Practicum Requirements

The basic practicum requirements are to complete at least 54 hours over at least a 12-week period with a Master Teacher Permit qualified cooperating teacher in a licensed or licensed-exempt early education program (infant/toddler, preschool, TK, kindergarten, before- and after-school). 

The most difficult aspect of this course is finding a practicum placement in your local community. There is a process for finding and approving the placement built into the first 4 weeks of the course. However, you can get started with the first steps of finding a placement, so you are ready to go as soon as you have access to the class site. 

The first step is to review the Practicum Placement Requirements to make sure you understand where and with whom you can complete your practicum placement. 

The second step is to begin to work on the Observation Assignment to identify local programs in your area that have potential cooperating teachers. This assignment is due by the end of Module 3, so you have plenty of time to set up and complete the required 5 observations of programs local to your area. You can observe in infant/toddler, preschool, TK, kindergarten, and before- and after-school programs. 

The third step is to complete the Developing Professional Goals assignment, due in the first module, so you have a clear plan for your practicum placement and can communicate that plan to your cooperating teacher. 

Placement Details

Placements can be in infant/toddler programs, early childhood (preschool) programs, out-of-school care programs, or in a transitional kindergarten (TK)/kindergarten program. The TK and kindergarten classrooms are the only public-school level that is acceptable for a practicum placement according to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) - no other elementary grade will be accepted. 

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) requires cooperating teachers to at least be qualified for the Master Teacher Permit. This means your cooperating teacher will have to document his/her ability to work with you for the practicum placement. In order to qualify for the Master Teacher Permit, the cooperating teacher must have at least 30 CHDV units including the core courses, 16 general education units in the 4 required areas, have taken an adult supervision course, and have at least 4 years of teaching experience. Those who are already qualified as Mentor Teachers for a local community college automatically meet the cooperating teacher requirements. TK and kindergarten teachers also automatically meet the cooperating teacher requirements because they hold a teaching credential. 

The potential cooperating teachers who already have a permit and/or credential will need to tell you the full name used on the permit/credential so I can look them up in the CTC database to confirm their qualifications. If their permit/credential is from a different state/country, they can submit a copy of their permit/credential instead. If the potential cooperating teacher has met the educational requirements for the permit but has not yet applied for a permit or is in the process of applying, they can submit a copy of their unofficial or official transcripts for me to review and confirm completion of the required coursework.

Make sure your cooperating teacher has email access as well so we can communicate with each other throughout the semester. 

Once you have submitted information for a potential cooperating teacher, I will send out an email with more specifics about the practicum requirements and asking for the cooperating teacher's confirmation of your placement. Once your placement is confirmed, I will let you know by completing the Placement Confirmation (Cooperating Teacher) assignment.

In the email, I will include a link to the Class Schedule, the Initial Planning Meeting, the Action Research Project, the Practicum Placement Hours form, and the Communication Requirements. Take a look at these documents to make sure you are familiar as well - and you can let potential cooperating teachers know about these requirements if they ask questions about what is expected of them. 

In general, you are a volunteer in the classroom during your practicum hours. You are expected to start off by observing in the classroom to build familiarity with the children, cooperating teacher, routines, and schedules. I will not have any specific curriculum requirements since I want you to work into the cooperating teacher's classroom, but I do expect you to have a variety of experiences setting up learning centers, leading small and large group activities, developing staff relationships, working with families, and whatever is specific to your goals for the semester.

The main project is the Action Research Project where you will need to observe and work with your cooperating teacher to develop a project that benefits the entire class, supports the work the cooperating teacher is already doing, and helps them to address some need. This will take planning and time in the classroom, so we will start on this project early in the semester. Be sure to familiarize yourself with this assignment so you can begin discussing the project with the cooperating teacher in the first week or so of your practicum experience. 

Once you have identified a potential cooperating teacher, you will submit their information to the Student Request for a Placement assignment. You can submit your request at any time during the first 4 weeks of the course, the earlier the better since it does take some time to confirm qualifications and the placement. I will check the assignment regularly so I can confirm qualifications and contact cooperating teachers as soon as possible. The key is to make sure the potential cooperating teacher at least meets the Master Teacher Permit qualifications - that is where the slow-downs usually occur. The more information you can provide me the easier it is for me to approve the placement. 

After you have an approved placement, and before you can get started with your placement hours, there are a couple of things that will need to be taken care of. The following do need to be completed BEFORE you can begin your placement hours. 

Practicum Student Requirements

There are several housekeeping-type documentations that do need to be submitted in the first 3-4 weeks of the semester. These are required by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) and getting them submitted early makes the practicum placement smoother.

TB Clearance - Practicum students must have TB clearance completed in the last 4 years. I will need a copy of your TB clearance submitted to the class site in the appropriate assignment - do not email me your clearance information.

Immunization Requirements - Practicum students must also have the following immunizations documented: TDaP (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis), MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), influenza between August 1 and December 1 (may choose to decline but must have a written statement to that effect), Covid-19 (may choose to decline, but must have a written statement to that effect). I will need a copy of your immunizations submitted to the class site in the appropriate assignment - do not email me your immunization records. Here is a link to the legal document that explains the requirements in more details: Senate Bill No. 792

Initial Planning Meeting

After I have confirmed your placement, you will need to set up an Initial Planning Meeting with your cooperating teacher. During this meeting, discuss the course requirements, your professional goals, the expectations of the placement, the Action Research Project, any of the placement information I have provided up above, and, most importantly, your schedule for completing the minimum of 54 hours over a 12-week period. 

You will submit a summary of the meeting by the end of Module 6. I will email the cooperating teachers during Module 6 to confirm the initial planning meeting and address any questions or concerns they may have. 

If you are planning on using your practicum placement hours from this class as part of your 104-hour experience requirement in order to apply for a permit, you must be in the classroom for at least 3 hours each day, otherwise these hours will not count. If you need clarification or have any questions about applying for a California Permit, the best resource is the Child Development Training Consortium. They will help you with the process, have funds to pay the permit fees for you, and will be able to answer all of your questions.