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Standard
Three: Field Experiences
and Clinical Practice
- Overview of Field Experiences and Clinical Practice
- Collaboration between Unit and Partners
- Field Experience - Phase I
- Field Experience - Phase II
- Field Experience - Phase III
- Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Field Experiences and Clinical Practice
- Candidates’ Development and Demonstration of Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions To Help All Students Learn
Overview of Field Experiences and Clinical Practice
The unit’s commitment to providing multiple opportunities for teacher candidates to engage in meaningful interactions with K-12 students through a sequence of well- designed practicum and internship experiences typifies the college’s theme, “connecting learning to life.” Formal partnerships have been established with a significant number of public schools in the Lewiston (Idaho) School District, the Clarkston (Washington) School District, and with other school districts throughout the Pacific Northwest. Design, delivery, and evaluation of field experiences to assure quality is one of the major functions of these established partnerships. Our elementary and secondary programs are divided into three phases.
The elementary program design consists of:
- Phase I: General Ed Core and Professional Foundations
- Phase II: Professional Studies
- Phase III: Professional Internship
The secondary program design consists of:
- Phase I: General Ed Core, Content Area Major and Professional Foundations
- Phase II: Professional Studies and Internship I
- Phase III: Professional Internship II
All phases include educational field experiences. Field experiences are designed to gradually increase candidates’ awareness of and involvement in the professional responsibilities associated with a teaching career. Phase I field experiences provide opportunities for candidates to observe in classroom settings and reflect on teaching responsibilities and duties. Phase II field experiences provide opportunities for candidates to become actively involved in providing instruction to K-12 students with methodology accompanying each experience. Phase III field experiences culminate in candidates becoming fully responsible for planning, facilitating, and assessing learning experiences in a K-12 classroom.
Collaboration Between Unit and Partners
During Phase I and Phase II of our programs, course instructors, in conjunction with the Director of Field Experience, collaborate with school and community personnel to establish field placements and to assess performances related to the program standards. In establishing formal working relationships meetings are held with school district personnel, including classroom teachers, building principals, and district administrators, to design and implement a sequence of field experiences at both the elementary and secondary levels that offer appropriate experiences for the level of the candidates involved.
Phase III of our elementary program follows a cadre model, a model designed to create communities of learning for our candidates. Each faculty supervisor establishes a cadre comprised of a building principal, On Site Teacher Educators (OSTEs), and from two to six teacher education candidates, called interns. The principal, OSTEs and faculty supervisor meet to determine the most appropriate placements for the candidates for their internship experiences. Candidates have opportunities to share information regarding their strengths, interests, and challenges prior to the placements being made. Typically candidates visit the school and spend time in their OSTE’s classroom before final decisions about placements are determined. After cadres are established and internship placements made, the faculty supervisor, OSTEs, administrators and candidates collaborate during the yearlong internship to prepare candidates as teachers and maximize the learning experiences for K-8 students.
Phase III of our secondary program also follows a cadre model. In the secondary education intern placement model, the secondary education coordinator collaborates with each school principal to determine appropriate OSTEs for intern placements. The interns then interview with a selected cooperating teacher who may accept or reject a placement. After placements are completed, the secondary coordinator assigns each intern to a cadre supervised by a full-time college faculty member. After cadres are established the faculty supervisor, OSTEs, administrators and candidates collaborate to prepare candidates as teachers and maximize the learning experiences for 6-12 students (K-12 students for kinesiology majors).
Field Experience – Phase I
In the Phase I course, ED 214 - Principles of Education, candidates complete a Questionnaire/Placement form that the Director of Field Experience uses to coordinate appropriate K-12 placements for this initial field experience. Each semester, the Director of Field Experience contacts school administrators in the Lewiston-Clarkston school districts, in addition to outlying areas as requested by candidates, to request names of teachers willing to serve as cooperating teachers for this initial field experience. Building principals forward the request to teachers in their schools, and the interested cooperating teachers respond either directly to their principal or to the Director of Field Experience. The Director of Field Experience generates a list of cooperating teachers, their grade level, content area and schedule if needed. Twenty hours of observation in two different sites are required for this initial field experience [PDF].
Field experience placements for ED 310 - Professional Foundations, a course predominantly taken by PACE candidates, features a similar process as that of ED 214. The Director of Field Experience cooperates with the college faculty responsible for this course in arranging the most effective placements.
The course instructor arranges the field experience for ED 316 - Physical Education for the Elementary Teacher [PDF]. A local school has made arrangements for their K-6 students to come to the Warrior gym for one hour, twice a week for a four-week period of time. During this time candidates develop lesson plans, facilitate learning, and assess learning for the students. The course instructor is responsible for assessing this experience.
The field experience for RE 217 - Children’s Literature and Storytelling requires candidates to read aloud and reflect on children’s reactions in a variety of settings for a minimum of ten hours. The course instructor is responsible for assessing this field experience.
Field Experience – Phase II
The unit features two instructional teams composed of full-time faculty involved in teacher preparation, an Elementary and a Secondary Education Coordinating Team. These teams are designed to provide an effective process for program planning and field experience oversight during Phase II and III. Each team meets regularly to discuss program elements, plan effective learning experiences and oversee field experiences.
Phase II of our Teacher Education programs features several courses which are aligned with a field experience. Field placements for the RE 319 - Field Experience in Education I [PDF] is initiated by the instructor and coordinated with a content driven course, RE/SE 320 - Understanding Literacy Processes [PDF]. The course instructor and local school personnel share responsibility for planning and evaluating the field experience for RE 319 to provide the most effective literacy based experiences for our candidates. Candidates and school personnel assess the level of engagement of the candidates during this experience.
The instructor of the reading assessment course, RE/SE 324 - Assessment of Literacy Development, initiates the placements for RE/SE 325 - Field Experience in Education II with which it is aligned. The field experience for RE/SE 324 is coordinated through a collaborative relationship with two of our community organizations, the Lewiston Boys’ and Girls’ Club and the Clarkston Boys’ and Girls’ Club. This field experience placement provides our candidates with an opportunity to serve the needs of students from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds.
During SE 322 – Inclusionary Strategies [PDF], both elementary and secondary education candidates are required to participate as a companion at a Families Together Weekend. Families Together is a national advocacy organization for families who have a child with a disability. Candidates are assigned a child with a disability or sibling to provide guidance and support from Friday evening through Sunday at noon. Their responsibilities include interaction with the family, supporting the individual with disabilities in participation of all weekend activities and safety from harm. Children have a wide array of disabilities. The course instructor attends the weekend events to assess participation and candidates are required to write a reflection of their experience.
Secondary candidates participate in two field experiences during Phase II. The course instructors and faculty supervisors (cadre leaders) coordinate and manage these site placements. The instructor for RE 422 - Reading in the Content Area initiates the field placements, with shared responsibility from the Secondary Education Coordinating Team and Lapwai High School. This particular field experience provides our candidates with a quality diverse cultural experience, as the Lapwai School District, which is on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation, has a high American Indian student population.
ED 458/459 - Professional Internship in Education I placements are made by the secondary program coordinator in collaboration with the Secondary Education Coordinating Team, school administrators and OSTEs. Secondary candidates are asked to interview with OSTEs prior to decisions being made about Internship II placements. The field experience placements are designed through collaborative efforts in order to provide the most effective, high quality content specific experiences with OSTEs and to ensure positive working relationships.
As required in ED 458: Professional Internship in Education I, 6-12, interns observe the first two weeks of school and the last two weeks of the same semester in classrooms where they will serve during Internship II. During the first two weeks, they collect information regarding a demographic report they are required to write for their Candidate Work Sample (CWS). During the last two weeks, they micro-teach and are evaluated once by their faculty supervisor. Faculty supervisors visit with the OSTEs in their cadres during these field experiences, apprising them of program requirements found in the Policy Manual, answering questions, and preparing them for the Internship II experience.
Field Experience – Phase III
Phase III Internship placements are initiated and coordinated through each team’s cadre design format, wherein a faculty supervisor (cadre leader) works collaboratively and intimately with K-12 school personnel to determine the most effective and appropriate placements for our candidates. Field experiences for ED 426 - Internship I, ED 429 - Internship II (elementary) and ED460/461 - Internship II (secondary) are initiated and coordinated by the cadre leader, with shared responsibility and collaboration from each respective coordinating team, area school principals, and on-site teacher educators (OSTEs). Internship I and II field placements involve an on-going relationship between faculty supervisors (cadre leaders), OSTEs, and building principals from K-12 schools, through which a collaborative structure is established. This design enables all participating partners to provide effective placement, mentoring, supervision, and assessment of the internship experience in order to make available successful learning experiences for our candidates and the K-12 students.
During the three-year program re-creation process funded by the Albertson Foundation, multiple meetings were held with local school personnel and community leaders to make decisions regarding field experiences, hence the development of the current cadre model. Each cadre has considerable autonomy and each cadre leader assumes responsibility for coordinating the field experience for his/her interns with school personnel. When deemed appropriate, school personnel are invited to a larger meeting where program expectations and progress are reviewed and input requested. The last such meeting, Partnerships in Teacher Preparation, was held on February 12, 2004. Teachers new to the area were apprised of the LCSC programs, and feedback was gathered for consideration by the program teams during this event.
Occasionally an intern requests and is granted permission to complete Internship II at a distant site (outside a 60 mile radius of LCSC) due to special circumstances. The process begins with the intern making the request through his/her respective faculty supervisor, who then takes the request to the Elementary or Secondary Coordinating Team for further discussion and consideration. For a request to be approved the intern must have demonstrated exceptional competency related to program standards during the Internship I experience. If the request is granted, the Director of Field Experience collaborates with the intern and faculty supervisor to determine location and the most effective site placement. The Director of Field Experience initiates contact with the selected school district, including superintendent, principal and prospective OSTE. Once the selection is confirmed and agreed upon by all parties, the intern is notified and provided contact information for the OSTE. The Director of Field Experience, in coordination with the Elementary and Secondary Coordinating Teams, provides the appropriate program materials and information for the OSTE and principal, including handbooks, evaluation and assessment forms, and any additional material deemed necessary. The Director of Field Experience, in collaboration with the respective coordinating team, selects an appropriate supervisor for the distant site intern. This individual is most often a retired teacher or administrator, and/or a local college educator, familiar with our program and capable of serving as an extension of our education program. The original faculty supervisor retains responsibility for mentoring candidates with regard to the portfolio and exit interview.
The process for field experience placements for the PACE (Pathways for Accelerated Certification and Endorsements) Programs is initiated and coordinated by the Elementary and Secondary PACE Coordinators. The Director of Field Experience cooperates with the coordinators in the provision of necessary Field Experience Agreements between LCSC and the selected school district. While the cadre model is not feasible for Phase III placements in PACE programs, with the use of technology, the coordinators are able to provide candidates with experiences that parallel our traditional programs.
ED 427 - Professional Seminar: Issues in Education I serves as another example of our collaboration with professionals in the field. Three teachers who also host interns in their classrooms provide the instruction for this course. Candidates meet in the school where these teachers work. The theme for the course is developing communities of learners in school settings, which directly connects to the division’s conceptual framework of preparing caring professionals who teach for understanding in communities of learning.
A review of the Internship calendar provides further evidence of collaboration between the unit and our school/community partners. Local teachers, administrators, and community leaders provide a variety of required on-campus sessions for interns each semester.
A formal exit interview is required of all interns at the completion of their program. The intern’s exit interview panel consists of an LCSC Division of Education faculty member, the intern’s faculty supervisor and her/his OSTE(s). The exit interview is designed as a showcase for the discussion of the yearlong internship where the intern provides evidence that s/he has met or exceeded the competency requirements for program completion. In addition, it serves as preparation for future job interviews. The exit interview allows time for the graduating intern and the OSTE to provide informal feedback regarding the benefits and challenges of the internship experience and the Teacher Education Programs.
Finally, the elementary program coordinates and collaborates with an Elementary Advisory Board [PDF] to ensure more effective communication, site placements, evaluation activities, and overall planning quality. Membership on the Advisory Board remains relatively stable and offers a wide array of schools, community based agencies, business involvement and institutional (LCSC) participation. The Advisory Board meets once a year. Likewise, the newly established Secondary Advisory Board [PDF] meets once a year to plan, design, communicate, assess, provide direction and share information for the betterment of the education program and services delivered to 6-12 students.
At the end of the semester OSTEs and interns are asked to evaluate the internship experience by completing questionnaires. Data collected from the Longitudinal Evaluation of the Teacher Education Program End of Program Survey, On-Site Teacher Educator’s Evaluation of College Mentor, Intern Evaluation of College Mentor, and Intern Evaluation of On-Site Teacher Educator questionnaires are considered at subsequent coordinating team meetings and changes are made when deemed appropriate.
Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Field Experiences and Clinical Practice
Our field experiences are designed to afford our candidates multiple opportunities to learn through doing, and to reflect upon the knowledge, skills and dispositions embodied in the principles of our Conceptual Framework. These field experiences exemplify effective practices through modeling by our highly qualified faculty supervisors and K-12 on-site teacher educators. During field experiences and the internship, candidate learning and professional development is integrated into the work of K-12 schools, and our candidates become an integral part of the school community and active participants in professional decision-making that impacts the learning and well-being of students. With our school partners, we collaboratively design, implement and nurture quality field experiences, which include the assessment of candidate performance.
Our Teacher Education Programs select field experiences, including yearlong internships, to provide candidates with opportunities to:
- Relate principles and theories from the conceptual framework to actual practice in classrooms and schools.
- Create meaningful learning experiences for all students.
- Study and practice in a variety of communities, with students of different ages, and with culturally diverse and exceptional populations.
The culminating field experience is a two semester-long internship. The design of the internship features course and field-based experiences scheduled in such a way that candidates are systematically involved with methods and application of theory, while engaging in classroom experiences in order to build purposeful connections. Elementary candidates spend their first full semester working under a split day schedule wherein half a day is spent in a K-8 grade classroom, and the other half on campus with college faculty studying specific methodologies and exploring extension activities. For the first two weeks of the semester, candidates are in their K-8 classrooms all day. Approximately two-thirds of the way through the semester, candidates return to their respective classrooms for full-time experience working with their on-site teacher educator and students. The second semester for elementary candidates features a 16-week internship wherein approximately 90% of their time is in K-8 grade classrooms; occasionally they return to campus for professional development seminars and workshops. Secondary candidates spend their first semester in a four-week field experience in a secondary school placement, followed by an eleven-week on-campus integrated instructional program. During the second semester, candidates work collaboratively with their assigned on-site teacher educator and faculty supervisor to fulfill requirements for the internship.
Table 24
Field Experiences
and Clinical Practice
By Phase
Source: Field Experience
Office prepared
by bh
Due to their extensive experiences working in elementary schools or involvement with children in other capacities, elementary PACE candidates are required to complete 140 hours of Internship I field experience, while 310 hours are required of candidates in the regular program. Both programs require a minimum of 500 hours of contact time for the Internship II experience.
We have designed assessment instruments based upon the conceptual framework to evaluate the candidates during the field experiences and the internship year. Existing instruments are continually modified to reflect our ongoing refinement and understanding of the conceptual framework and standards.
Table 25
Program Assessment
Instruments for Field
Experiences
Source: Field Experience
Office, prepared
by bh
The internship allows candidates to demonstrate competence and to meet standards in the profession of teaching. The unit takes pride in the high quality of supervision candidates receive during the internship experience. Faculty supervisors monitor candidates on a regular basis and spend significant amounts of time with their cadres. In elementary program, the faculty supervisor completes a minimum of ten formal observations during the internship year for each intern assigned to him/her. OSTEs hosting elementary candidates complete a minimum of four formal observations during the internship year, as well as provide continual informal assessments. Elementary candidates are required to complete a minimum of four self-assessments during the internship experience. In the secondary program, faculty supervisors complete a minimum of eight formal observations during the internship year as well as provide continual informal assessments. OSTEs hosting secondary candidates complete a minimum of three formal observations during the internship year, as well as provide continual informal assessments. Conferences are held with each intern to discuss each formal assessment. In cases where candidates are working toward a Special Education credential, supervisory responsibilities are divided between two faculty supervisors, one being a Special Education supervisor.
Helping candidates learn to incorporate technology appropriately into instruction has been one theme in our Teacher Education Programs since 1999. The state of Idaho requires that prior to being certified, all candidates must pass the Idaho Technology Performance Assessment, an instrument that evaluates a candidate’s knowledge base about technology as well as pedagogy regarding its use. Elementary candidates receive instruction during ED 323 - Professional Strategies for Teaching (K-6); secondary candidates receive instruction during ED 453 - Media, Technology and Teaching (6-12). These courses are designed to provide our candidates with the knowledge and skills they need to pass the test, and more importantly, the ability to enhance student learning through the effective use of instructional technologies.
Fortunately, in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, all of the schools that host interns remain current with technology, affording our candidates numerous opportunities to use technology as an instructional tool. On-site teacher educators and faculty supervisors assess technology usage as one part of the over-all assessment process. To pass the requirement of being a proficient educational facilitator, candidates must demonstrate that they can effectively use media and technology appropriately for instructional purposes.
A year after graduation, we conduct a graduate/employer survey of our employed graduates (Graduate Survey [PDF], Employer Survey [PDF]). One question asked of graduates and their employers deals with the use of technologies. Graduates are asked, “How would you rate your ability to integrate media and technologies into teaching and learning?” Employers are asked the same question. The results show that graduates are proficient to exemplary with using technology for instructional purposes.
Table 26
Graduate
Survey: Integration
of Technology
4=Exemplary, 3=Proficient,
2=Needs Improvement,
1=Inadequate
Source: Education
Division Database,
prepared by gt
To qualify to serve as a cooperating teacher during Phase I and II, or an OSTE during the Phase III Internship, individual teachers must hold a current state teaching certification in the area they will be supervising, and have at least three years of teaching experience. In addition, the following qualifications are expected for internship OSTEs:
- Be recognized by the principal as an exceptional teacher who can serve as a role model for dealing with content and students.
- Show concern, care, and enthusiasm for working with K-12 students.
- Be interested in working with an individual intern and with the college’s Teacher Education Program, seeing it as another arena for teaching.
- Have the interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with interns and college supervisors in offering evaluation and support.
- Be willing to share information and materials, to team teach, and to allow the intern to assume the role of lead teacher for a minimum of two weeks during the second internship semester.
- Be interested in collaborating with other educators as a member of a professional development cadre and agree to meet as necessary for effective cadre functioning.
- Have sufficient time to address an intern’s questions, provide needed guidance, and complete and share formal and informal assessments with her/him.
With the support and recommendation of the principal, the cooperating teacher/OSTE is invited to participate as a member of the teacher education program.
Policies and procedures for participating in a cadre are outlined in the Internship Handbooks, which are updated yearly, and are distributed to OSTEs and school principals at the beginning of each internship cycle. Each coordinating team (elementary and secondary) and cadre leader is responsible for assisting the OSTE in gaining awareness and knowledge of the program components, expectations and assessment strategies. Periodic cadre meetings with the OSTEs, interns, principal and the respective faculty supervisor are held to coordinate, plan, discuss and design the most effective learning experiences for the intern, as well as the K-12 students.
Candidates in elementary and secondary teacher education programs are involved in continuous self-evaluation and reflection, in collaboration with their OSTE and faculty supervisor. This collaborative process provides for systematic evaluative feedback from multiple viewpoints, allowing the candidate to further develop knowledge, skills and dispositions as a professional educator. Faculty supervisors hold periodic progress meetings within the framework of the internship design to critique and encourage their interns in their development. Field experiences are, thus, characterized by collaboration, accountability, and an environment associated with professional learning and development. The field experiences include internships that provide candidates with opportunities that allow for full immersion in the learning community, so that candidates are able to demonstrate proficiencies in the professional role for which they are preparing. The Teacher Education Programs and school partners collaboratively design, implement and evaluate field experience placements and assessment practices for candidates.
Candidates’ Development and Demonstration of Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions To Help All Students Learn
Program resources allow for twenty-four candidates to be admitted into each program’s internship experience each semester (seventy-two for the academic year). Due to the size of our program, we are able to remain flexible as enrollment fluctuates.
Table 27
Teacher Education
Program Completion
Report
Source: Education Division
Database cross-referenced
with institutional system,
Datatel, prepared
by lr
* Candidates in
Secondary PACE hold bachelors
degrees and are solely
working towards certification
During the teacher education program, candidates complete multiple field experiences as part of the pre-professional and professional core and content methods specific to the certification area and/or teaching major and minor. To qualify for each field experience, candidates must meet certain criteria, and their performance is assessed via assessment forms, candidate work samples, journal activities (elementary only), portfolio/e-folio design and development, and progress interviews.
Table 28
Assessment
Items associated with
each of the Three Phases
listed below:
Source: Program Candidate
Assessment Maps, prepared
by bh
Exiting criteria for teacher candidates include the successful completion of the following assessment events/activities:
- Idaho Technology Performance Assessment
- Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Assessment (for all elementary candidates and secondary candidates who plan on teaching reading)
- Evaluations of Professional Performance (from multiple sources) with scores of 3- or better required on final evaluations
- Instructional Unit (secondary only)
- Reflective Journal with scores of 3- or better required (elementary only)
- Resource File (elementary only)
- Portfolio/e-folio Assessment with scores of 3- or better required
- Exit Interview with scores of 3- or better required (or equivalent “yes” responses on secondary form)
Throughout the Internship year, candidates’ professional performance is continuously evaluated from multiple perspectives. Interns are evaluated by their OSTE, their LCSC faculty supervisor, with self-reflections, and occasionally by peers. The design of the internship evaluation is based upon immediate and continuous feedback, assessment and reflection. Both formal and informal assessments are included, along with formative and summative evaluative feedback loops. When an intern is observed and evaluated, the person evaluating him/her meets with the intern in order to discuss, reflect upon and systematically identify what an intern does particularly well and what aspects need strengthening. Over the course of the internship, an elementary intern is expected to have received from his/her faculty supervisor, at a minimum, 10 formal evaluations. Secondary candidates receive eight formal evaluation from faculty supervisors. A minimum of four formal evaluations is expected from each OSTE in the elementary program and three in the secondary program during the yearlong internship experience. Additionally, informal assessments occur throughout the internship experience.
Providing opportunities for interns to develop knowledge and skills in helping all students learn is demonstrated through two major candidate projects, along with the continual ‘conferencing’ and ‘dialogue’ sessions. The two projects are the Candidate Work Sample (CWS) and the Portfolio/E-folio. Elementary interns work in collaborative groups for their CWS to select a topic related to cultural diversity, research the content, and design a 20-24 hour integrated instructional unit while attending to Idaho/Washington teaching/learning standards. The CWS is designed to feature content integration, sequential lesson planning and activities, assessment tools and systematic adaptations for selected students. While interns are not able, nor expected, to teach their instructional unit (CWS) in its entirety, it is expected that they find the opportunity to teach sections or a series of lessons from their CWS. Reflective writings are assigned to assess the level of impact upon intern attitudes and new learning relative to the diversity component, as well as their level of confidence and abilities in designing an integrated instructional unit.
Secondary interns work individually to design, develop, implement and assess a Candidate Work Sample, which is to be taught during the interns’ time at the school site. Secondary interns conduct a pre- and post-assessment to determine levels of impact upon student learning and the effectiveness of their Unit design. Working collaboratively with their OSTE and faculty supervisor, each intern conducts research relative to his/her topic and content, along with building effective connections to Idaho/Washington standards. Interns are evaluated and provided feedback relative to their Candidate Work Sample and facilitation skills.
Candidates in both the elementary and the secondary programs are required to take Adaptive Teaching courses that coincide with the Internship experiences. Projects completed during SE 428 - Adaptive Teaching I (K-8) [PDF], SE 431 - Adaptive Teaching II (K-8) [PDF], and SE 407 - Adaptive Teaching (6-12) [PDF], provide evidence that our candidates are able to provide instruction where all students under their tutelage can learn.
Providing interns with quality opportunities to work with students with exceptionalities and from diverse populations is an important focus for LCSC’s education program. During the internship, secondary candidates are afforded opportunity to work with students in the Lapwai School District, which is on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation and houses a high population of Native students. This experience, along with a field trip to the Colville Indian Reservation, provides secondary interns with an opportunity to learn about diverse cultures and student populations, along with socioeconomic complexities.
While not all elementary interns are able, some interns are involved with cadres that have field placements on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. In an effort to strengthen this area for elementary interns, they are taken to the Seattle/Tacoma area to visit with and spend time in schools that serve culturally diverse and urban students. Examples of schools and sites visited include: Heritage College on the Yakima Indian Reservation; Nathan Hale High School; Oakland Academy; TONE School for the Deaf; Lincoln High School; and Chief Leschi Tribal School, an award winning K-12 Tribal School on the Puyallup Indian Reservation. An additional experience is the trip to Tillicum Village on Blake Island, wherein interns experience Pacific Northwest Coast Indian culture, dance, stories and a salmon feast. Reflective writings submitted by interns indicate that this has a powerful impact upon their personal and professional development.
The portfolio/e-folio is a key component of LCSC’s teacher preparation programs. It is considered a ‘capstone’ event and is used in conjunction with the exit interview to finalize an intern’s experience and to confirm an intern’s competence as a beginning teacher. As the portfolio/e-folio reflects an intern’s yearlong internship working directly with K-12 students, there is tremendous opportunity to showcase multiple evidences of direct impact upon student learning. Over the course of two semesters, interns work with their faculty supervisors to select, document, and design the delivery of evidences as presented in their portfolio. The Education Evaluator sections of candidates’ portfolios provide specific examples of how interns impact students’ learning in a variety of situations. Portfolios are available for review in the evidence room and on-line (e-folios).
Throughout field experience placements, candidates in the Teacher Education Programs work collaboratively with other candidates, college faculty members, and K-12 professionals to critique and reflect on practice and the effects of their practice upon K-12 student learning. The design of the field experience supports a candidate’s development of knowledge, skills and dispositions to enhance the learning of all students.
Assessments used during field experiences serve to document candidate performance relative to our Teacher Education standards and principles, and the impact of their practice on K-12 student learning. Additionally, assessments are used collaboratively by candidates, OSTEs, and college faculty mentors to determine areas that need improvement, and to design professional development plans for improving practices. Along with the formal and informal assessments, candidates are continually engaged in reflective practices in order to improve and enhance professional development.
One of the seven main areas of professional competence in our conceptual framework is the Reflective Professional. All candidates are required to demonstrate all standards and indicators linked to the Reflective Professional requirement throughout the teacher education programs. A ‘Reflective Journal’ is required of elementary candidates during the internship year. Cadre leaders periodically read, review and dialogue with the candidates to discuss the depth, quality and purpose of the reflection process in becoming a successful educator. A formal evaluation of the Journal (Evaluation of Reflective Journal [PDF] form) is conducted to assess the frequency, depth, and quality of the reflections. Many students report how valuable the journal becomes relative to their professional and personal development. Copies of journal assessments may be found in the appendices of candidates’ portfolios.
Secondary candidates are required to write a series of reflective pieces throughout their internship year. Samples of these reflective pieces and their assessments are located in the e-folios of secondary candidates. In addition, the exit interview and portfolio process, required of all candidates, allows for additional opportunities for reflection and feedback as a culminating experience of the teacher education programs.
A year after graduation, we conduct a graduate/employer survey of our employed graduates. One question asked of graduates and their employers deals with being a reflective professional. Graduates were asked, “How would you rate your ability to reflect and self-evaluate for the purpose of improving your instruction?” Principals were asked the same question regarding the graduate’s knowledge. Results show that both graduates and employers agree that teacher education graduates are proficient to exemplary in their preparation related to reflective practices.
Table 29
Graduate
Survey: Reflective
Professional
4=Exemplary, 3=Proficient,
2=Needs Improvement,
1=Inadequate
Source:
Education Division Database, prepared
by gt
At the conclusion of the yearlong internship candidates and OSTEs are asked to respond to questionnaires (End-of-Program forms) reviewing their internship experience. Raw data are located in the Field Experience Office. The following tables summarize their responses.
Table 30
Intern Evaluations
of On-site Teacher
Educators 2004-2005
Source: Field Experience
Office, prepared
by bh
Table
31
Intern Evaluations
of College Mentors
2004-2005
Source: Field Experience
Office, prepared
by bh
Table 32
Elementary
On-site Teacher
Educator Evaluations
of LCSC/Mentors 2004-2005
Source: Field Experience
Office, prepared
by bh
Table 33
Secondary
On-site Teacher
Educator Evaluations
of LCSC/Mentors 2004-2005
Source: Field Experience
Office, prepared
by bh
