REQUIREMENTS FOR FIELDWORK AND CLINICAL PRACTICE

Program Directors, together with the Academic Coordinator of Teacher Education, provide candidates with field placements that best match their individual backgrounds, needs, and interests. Similarly, candidates are matched with Program Supervisors that match their subject area and, to the extent possible, common interests or experiences. Candidates, Program Supervisors, and District-Employed Supervisors guide Candidates into increasing teaching responsibilities and work in a manner that reflects each Candidate's experience and abilities. 

Field-Employed Supervisors communicate frequently with Program Supervisors to ensure that each Candidate meets the required 600 hours of clinical practice in a developmentally-appropriate manner. Furthermore, each Candidate is required to complete weekly professional reflections that document their field experiences and provide Program Supervisors with an additional assessment point. These reflections inform the weekly conferences between Candidates and Program Supervisors as well as the assessment of each Candidate and the planning of the respective Student Teaching Seminars. 

An important component of every Candidate's field experience is four weeks of field experiences in which they are primarily responsible for instruction. It is during this time that candidates typically complete the documentation and analysis required for their edTPA assessment. However, guided by Program Supervisors and District-Employed Supervisors and supported by tasks and assignments in several courses, but especially their respective Student Teaching Seminars, Candidates complete field experiences that follow a developmentally-informed path. 

Continuing Program Supervisors attend meetings before classes start in the fall where they are informed about possible programmatic changes as well as particular areas of emphasis for the academic year. Because of scheduling constraints, District-Employed Supervisors are provided with webinars for the same purpose. Both types of supervisors and teacher candidates receive guidebooks and other related documentation informing them of everyone's roles and responsibilities as well as the program's philosophy and values and overall structure. 

Program Supervisors meet with Candidates every week and observe them a minimum of six times each semester. They must complete a written documentation and evaluation for each Candidate after each observation. Program Directors review these observations, which are included in each Candidate's evaluation at the end of each semester as well as their final credential recommendation. District-Employed Supervisors are also required to evaluate and provide feedback to each Candidate. All three, Candidates, District-Employed Supervisors, and Program Supervisors complete evaluation forms at the end of each semester of field experiences. All of the evaluations are scored and recorded on shared electronic documents that allow sorting and clustering of Candidates by program and content area as well as specific field placement. 

The Academic Coordinator of Teacher Education, informed by Program Supervisors and Program Directors for Multiple Subject, Humanities Single Subject, and Math and Science Single Subject, maintains a database of current, past, and prospective field placements that support teaching and learning and are diverse in their student composition, place disabled students in least restrictive environments, attend to the strengths and needs of English learners, and permit video capture for the candidates' assessment. These sites also have fully qualified administrators. 

Program Directors are responsible for selecting Program Supervisors who have expertise in the subject and have recent teaching experience as well as being familiar with updated Content Standards. Program Directors, in coordination with the Academic Coordinator of Teacher Education, leads or facilitates informational meetings and orientation about the program's philosophy, values, and approaches, including assignments and deadlines. Further, Program Supervisors also receive orientations on TPEs and edTPA and are guided on best ways to support candidates through the process leading up to the preparation and submission of the three required tasks. 

The Academic Coordinator of Teacher Education, informed by Program Supervisors and Program Directors for Multiple Subject, Humanities Single Subject, and Math and Science Single Subject, recruits, evaluates, and communicates with a pool of potential District-Employed Supervisors who have clear credentials, at least three years of content area K-12 teaching experience, and meet our program's selection criteria for instruction. All current District-Employed Supervisors receive a minimum of 10 hours of initial orientation on our program's values, structures, and practices as well as coaching approaches and models. In addition to the initial orientation, all District-Employed Supervisors are kept up to date on programmatic changes as well as relevant research and practical information regarding coaching of teachers through webinars, which are sensitive to their time constraints. 

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