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Field Experiences and Clinical Practice With Furman University’s commitment to engaged learning inside and outside of the classroom, applications in field settings, practica, and internships are important components in the undergraduate curriculum. While educator preparation has long offered “practice” opportunities for candidates in schools and communities, more recently there has been a greater need to extend that practice to diverse settings with diverse populations who represent the multicultural nature of public schools. All of Furman's initial certification programs are committed to field experiences that are integrated into coursework in professional education. Therefore, with few exceptions, all undergraduate education courses and methods courses taught external to the Education Department have concomitant field experiences of approximately 20 hours. Through an incremental set of field experiences and clinical practice, candidates engage in opportunities to apply their knowledge, skills, and dispositions in a variety of settings appropriate to the content and level of their courses and program. In the continuing/advanced programs, candidates apply theory to practice in courses in their concentration. They are also required to enroll in a culminating practicum or internship in a P-12 setting. Element 1: Collaboration between Unit and School Partners Programs for Initial Preparation of Teachers Furman University has a long-standing relationship with surrounding school districts. Within the past ten years, those relationships have grown in mutuality and in united efforts to positively affect student learning through the common work of preparing educators of quality. When Furman University made a commitment to the agenda of the NNER, it did so with school partners who were interested in sharing the responsibility for preparing teachers and school leaders who uphold the moral dimensions of teaching (access to education for all students, nurturing pedagogy, acculturating our youth into a democracy, and stewardship of schools). While we do not currently use the professional development school model, we do use the NNER dimensions and postulates to guide our relationships with districts and schools. The work of improving student learning outcomes is a responsibility that is greater than one partner – it takes the community, school district, school, and Furman University (in our case) for renewal to be successful. Furman University has contractual arrangements with local districts for field experiences and clinical practice. Refer to District Contract for Field Placements. With the Teacher to Teacher Program, there is an annual contract signed between Furman University and the district. Refer to Teacher to Teacher Contract. The Teacher to Teacher contracts were mutually created by district and university personnel. The purpose and types of field experiences are intentional. The Field Experience Committee is a standing committee of the Professional Education Unit and is appointed by the Department Chair on an annual basis. It is comprised of faculty representative of all professional education courses (education and other academic disciplines) and representatives of schools in which introductory and methods field experiences occur. The Committee meets regularly throughout the academic year to monitor and guide the types of field experiences deemed important to the preparation of Furman teacher candidates. The number of hours, diversity of experiences, and supervision are monitored for quality and consistency across the Teacher Education Program, with the intent to continually develop teacher candidates into competent and confident teachers who are scholars and leaders in the profession. It is also the charge of this committee to develop a mechanism for tracking each teacher candidate's field experiences throughout their program. Recommendations pertaining to the field experiences are presented to the Department of Education. As appropriate, the recommendations may be forwarded to the Teacher Education Committee for consideration. Field Experience Committee Minutes may be reviewed on-site. The Teaching Internship Committee is also a standing committee of the Professional Education Unit. The Teaching Internship Committee is appointed by the Department Chair on an annual basis and is comprised of every full-time faculty member whose teaching load includes the supervision of interns during that academic year, and at least one partner district/school representative. The responsibility for convening the committee rotates each year among departmental faculty representing elementary, early childhood, special education, or secondary certification programs, and the Department Chair appoints the "convener". The committee meets regularly throughout the academic year to monitor and guide the implementation of State Board of Education and Teacher Education Program policies, procedures and requirements for the teaching internship. It is the responsibility of this Committee to assure consistency across programs in terms of the implementation of the South Carolina ADEPT Student Teacher Evaluation and Assistance Programs, the number of university supervised visits, content of teaching internship seminars, and type of documentation provided to the interns, mentors or cooperating teachers. The orientation programs are collaboratively planned and implemented by this committee. Recommendations pertaining to the teaching internship, quality of internship placements and procedures for placements are presented to the Department of Education. As appropriate, the recommendations may be forwarded to the Teacher Education Committee for consideration. Teaching Internship Committee Minutes may be reviewed on-site. Field placements associated with foundations courses and methods courses are arranged by the individual faculty member. Practicum and teaching internship placements in the Teacher to Teacher Program are mutually arranged between the district, school, Director of Partnerships, and Teacher to Teacher Coordinator. Teaching internships for music and PE are based on teacher recommendations by faculty in those respective programs, and on the ability of districts to honor those requests. These latter requests are managed by the Education Analyst, who works with district personnel assigned to make placements. Additional evidence provided in this section to support this element are: 1) Upstate Schools Consortium; 2) Teaching Fellows Advisory Board; 3) practitioner involvement in teacher preparation courses; and 4) faculty involvement in P-12 school improvement. Upstate Schools Consortium Professional development seminars are planned by Furman University and the Consortium representatives from each member district. The seminars are presented by nationally recognized consultants as well as regional and local educators. Furman faculty and teacher candidates are invited to participate in Consortium-sponsored professional development at no cost, and often avail themselves of these opportunities. For example, this academic year the Consortium seminars have focused on differentiated instruction and teaching students of poverty. This theme correlates with the Professional Education Unit’s faculty development theme for the year. Several faculty participated in the recent seminars on teaching students of poverty, as did several senior elementary candidates. The Teaching Fellows Advisory Board
Furman University was selected as one of nine original recipients of a Teaching Fellows Program through South Carolina's Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention & Advancement (CERRA). The Campus Director of the Teaching Fellows mentors four cohorts of Teaching Fellows, with a total of 40 teacher candidates. Active participation in weekly seminars and special activities designed for aspiring teachers is required . Fellows engage in a rigorous application and interview process in order to be selected to receive four years of scholarship funding. The scholarship carries the stipulation that for every year of funding, the Fellow must teach in South Carolina for one year. The Furman University Teaching Fellows Program is guided by an Advisory Council comprised of up to 14 members from the following representative groups: education faculty (2), arts and sciences faculty (2), school district office personnel from Upstate Schools Consortium districts (2), teachers of the year from Upstate Schools Consortium districts (2), second and third year Fellows (2), community representative from the Alliance for Quality Education in Greenville County (1) a business representative from a non-education related organization (1), and at-large members (2). The Campus Director of the Teaching Fellows Program is an ex-officio member of the committee. The Advisory Board meets twice per year to report on the program, seek support of the Teaching Fellows, evaluate the program, offer suggestions for improvement of the program, and advertise the program in the community. Practitioner Involvement in Teacher Preparation Courses During the past five years, the Teacher Education Program has employed clinical faculty to teach methods courses either as adjuncts or as part-time or full-time faculty members. Clinical faculty bring evidence-based practices to the content of teacher preparation courses. In addition, the Teacher to Teacher Program regularly invites district mentors to conduct topical seminars for candidates (e.g. ADEPT, Classroom Management, Community Building). Further, graduates of the Teacher to Teacher Program conduct topical seminars on research-based ("best") practices for Furman teacher candidates. Faculty Involvement in P-12 School Improvement Faculty are also called upon to teach professional development courses or speak to classes at schools in which we place our candidates for field experiences or teaching internships. One faculty member is teaching a professional development writing workshop course in a partner middle school this academic year, and serves as a free consultant to a high school whole writing initiative. The Campus Director of Teaching Fellows and the Fellows have participated in one middle school’s career fair for two years. They also have spoken to classes of Teacher Cadets and Honors English classes at one of the high schools. One faculty member has spoken to two high school classes and the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. A faculty member in the PE certification program has conducted workshops at two elementary schools, and will be doing a workshop this summer at another elementary school where we place candidates. Additionally, he has taught two graduate courses for two elementary schools, and conducted a brief workshop for county health educators at their local professional meeting. Another faculty member has conducted workshops around the state on integration of technology into the social studies classroom. The Coordinator of Early Childhood has conducted workshops for preschool center directors and teachers on using the project approach in preschool settings. Two unique opportunities for teachers in our partner districts and schools are offered during the summer. One is a series of three, week-long institutes entitled “Telling America’s Story: Digital Storytelling”, using the Adventures of the American Mind collection in the Library of Congress. The institutes are team-taught by one education faculty member and one faculty member in modern languages. A second opportunity that is scheduled occurs every other summer is the Holocaust Institute, team-taught by education and history faculty members. Programs for Continuing Preparation of Teachers and Other School Personnel The graduate studies in education program began over 150 years ago at Furman as a way to meet the needs of teachers in community education programs. This long-standing partnership in collaborative practice is the foundation of Furman’s unique graduate program in education. The advanced program in school leadership is the direct result of the local need for highly-qualified school leaders for positions such as instructional coaches, assistant principals and principals. Furman’s M.A. in education with a concentration in TESOL, began as a collaborative program with the Greenville County Schools as means of increasing the number of highly qualified and certified ESOL teachers needed to serve this growing school population. As a model state program, the TESOL concentration is being considered for a Commission on Higher Education Improving Teacher Quality Grant. This grant program has a December 2006 deadline and, if funded, will expand Furman's TESOL program, engage collaborative staff development with two partnering, Title I middle schools, offer professional development in TESOL for all upstate educators, and create a model for other state programs of higher education interested in ESOL education opportunities. The graduate program continues to serve neighboring districts through other grant programs such as service-learning and applied technology education. Furman offers professional development courses, contracted through partnering school districts, that enable teachers to earn recertification credit or professional development points in the new SDE system. Summer courses for recertification supplement the M.A. curriculum and allow teachers opportunities to engage in collaborative, hands-on learning that has a direct result in improved teaching strategies and the implementation of best practices. Through the use of professional practitioners as adjunct instructors and clinical faculty, Furman creates opportunities for masters ‘in the field’ of education to offer expertise to teachers and other school personnel. Element 2: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Field Experiences and Clinical Practice Evidence provided in this section to support this element are: 1) field experiences in initial preparation programs; 2) clinical practices; 3) collection of data on student learning; 4) experiences in diverse P-12 settings; 5) reflection on experiences and practice; 6) use of information technology; 7) interaction with university supervisors, teachers, and peers; 8) cooperating teacher selection; 9) training of cooperating teachers; and 10) evaluation of cooperating teachers, university supervisors, and field placements. Programs for Initial Preparation of Teachers Field Experiences The ED 01 field experience aligned with ED 11: Perspectives on American Education (introductory course), has been designated for tutoring middle school students in a high-need school with significant diversity, and for observing in a child development and family services center serving those experiencing factors that place them at risk. Additionally, visits are made to an elementary or middle school, a high school, a career center, and school board meetings. ED 20: Human Development incorporates a service learning field experience in after school programs in community agencies or schools that offer programs for children and youth with low SES profiles. ED 21: Education of Students with Exceptionalities has a field experience component working specifically with students receiving special education services. These three courses and concomitant field experiences are required for all initial licensure candidates. The experiences are designed and revised based on faculty and professional community collaboration. The field experiences aligned with methods courses are also designed and implemented by the professor of the course and appropriate school personnel. The experiences are developmental and incremental in moving candidates from observation to assisting in classes to teaching applied lessons. Faculty model the skills and dispositions expected of candidates and many use metacognitive processes to illustrate why they are using particular methodologies or strategies and how they relate to what candidates might do in the classroom. What is modeled in class or on-site with classroom teachers is then expected to be adapted and applied by candidates (e.g. lesson plans, unit plans, teaching strategies, teaching of lessons, management of instruction, use of technology). Clinical Practices In the Teacher to Teacher Program, extended fifth-year program, elementary candidates complete the Early Experience at the beginning of the district school year and then continue to conduct their fall term methods field experiences in that same placement. If their winter term schedule permits, they continue weekly visits to their classroom. In spring, they conduct their full-time practicum in that classroom. Thus, they have a yearlong set of experiences, assisting in the class, teaching applied lessons, and eventually full-time teaching in the same setting. Secondary and language candidates complete the Early Experience, continue regular visits to their class in the fall and conduct their full-time practicum in the winter term. If their schedule permits, they continue regular visits to their class in the spring term. Again, they may have a yearlong experience in the same classroom, from the opening of school to the ending of school. In both four-year and extended fifth year programs, candidates become a part of the faculty community during their senior year experiences. They establish a relationship as “co-teacher” during Early Experience (rather than “practice” or “student”). They participate in grade or subject level team planning, attend after school functions, and participate in parent conferences. They are expected to experience the full gamut of teacher responsibilities, including assigned “duties”. In the Teacher to Teacher Program, it is particularly stressed that candidates are viewed by school administration and faculty as potential faculty members, thus encouraging an even closer relationship within the school during their senior year. Refer to Table 6 Field Experiences and Clinical Practice by Program for a synopsis of experiences, including number of hours. Collection of Data on Student Learning Refer to Requirements for Community, School, and Classroom Profiles. Examples may be reviewed in LiveText on-site. During the EDEP 170: Teaching Internship, candidates complete a Teacher Work Sample, as previously described in Standard One: Element 7. Experiences in Diverse P-12 Settings Reflection on Experiences and Practice Use of Information Technology Interaction with University Supervisors, Teachers, Peers Cooperating Teacher Selection Professional Qualifications
Professional Dispositions Training of Cooperating Teachers The other required training pertains to Furman University’s ADEPT Plan. While we require all cooperating teachers to be trained in ADEPT or PAS-T (one partner district’s ADEPT system), teacher preparation programs have responsibility for preparing candidates to know, understand, and demonstrate the ADEPT performance standards. Furman University, then, has its own system of assessment and evaluation, approved by the State Department of Education. The ADEPT training conducted is done so by program area and led by an ADEPT trained university supervisor. Refer to the most current Agenda for Early Experience Orientation, Agenda for ADEPT Training of Cooperating Teachers, and ADEPT Training Objectives. Signature sheets of teachers who attended the ADEPT training this year are available on site. Evaluation of Cooperating Teachers, Field Placements, and University Supervisors Programs for Continuing Preparation of Teachers and Other School Personnel Element 3: Candidates' Development and Demonstration of Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions to Help All Students Learn Programs for Initial Teacher (Undergraduates and Post-baccalaureate) Entry and Exit Criteria for Clinical Practice Use of Multiple Assessments Linked to Standards Commitment to Learning for All Students Meeting of Professional, State, and Institutional Standards in Clinical Practice Data on the last three years of ADEPT, indicate that all elementary candidates met or exceeded all standards by their final ADEPT conference. Growth between the mid-term and final conferences is noted in the majority of cases. During the last three years, all social studies candidates met or exceeded all standards by their final ADEPT conference, although it should be noted that the data from fall 2005 indicate a couple of weaker performing candidates than in previous years. Again, growth between the mid-term and final conferences is indicated. The most recent candidates in the sciences conducted their teaching internship in 2002-2003. That ADEPT data indicate all candidates met or exceeded all standards on mid-term and final conferences. Math candidates during the past two years have all met or exceeded all ADEPT standards on mid-term and final conferences. English certifiers, during the past two years, have all met or exceeded all ADEPT standards on mid-term and final conferences, with some growth noted between the two conferences. Language candidates during the past two years also have all met or exceeded all ADEPT standards at mid-term and final conferences. All candidates in music, during the past three years, have also met or exceeded all ADEPT standards at mid-term and final conferences, with growth noted between the two conference periods. Data on the last three years of ADEPT during the teaching internship indicate that all PE candidates met or exceeded all standards on their mid-term and final conferences. Of interest is the general trend to higher scores from 2003 to 2005, with all candidates receiving scores of “exceeded” all standards by 2005. Detailed tables of ADEPT data collected on all program candidates may be reviewed by program at ADEPT Intern Scores for 2003-2005 (Elementary, ELA, Languages, Music, Social Studies, Math, PE, Science). Further, candidates are expected to adhere to state curriculum standards in their lesson planning and implementation of instruction and assessment. All senior candidates utilize LiveText for lesson and unit planning, which permits them to link easily into South Carolina curriculum standards. Sample lesson and unit plans may be reviewed on site. Positive Effect on Student Learning |
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