School
of Education
Special Education - Learning Disabilities (SM)
Section VII Narratives
Field Experiences
Field placements are integrated throughout the Professional
Education Courses of the regular education program beginning with EDUC250 Student
Diversity and Schools where the focus is on tutoring experiences.
In subsequent courses, after admission to the Department of
Education, candidates have diverse and varied experiences of increasing responsibility
and duration. These early field
experiences require a minimum of 15 hours per semester per course in focused
experiences coupled with reflective journaling and fulfillment of additional
course outcomes focused on the experiences.
Field experiences are required in each of the Professional Education Coursesrequired for elementary teacher
candidates: EDUC250, EDUC301, EDUC330, EDUC110, EDUC411 and EDUC420, EDUC421 and
EDUC422. Each course requires a directed field experience with K-8
students in settings appropriate to their level and major/minors. Course
EDUC250-EDUCDUC411 each require 15 clock hours per course, EDUC420-EDUC422 each
require 10 clock hours per course. All EDUC courses and field work must be
completed prior to entering the student teaching internship.
During the internship candidates work for approximately 15 weeks under
the direct supervision of a classroom teacher and the periodic oversight of a
university supervisor. Candidates
meet regularly with a university instructor for a seminar course, and are also
concurrently enrolled in a graduate course during the internship focuses on the
basics of action research or advanced curriculum development. During the fall
semester, candidates complete EDUC602 Reflection and Inquiry in Teaching
Practice I examining qualitative and quantitative research methods and
developing their own research based question addressing student learning.
During the spring semester students complete a second graduate level
course on curriculum planning and implementation, EDUC605.
Student teaching internship placements extend
across the full university semester, beginning generally with the start of the
academic year in August/September or January. Placements in the summer are
not available.
Candidates are required to secure field experiences (both early-ongoing
experiences and the student teaching experience) in both their major and minor
fields, a process documented in their e-portfolio.
Teacher candidates in the Special Education:
Learning Disabilities major are further required to complete field experiences
in each of EDSE course prior to student teaching, a total of 90 clock
hours. Student teaching will span the 15 week semester with placement in
classrooms serving the needs of learning disabled students, for a minimum of 300
clock hours (6 hrs/day * 5 days * 10 weeks minimum).
Expanded Narrative: Early Field
Experiences
Field experience, in classrooms related to their
levels and subjects of certification, are required in EDUC 250, 301, 430, 431,
440, and 443. Course
descriptions and syllabi of each of the professional education courses are
now available as a part of this program
application. Each education
course requires 15 clock hours of field experience in the subjects of their
training, for a total preservice field
experience requirement totaling a minimum of 90 hours.
The requirements for these field experiences are described in our Field
Experience Guidelines which apply to candidates AFTER Admission.
These guidelines are part of the school policy documents and are posted
online at http://www.lssu.edu/education
The candidates submit their field logs using the LSSU form F325-a Field Experience Log for courses EDUC301 and above (includes a reflective
narrative), and candidates submit
F320-b
Field Experience Log for EDUC250 experiences. The
field experience requirements are discussed in the Undergraduate handbook,
available online, but also excerpted below:
Field
Experience Expectations
Field
experience for EDUC 150, EDUC 250, and EDUC 400 level classes
outside
of the Sault Area School District will be arranged by the
individual
student. Arrangements for field experience in the Sault
Area
Schools will be handled through the office of the Field
Placement Director.
- Canadian
students may complete their field experience in the K-12 schools in Ontario.
- Field
experience for EDUC 301 will be arranged by the Field Placement Director in
cooperation with the course instructor.
- All
placements for the internship year will be made by the Field Placement Director.
It
is required
that
all students entering into the Internship
experience
carry professional liability insurance. This insurance is
offered
through the office of the Uniserv Director of the
Michigan
Education
Association.
The insurance is at a reasonable rate and
includes
a student membership in the professional organization of
MEA
Additional
Information
- These
field experiences are required of students as partial fulfillment of each
course.
- Students
are required to provide their own transportation to and from the field sites.
- Students
are expected to dress appropriately and conduct themselves in a professional
manner when working in the schools.
- Additional
field experience throughout the teaching preparation years is encouraged.
Persons needing assistance in locating additional experiences may seek help from
the Field Placement Director.
- Students
should report to the office at the school upon each visit.
- Students
should wear nametags when visiting the schools.
(COMPLETE
EDUCATION COURSE LIST)
EDUC
250 Student Diversity and Schools
During
this course students will be required to participate in 15
hours
of tutoring students at the elementary or secondary levels.
This may include working with individual students, small groups
and/or
large groups. Individual instructors will require evidence of
completion
of this requirement and may establish other requirements
related to this experience.
EDUC
301 Learning Theory and Teaching Practices
The
field experience for this course is an integral part of the class.
Students will be expected to spend eight class sessions in the schools
at the level in which they plan to teach. Specific
expectations
for this field experience will be designed by the course
instructor.
EDUC
400 Level Courses
Students
are expected to spend a minimum of three hours per week,
per
course, engaged in classroom practice during the fall and spring
semesters
working at the level of and in the area of their expertise.
Instructors
of these courses will provide specific requirements for
the
field experiences and required documentation.
EDUC
492 Internship in Teaching Diverse Learners II
Teacher
Interns will begin their academic courses on campus in
mid-August
before reporting to their K-12 assignments. The teaching
internship begins in the field when teachers report for their
fall
semester or at the completion of the August classes on campus.
Interns
are expected to be with their assigned cooperating teachers
during
the school year. A calendar of activities related to the
internships
will be distributed to all interns, cooperating teachers, school
administrators and university supervisors.
Students
will be asked to identify the geographical area within
LSSU service area where they would like to serve their internship
year.
The School of Education will attempt to place the students
where
they desire. However, there is no guarantee, actual or
implied,
that internships will be provided in these areas. Students
are
not allowed to do their internship at a school where a family
member
is employed and will not be placed in a school district
where
a family member is an administrator or on the school board.
Students
who attempt to establish their own internship placement
without
going through the process as established by the Field
Placement
Director may jeopardize their placement for that given
academic
year.
The
objective of introducing students to a wide range of instructional methods is to
prepare the teacher candidate to be an effective instructional leader.
Lake
Superior State University secondary teacher candidates are prepared in
instructional methods through both the professional education sequence
(EDUC150-EDUC447) and through courses in their major/minor curriculum.
In the Professional Education Courses, the secondary candidate completes EDUC430 General
Methods for Secondary Teachers (a study of strategies and methodologies to
facilitate learning...), EDUC431 the Secondary Learner, EDUC440 Reading in the
Content Area (a study of reading methods...) and EDUC44x a content specific
methods course for
Secondary Teachers (curriculum, objectives, content, materials, organization
methods and assessment). Each of these courses has a required fieldwork
component where the candidate applies the concepts and theories through modeling
and practice lessons in secondary classrooms as appropriate to their
certification.
The special education
candidate also addresses specific instructional methods appropriate to the needs
of students with learning disabilities in their EDSE courses. These
courses focus on adaptations including adaptation of curriculum, of
testing/assessment, of instruction, management of the learning environment, and
communication/collaboration in the context of life skills and transition to
non-academic life function.
Lake Superior State
University elementary teacher candidates are prepared in instructional methods
and the applications of instructional technology through the professional
education sequence (EDUC/TE150-EDUC/TE422). In the Professional Education Courses, ALL elementary candidates complete:
Technology
Technology is integrated throughout the
professional education sequence, in fulfillment of the 7th standard of the
Professional Standards for Michigan Teachers (PSMT). Students work in each
course to implement appropriate application of technology through their own
instruction, and with the K-8 learner. Assessment of the student teaching
internship is directly aligned to the ELSMT (now PSMT) standards. The
School of Education impresses on students the necessity of technological
competence through appropriate technology use by our faculty, the requirement
for an electronic portfolio for the education program, and by providing
appropriate technologies for students through the university learning center and
the School of Education office. The School of Education uses extensive
resources available for Michigan teachers to enhance their preparedness for the
effective use of technology, including, for example, the Michigan Teacher
Network (http://mtn.merit.edu), and the
Preparing Technology Proficient Teachers(www.preteacher.org),
Coalition for Outstanding Achievement through Teaching with Technology (http://www.coatt.org)
and electronic portfolios (Taskstream http://taskstream.com)
into our professional education sequence. This integration is reflected in
many of our internal documents which are archived on the School
of Education website. In the special education major teacher
candidates are adept at adaptive technologies and methods of instructional
modification using appropriate technology to facilitate student learning.
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