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| Office of Field Placement (OFP) | |
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Director |
The purpose of clinical/field experiences are to: ...acquaint students with the educational system prior to entrance into the teaching profession; ...introduce students to a variety of teaching strategies and educational sites that include students with widely varying abilities and backgrounds; ...encourage students to identify their strengths and weaknesses by interacting with educators; and, ...enable students to integrate theoretical concepts with practical experiences. TYPES OF CLINICAL/FIELD EXPERIENCES OBSERVATION Initial professional education courses require from 10 to 15 clock hours of observation. This phase of the clinical/field experiences requires observing and reacting to specific aspects of the learning environment. Participating teachers are not required to supervise or evaluate University students; they simply allow the students to observe in their classrooms. University instructors provide the guidelines for the observation, indicating what aspects of the classroom should be focused upon and in what form the reaction will take.
TEACHING-AIDING The next phase of clinical/field experiences is either teacher-aiding and/or tutoring, depending on the program. Teacher-aiding is designed to allow teacher candidates to become actively involved in the classroom. Teacher candidates are encouraged to participate as much as possible in a wide range of activities that provide assistance to the teacher. Clinical/field hours for teacher-aiding range from 15 to 50 clock hours.
TUTORING Tutoring is the clinical/field experience component of most methods courses. Teacher candidates may be required to engage in one-on-one or small group tutoring and at least one entire class teaching experience. The classroom experience enables teacher candidates to put into practice those methods, techniques, and strategies discussed in class. Field hours range from 15 to 50 clock hours.
STUDENT TEACHING Student teaching is the final component of the clinical/field experience. Teacher candidates are required to complete 16 consecutive weeks of observing, planning, teaching and managing the classroom.
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