UCLA Field-Based Methods:

Elementary Literacy & Mathematics

Purpose of this Website

This website, funded by a 2018-2019 CTERIN grant, is an effort to share teacher educator reflections of the work we do in our field-based courses for elementary teachers.

We highlight in particular:

  • the affordances of partnering our students and building relationships with the same elementary student "buddies" for the entire academic quarter
  • our version of practice-based teacher education - engaging in cycles of enactment and investigation around instructional activities
  • our efforts to support connections across literacy and mathematics to help novice teachers learn how to teach in ways that are relational, not isolated
  • the planning and logistics it takes to make our courses happen

Across the website, you will find descriptions of our courses and activities, the principled ideas behind what we do, discussions of what we as teacher educators are grappling with and learning, and examples of how novice teachers are engaging with our model.

Who we are & What we do

We are a group of teacher education faculty and elementary school partners in the fourth year of our field-based effort within UCLA's Teacher Education Program. Each year we refine our practice of pairing our practice-based mathematics and reading methods courses with elementary school classrooms, supporting novice teachers to learn about content, pedagogy, and children’s thinking in the context of weekly interactions with elementary student “buddies.” A central component of our courses involves the use of a core set of Instructional Activities (IAs). In leveraging IAs as bounded spaces within which to engage with the details of practice, we build on previous research to provide novice teachers consistent, direct opportunities to work with elementary students as they plan, enact, and analyze teaching. We leverage in particular the opportunity created by the CTC’s recently adopted guidelines of 600 Clinical Practice hours by embedding methods within a partnered elementary classroom, integrating theoretical coursework with practical field experience.

Learn more about us here.

"Although there were some bumps along the road, feelings of uncertainty and inadequateness, having the opportunity to be with students everyday and constantly being surrounded with those with the same goals and passion made everything worthwhile and purposeful." - Briana (TEP 2017-2019)