A. Organization of Clinical Practice Experiences
The program ensures that candidates have planned experiences and/or interactions that reflect the full diversity of grades/ages, federal disability categories and the continuum of special education services outlined in the specific credential authorization. The experiences are planned from the beginning of the program to include experiences in general education, experiences with parents and families, and experiences with a broad range of service delivery options leading to an extended culminating placement in which the candidate works toward assuming full responsibility for the provision of services in the specific credential authorization. Experiences are of sufficient duration for the candidate to demonstrate the teaching performance expectations for Education Specialist teachers. The culminating placement may be in any school, agency or program as defined in Education Code Sections 56031, 56360, and 56361 for the purpose of providing special education services. Fieldwork/Clinical experiences are designed to provide candidates with a developmental set of activities integrated with coursework that extend the candidate’s learning through application of theory to practice with students in California’s education settings.
Fieldwork provides opportunities for candidates to observe a variety of classrooms and settings and to select focus students for deeper observational study, including students who are dual language learners and who may (a) exhibit typical behavior; (b) exhibit atypical behavior; and (c) have other types of special learning needs. Fieldwork also provides opportunities for candidates to observe teachers using productive routines and effective transitions for students’ academic and socio-emotional growth and development. Candidates are provided with opportunities to review the curriculum and to further develop pedagogical knowledge of high leverage practices in subject matter areas, including early language and literacy for first and second language learners, mathematics, science, technology, engineering, social studies, and arts as appropriate. Candidates can observe the administration of a range of assessments. Candidates are also able to observe how personnel organize and supervise the work of other adults in inclusive and specialized education settings.
Clinical practice is a developmental and sequential set of activities integrated with theoretical and pedagogical coursework and must consist of a minimum of 600 hours of clinical practice across the arc of the program. At least 200 hours of supervised early field work that includes guided observations and initial student teaching (e.g., co-planning and co-teaching, or guided teaching) must be provided to candidates in general education and special education settings prior to final student teaching. Final student teaching shall consist of (400 hours) in the desired credential area. For interns, early field experience would take place in experienced mentor classrooms in both general education and special education settings. Candidates must have a range of experience that reflects the diversity of age and grade levels, the range of federal disability categories, and the continuum of special education services. Candidates should have experiences with a range of diverse students and families reflective of the demographics of California.
Dual credential programs leading to both a general and a special education credential are required to have substantive experiences in general education, inclusive, and special education settings within the 600 hours, and are encouraged to extend clinical practice for an additional 150 hours.
Candidates who are working in private schools and seeking a credential are required to complete a substantive clinical experience of at least 150 hours in a diverse school setting where the curriculum aligns with California’s adopted content standards and frameworks and the school reflects the diversity of California’s student population.
The program provides initial orientation for preparation program supervisors and district-employed supervisors of clinical practice experiences to ensure all supervisors understand their role and expectations. The minimal amount of program supervision involving formal evaluation of each candidate must be 4 times per quarter or 6 times per semester. The minimum amount of district-employed supervisors’ support and guidance must be 5 hours per week.
Clinical supervision may include an in-person site visit, video capture or synchronous video observation, but it must be archived either by annotated video or scripted observations and evaluated based on the TPEs, that produce data that can be aggregated and disaggregated.
B. Preparation of Faculty and/or Site Supervisors and/or Program Directors
The program selects individuals who are credentialed or who have equivalent experience in educator preparation. Supervisors should be experts in the education specialist instructional area of the candidate being supervised and should have recent professional experience in school settings where the curriculum aligns with California’s adopted content standards and frameworks and the school reflects the diversity of California’s student population. The program provides supervisors with an orientation to the program’s expectations and ensures that supervisors are knowledgeable about the program curriculum and assessments, including the TPEs and TPA model chosen by the program. In addition, program supervisors maintain current knowledge of effective supervision approaches such as cognitive coaching, adult learning theory, and current content-specific pedagogy and instructional practices for teachers in whose classrooms or settings candidate experiences will take place to ensure that all supervisors of fieldwork/clinical practice experiences and all cooperating education specialist teachers understand their roles and expectations.
C. Criteria for School Placements
Sites selected for candidate experiences should demonstrate commitment to developmentally and culturally appropriate practices as well as to collaborative relationships with families. In addition, these sites should also demonstrate placement of students with disabilities in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), provide support for dual language learners with disabilities, and offer the opportunity for candidates to interact with different age groups in both general and special education settings reflecting the continuum of placement options. They should also reflect to the extent possible socioeconomic, linguistic, and cultural diversity, and permit video capture for candidate reflection. Sites selected should have a fully qualified master/mentor teacher with an appropriate credential and a fully qualified site administrator.
D. Criteria for the Selection of District Employed Supervisors
(also, may be known as the cooperating teacher, master teacher or on-site mentor)
The program should select district supervisors who hold a Clear Education Specialist Credential for which they are providing supervision and having a minimum of three years of birth through age 22 teaching experience. The district-employed supervisor must have demonstrated exemplary teaching practices as determined by the employer and the preparation program. The matching of candidate and district-employed supervisor must be a collaborative process between the school district and the program.
The program provides district-employed supervisors a minimum of 10 hours of initial orientation to the program curriculum, adult learning theory, and current content-specific pedagogical and instructional practices, as well as to effective supervision approaches such as cognitive coaching. To facilitate district-employed supervisors meeting program expectations, the program ensures that district-employed supervisors remain current in the knowledge and skills necessary for effective candidate supervision.