The EMU teacher preparation program requires successful completion of traditional professional courses as well as comprehensive practicum experiences designed to help students become effective classroom teachers. These practicum experiences include both a pre-student teaching as well as a student teaching phase.

The pre-student teaching phase is entitled “Field Experience in Teacher Education” (FETE). Students complete a minimum of 60 clock hours in either elementary or secondary classrooms under the guidance of an experienced teacher during this phase of their training. 40 more hours, completed by students on their own, are needed for a total of 100 hours before students can begin the student teaching phase of their professional preparation.

• Courses
• FAQs
• Forms

FETE courses are a series of one credit hour field experiences designed to tie learning in Teacher Education courses to real classrooms, schools, and communities. Each FETE course is linked to a co-requisite professional education course. The first FETE course, FETE 201, is taken by both elementary and secondary education students. The next two experiences are divided into elementary and secondary courses.

Each FETE course has several components. The main ones are:

1. Use of LiveText for information about the course, online discussions, submission of written work, etc. Each section of each FETE class is managed by a facilitator who runs the online site and who issues grades.
2. Field Experience: for FETE 201, this involves a one day field trip; for the other FETE courses, students must secure a placement with a Cooperating Teacher who has a minimum of 2 years of teaching experience and who is Michigan certified.
3. Placements for FETE 301, 302, 401 and 402 can be secured by the student or with the help of the FETE office. In either case, it is the student’s responsibility to pass in necessary forms available at the front desk of 313 Porter. These forms are due on November 1 for winter placement and on May 1 for fall placement. Assisted placement is only available during the fall and winter semesters.

FETE 201 - Field Experience I

The purpose of FETE 201 is to provide opportunities to examine interactions of students’ learning with school and community environments and to examine the impact of culture on personal development.

Corequisite:

• EDPS 322 - Human Development and Learning

Field Experience (5 hours):

• Field trip to an urban school

LiveText Required:

• Syllabus
• Statement of Class Policies
• Readings
• Cultural Analyses
• Threaded Discussions
• Cultural Autobiographies

FETE 301 - Field Experience II: Elementary
FETE 302 - Field Experience II: Secondary

The purpose of FETE 301/302 is to provide 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.

Corequisites:

• CURR 304 - Curriculum and Methods: Elementary
• CURR 305 - Curriculum and Methods: Secondary
• EDPS 340 - Introduction to Assessment and Evaluation

Placements:

• Elementary or Secondary Classroom (25 clock hours minimum)

LiveText Required:

• Syllabus
• Statement of Class Policies
• Readings
• Threaded Discussions
• Short Papers on work with small groups or individuals and on teaching and assessment activities

FETE 401 - Field Experience III: Elementary
FETE 402 - Field Experience III: Secondary

The purpose of FETE 401/402 is to provide opportunities to teach in a diverse classroom setting, to apply teaching strategies introduced and demonstrated in the students’ reading and/or methods classes, and to plan and implement instruction based on student needs.

Corequisites:

• RDNG 310 - Literacy Across the Curriculum in the Intermediate Grades
• RDNG 311 - Teaching Reading in the Secondary School

Placement:

• Elementary or secondary classroom in a diverse setting (30 clock hours minimum)

LiveText Required:

• Syllabus
• Statement of Class Policies
• Readings
• Threaded Discussions
• Short Papers on working with individual students or with small groups, on teaching activities, and on analysis of students work