Field experience is an important part of any education degree program. Field experience hours are integrated with content from coursework and designed to allow the teacher candidate to observe and interact with experienced teachers, K-12 students, support staff, and administrators in diverse school environments and to participate in professional development activities. It is also an opportunity to make connections that may open the door for a student teaching placement and/or employment.

Before student teaching, field experience hours require teacher candidates to be placed with mentor teachers in elementary and special education classrooms to make connections and apply what they are learning in the program. Field experience hours are meant to be an authentic classroom experience where the teacher candidate can observe and participate in quality instruction, classroom management, and engage in the responsibilities of the profession. Teacher candidates will experience a variety of classroom settings, grade levels, and content areas throughout their program, as circumstances allow.