with your cooperating teacher.
  • Sign-in on BOTH the school’s and the SUNY New Paltz attendance sheets.
  • Cell phones are to be off in buildings.
  • Keep all conversations about students in the strictest confidence. You may have some access to confidential files, and the information must NEVER leave the school.
  • Bring your New Paltz I.D. each day you are at the school. Bring your class schedule which lists your name, banner number and your enrollment in Fieldwork III.
  • For additional information about expectations for professionalism, please review the SUNY New Paltz School of Education Field Experiences Dispositions rubric provided on the field experience website

Certification

Remember, it’s your responsibility to complete the requirements for certification, but help is available from ourCertification Assistance Web site, which has detailed guidelines, timelines, and answers to all your questions:

Assignments

Initial Assignment: Child Protection Policy Documentation (due prior to first day of field experience)

The State University of New York (SUNY) regulations require that all candidates complete child protection trainingprior to any interaction with childrenon or off campus; therefore, this assignment must be completed BEFORE your first day of field experience. To complete this assignment, you must:

  1. Complete the training by going to the policy website at:

and reviewing the training modules available on that page. This page is linked on the fieldwork website.

  1. Access and complete the Child Protection Policy Acknowledgement Form on the fieldwork website
  2. Email the completed form (as an attachment) to with the subject “EED301 CPP”

Assignment 1: Evaluating the Literacy Environment (due by midpointof semester on Academic Calendar)

  1. Read the article The Importance of the Classroom Library by Susan B. Nueman. Take notes on and keep track of your favorite ideas from the article, as well as any comments and questions that come up.
  1. Complete the Print / Literacy Rich Checklist for your fieldwork classroom from the website
  1. Complete the Early Childhood Context for Learning Information part in the edTPA Early Childhood Assessment Handbook for your fieldwork classroom. You can locate this by using the Table of Contents in your edTPA handbook. Look for “Early Childhood Context for Learning Information.”

a.Complete as much as you can of this part of the edTPA. The purpose of this part of the assignment is to familiarize you with this portion of the edTPA and to help you take an inventory of what you know/don’t know about the literacy environment and the learners in your placement. You will probably not have enough information to answer every single question. That is okay, just do the best you can.

  1. Find the template for this section on the Blackboard Community site – “edTPA STU CANDIDATES” find the tab on the left called “edTPA Permission Letters, Calendars, and Document Templates” Locate the “Early Childhood Templates.” Download the “Task 1 Context for Learning” template and type your responses into it.
  2. Turn in this completed form on LiveText
  1. Based on your reading of the article, your findings on the Print / Literacy Rich Environment Checklist, and your completion of the Context for Learning pages from the edTPA, answer the following questions using one well-written paragraph per question.
  2. What are areas of strength in the literacy environment?
  3. What areas need to be strengthened?
  4. What materials need to be added?
  1. Turn your answers to #4 in on LiveText.

Assignment 2: What Do I Need to Know About the EdTPA? Assignment (due by midpoint of semester on Academic Calendar)

Bring a hard copy or digital copy of the Early Childhood edTPA with you to the fieldwork meeting.

  1. Complete activities during the meeting. We will begin the assignment sheet together, and you will finish the assignment sheet on your own.
  2. Turn in your completed assignment sheet on LiveText

Assignment 3: Response to Observations in the Fieldwork Environment (due by last day of classes on Academic Calendar)

  1. During your fieldwork experience, you will take notes in a fieldwork journal as you observe your classroom environment. You will NOT hand this journal in to your fieldwork professor. You will use your notes to help you complete this assignment.
  2. Choose four of the following and describe examples of their use in your fieldwork placement:
  3. The Language Arts program(s)
  4. Class as a community of learners
  5. A lesson in which modeling was used
  6. How children are exposed to a variety of genres in literature (including information about authors and/or illustrators)
  7. A mini-lesson taught on a concept, skill, or strategy
  8. Information as to how students’ progress and performance are tracked
  9. Activities that develop vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, phonemic awareness, or phonics
  10. A lesson, instance, or activity that developed literacy skills in another content area (i.e., social studies, science, math).
  11. Choose twoof the following and describe examples of their use in your fieldwork placement:
  12. A situation working with an individual student and/or a small group during a Language Arts lesson.
  13. Information obtained through a conversation with the cooperating teacher about the reading and writing instruction within the classroom and/or school.
  14. Description of an experience in which knowledge allowed for the opportunity to take advantage of a teachable moment.
  15. Explanation of an instance of bias (i.e., race, gender, class, culture, sexual orientation) that may have unintentionally occurred in one’s own teaching practices (e.g., assessments, policies, materials).
  16. You will have a total of six responses. Responses should be 1-2 well-written paragraphs.
  17. Turn assignment in on LiveText.

Students with Disabilities

Any student who will need classroom and/or testing accommodations based on the impact of a disability should contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC), Student Union, Room 210, (845) 257-3020. The DRC will provide an Accommodation Memo for your instructions verifying the need for accommodations. Students are encouraged to request accommodations as close to the beginning of the semester as possible.

Academic Integrity

Taken directly from SUNY New Paltz Advising Handbook: Academic Policies and Procedures found at

Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of honesty in their college work. Cheating, forgery, and plagiarism are serious offenses, and students found guilty of any form of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary action.

Cheating is defined as giving or obtaining information by improper means in meeting any academic requirements. The use for academic credit of the same work in more than one course without knowledge or consent of the instructor(s) is a form of cheating and is a serious violation of academic integrity.

Forgery is defined as the alteration of college forms, documents, or records, or the signing of such forms or documents by someone other than the proper designee.

Plagiarism is the representation, intentional or unintentional, of someone else's words or ideas as one's own. Since words in print are the property of an author or publisher, plagiarizing is a form of larceny punishable by fine. When using another person's words in a paper, students must place them within quotation marks or clearly set them off in the text and give them appropriate footnoting. When students use only the ideas and change the words, they must clearly identify the source of the ideas. Plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, therefore, is a violation of the property of the author plagiarized and of the implied assurance by the students when they hand in work that the work is their own.

If a student has any question about what constitutes a violation of academic integrity, it is that student’s responsibility to clarify the matter by conferring with the instructor and to seek out other resources available on campus.

Writing Assistance

The university’s Writing Center offers a variety of services to assist students. Contact the Writing Center at (845) 257-3583 to learn about the services provided.

Inclement Weather

Always check the website for your fieldwork school. You are expected to attend fieldwork if your school is open.

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