EMU | COE NCATE 2003 Standard 3-B

Standard 3-B
Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Field Experiences and
Clinical Practice

Target: Field experiences allow candidates to apply and reflect on their content, professional, and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions in a variety of settings with students and adults. Both field experiences and clinical practice extend the unit's conceptual framework(s) into practice through modeling by clinical faculty and well-designed opportunities to learn through doing. During clinical practice, candidate learning is integrated into the school program and into teaching practice. Candidates observe and are observed by others. They interact with teachers, college or university supervisors, and other interns about their practice regularly and continually. They reflect on and can justify their own practice. Candidates are members of instructional teams in the school and are active participants in professional decisions. They are involved in a variety of school-based activities directed at the improvements of teaching and learning, including the use of information technology. Candidates collect data on student learning, analyze them, reflect on their work, and develop strategies for improving learning.

Clinical faculty are accomplished school professionals who are jointly selected by the unit and partnering schools. Clinical faculty are selected and prepared for their roles as mentors and supervisors and demonstrate the skills, knowledge, and dispositions of highly accomplished school professionals.

Background. In addition to the FETE (Field Experience in Teacher Education) experiences previously described (see Exhibit 3.11), each initial preparation program candidate has at least one full semester of full-time student teaching. K-12 candidates divide the time between elementary and secondary settings. Candidates earning multiple credentials simultaneously (e.g., early childhood and elementary, special education and elementary) are required to enroll in additional semester-long teaching experiences in their specific areas.

Application of/Reflection on Knowledge, Skills, Dispositions. FETE 201 provides opportunities to examine interactions of P-12 students' learning with school and community environments and to examine the impact of culture on the student's development and that of others. The activities include readings, cultural analysis, on-site visits to culturally diverse classrooms, and participation in a web caucus. FETE 301/302 provides opportunities to reflect on teaching and assessment practices, to try out individual and group lessons and assessments, and to reflectively interpret current classroom practices as they relate to assessment and curriculum classes. The activities include working with an individual or small group on a weekly basis, engaging in certain teaching and assessment activities, and participating in a web caucus. FETE 401/402 provides opportunities to teach in a diverse classroom setting, to apply teaching strategies learned in reading and/or special methods classes, and to plan and implement instruction based on student needs. Activities include working with an individual or small group on a weekly basis, certain structured teaching activities, analysis of student work, and participating in a web caucus. See Exhibit 3.11.

In student teaching, the candidate maintains an orderly and complete collection of lesson plans; keeps a reflective journal; prepares, teaches, and assesses an original unit of instruction; prepares an audio- or videotape of selected lessons and prepares a reflective analysis; prepares an assessment portfolio; and attends seminars/workshops scheduled by the university supervisor and/or the COE Office of Academic Services. Candidates in physical education take PHED 495 Senior Seminar in conjunction with student teaching. See Exhibit 3.6 for detail of each of these activities.

At the advanced level, the internship in educational leadership, while highly individualized in many ways, must include a plan that incorporates three major phases: reactive (observation and self-assessment), interactive (interaction between leadership course work and the internship experience), and active (assuming full or nearly full responsibility for a project). The internship notebook must include not only the plan, but a reflective journal, critical incident reports, an internship log, and a professional formation statement. Click here for additional detail.

In the school counselor preparation program, students take COUN 686 Counseling Practicum I and COUN 786-9 Counseling Internship. In addition, candidates must prepare a portfolio. Through these experiences prospective school counselors have opportunities to apply and reflect on their knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Click here for additional detail.

Observations and Interactions. The FETE experiences include observation by the candidate in multiple settings. However, cooperating teachers for the FETE placements are instructed not to permit the candidate to "observe instruction passively." While in their FETE experiences, candidates are observed by cooperating teachers. Candidates are expected to interact extensively with individual children/youth. See Exhibit 3.11 for additional information.

During the student teaching experience, candidates will ordinarily spend a period of time at the beginning of the semester in observation of the classroom environment. The candidate is observed almost constantly by the cooperating teacher. Each student teacher is observed by her/his university supervisor at least four times during the course of the semester. During the course of the semester, the candidate will be expected to interact with children/youth individually, in small groups, and as a whole class, as well as with other school staff member, parents, and others. See Exhibit 3.6 for additional information.

In the internship program in educational leadership, the candidate will need to observe the environment sufficient to accomplish the goals of the internship plan. The candidate is observed by the site mentor as needed. Click here for additional detail. In the supervised counseling experiences of the school counseling program, candidates follow standard protocols for observation and for being observed by faculty and peers in individual and group counseling settings. Click here for additional detail.

Members of Instructional Teams. During the FETE experiences, the candidate is explicitly expected to work with individuals and/or small groups, to oversee or engage in educational games, to read and tell stories to children, to assist the teacher with routine activities, to assist in the preparation of instructional materials (including technology-based materials) and to assist in identifying instructional resources (including technology-based resources), and to engage in other such activities as a member of the classroom instructional team. See Exhibit 3.11 for additional information. During student teaching, the candidate is "expected to gradually take on responsibilities equivalent to a full teaching load." In addition, each candidate is encouraged "to attend faculty meetings, in-service training opportunities, school board meetings, PTSO meetings, and other school functions." In addition, student teachers attend a minimum of four seminars conducted by their university supervisors, an all-day professional development workshop, and either a portfolio presentation or exhibit. See Exhibit 3.6 for additional detail.

In the educational leadership internship program, the nature/extent of the candidate's involvement with the instructional team of the building or district will depend on the approved plan for the internship. Click here for additional detail. During the internship for school counselors, the candidate "practices as a professional counselor under . . . supervision . . . [and participates in] the other regular activities in which counselors in the specific setting are involved." Click here for additional detail.

Collection and Use of Data. Several of the FETE experiences include an assessment-related activity which includes the collection, analysis, and reflection on data related to student learning. See Exhibit 3.11. In the Fall Semester of 2002, a pilot group of student teachers (108) each developed and taught a unit which emphasized student learning outcomes. For this project students designed and implemented a pretest, post test, and an analysis of student learning. In the Winter Semester of 2003 all student teachers were required to engage in this activity. This project helps student teachers focus on student learning outcomes in an applied setting. See Exhibit 3.6 for an expanded description of the process. See Exhibit 2.3E for outcomes.

In the educational leadership internship program, the nature/extent of the collection and use of data will depend on the details of the individualized plan for the internship. Click here for additional detail. In the school counseling internship, the responsibilities to "practice as a professional counselor under supervision" will inevitably include data collection, especially related to testing and test interpretation. Click here for additional detail.

Clinical Faculty. With respect to supervisors of pre-student teaching field experiences, the facilitators for FETE 201 are experienced teachers in the former Comer Schools in Detroit, selected by the district because of their leadership skills. The exception is Dr. Cristina Jose-Kampfner, a tenured faculty member, who facilitates a section in the Latino-intensive schools in which her grants operate. The facilitators for the 300-level FETE courses and for FETE 402 have at least a master's degree and five years of teaching experience. They are drawn from the pool of potential lecturers for CURR 304 and CURR 305. The facilitators for FETE 401 are drawn from the full-time faculty in reading.

Teachers in whose classrooms candidates complete FETE experiences must be licenced at the level and in the subject area they are teaching.
Beyond that, the only requirements are for the school, not the individuals. In FETE 201, all students visit a Detroit school using the Comer model. In the 300-level FETE classes candidates may work with any certified teacher, but in the 400-level FETE classes candidates must provide documentation of racial, ethnic, or socio-economic diversity. It is of note that all FETE classes are co-requisite with required professional education courses so additional discussion regarding FETE experiences is conducted by the faculty members teaching those courses. See Exhibit 3.7 for details.

In selected teaching fields (e.g., music, foreign language, business education, special education), the university supervisor for student teaching is a full-time, tenure track faculty member who, for this purpose, reports to the Director of Student Teaching. All these persons have P-12 teaching experience in the teaching field, a special interest in field experiences, and extensive experience in supervising student teaching. These teaching fields include business education, marketing education, technology education, music education, foreign language education, the special education fields, and physical education.

Candidates in all other teaching fields are supervised by personnel that report to the Director of Student Teaching. These persons fall in two categories: (a) full-time lecturers whose sole professional responsibility is the supervision of student teachers and (b) part-time adjuncts who supervise a less than full load of student teachers. Occasionally a tenure-track faculty member from the Department of Teacher Education will supervise a partial load of student teachers. Each of these persons is selected and evaluated on the basis of being an experienced P-12 teacher, with at least a master's degree, and her/his ability to mentor teacher candidates. See Exhibit 3.7 for additional detail.

Criteria for the selection of cooperating teachers include a minimum of three years of teaching experience, a master's degree, a recommendation from the building principal or department head, and demonstrated success in teaching children and youth. Additional criteria may be imposed by the school district involved, as provided in the agreement between the school district and EMU. See Exhibit 3.7 for additional details.

P-12 personnel involved in the internship programs for educational leadership and school counseling must be approved by the program faculty as part of the plan and assignment for the field experience. Click here for more information about the educational leadership program and click here for more information about the school counseling program.

FETE cooperating teachers meet each semester. They are provided with various supplemental handouts and updates in addition to the FETE manual for their specific course. There are periodic celebration and/or evaluation sessions with that group as well. Information is provided to cooperating teachers in a manual that includes information on the program, specific assignments for each course, and necessary evaluation forms. The FETE manual provides contact information for both the FETE Director and the Department Head.

The Student Teaching Handbook includes a section for the cooperating teacher. This section provides a description of what the student teacher should be doing during the fifteen-week placement. Cooperating teachers are provided with an orientation each semester by the university supervisor. This orientation provides the process by which the triad of student teacher, university supervisor, and cooperating teacher will work during the student teaching experience. Cooperating teachers in Willow Run and Ypsilanti have worked in partnership with the Teacher Quality project for the past four years. They have come to campus regularly each semester for training and collaboration. From this effort has come the new student teaching unit, now used by all student teachers.

Supervisors for educational leadership and counseling internships are provided with a handbook and individual consultation with the director/ professor of the internship prior to their appointment in this role. Supervisors must be professionally trained in their discipline and, in the case of counseling, licensed as a professional counselor in order to serve in this capacity. Supervisors for the counseling internship are invited to attend supervisor training sessions presented annually. See the Educational Leadership Internship Handbook and the Counseling Program Internship Handbook for additional information.

In most cases in Teacher Education, field experiences for advanced programs are embedded in courses. Candidates provide written or video evidence of their experiences which are evaluated accordingly. In the middle-level program, candidates may be supervised either by their building principal or an experienced middle-grades teacher hired by the department as a lecturer. Participating principals attend an orientation meeting. Candidates without an available administrator are observed by a lecturer. All students in that program must also provide a videotape of their teaching and an additional peer evaluation.