1.  Complete application process for Phase III.  This includes the

      application and the initial interview with the Placement Office.

2.  Attend a Placement Information Meeting – The candidates are

     required to attend a placement information meeting to receive

     information concerning their placements and procedures for their pre-

     practice visit.

3.  Complete a Pre-Practice Visit – Each intern is required to make

     proper arrangements for and complete visit(s) to the school(s) and

     mentor teacher(s) to whom he/she has been assigned for the

     professional semester.  Accordingly, arrange a minimum three-hour

     visit to discuss your teaching situation with each mentor teacher.

     Record these meetings on your time sheets.  Observe appropriate

     school protocol during these meetings in terms of appearance and

     attire.  Check to see if the principal would like to confer with you

     before you make your visit.  The pre-practice visit card is to be signed

     by each mentor teacher during visitations and returned by the intern to

     the Placement Coordinator as soon as the visit is completed. (See

     appendix for a listing of questions interns often ask to aid

     in the orientation to the school.)

4.  Attend an Orientation Meeting- The candidate is required to attend an

     orientation meeting to receive information concerning the professional

     semester’s guidelines and assignments. This meeting occurs the day

     prior to the beginning of internship. The actual date and time is

     announced at the Placement Information Meeting.

1.  Establish and Maintain an Internship II Notebook

The intern is required to keep a loose-leaf notebook during the semester as an assignment in ELED 495.  (See under assignmentsin handbook for requirements.)  The required elements are explained during the orientation meeting.  Your supervisor and your mentor teacher will check the notebook periodically during the semester. Have your notebook available each time your supervisor visits. The university supervisor assesses the notebook on a rubric during the final conference. (See appendix.)  The rubric is part of your permanent record.

Time sheets are necessary for certification purposes. They may be typed or handwritten. Examples and an extra form are provided in the appendix. Timesheets are also available on the Frostburg website. Supervisors will check time sheets for accuracy during their first visit and throughout the internship. The time sheets are maintained in the Internship II Notebook.

Establish a good rapport with your mentor teacher and the site coordinator. They will involve you in classroom and school-wide activities. (See appendix for a listing of possible PDS activities. PDS standards are also listed in the appendix.) Show you excitement and enthusiasm.

A lesson that is well-planned in advance will be a better lesson.  Candidates who are in the process of learning how to teach should expect to spend a great deal more time, effort, and care in planning lessons than experienced teachers need to spend.  The first few lessons in each new area should be planned cooperatively with the mentor teacher.  Later, the intern will take sole responsibility for developing the plans.  The plans should be completed well enough in advance for the mentor teacher to have an opportunity to check it before it is used in the classroom.  A twenty four hour advance notice is the usual.  Mentor teachers should initial the lesson plan when he/she has approved the plan.  Interns begin with detailed, long form plans on Taskstream.  (See the Appendix.) Then, when the mentor teacher and the supervisor agreee the intern may move to the shorter form of planning, interns use the shorter form on Taskstream.  Later in the semester, the interns may complete block plans or daily plans that are the plan format used by the mentor teacher.

Supervisors make initial visits during the first week of the internship. They check notebooks, sign time sheets, talk with mentor teachers, discuss your initial impressions, and set up a time for the first observation. Before the first observation, interns need to decide with their mentor teachers a topic for their teaching unit and begin gathering materials.  The supervisors conduct a minimum of 4 formal observations.  Usually the observations are of each of the major subject areas taught in elementary school: reading, math, science and social studies. Supervisors will also want to see technology integrated with one of the subject areas. A long detailed plan is required at each observation. Supervisors record information during the observations. They may use different observations forms during the semester. (See appendix for an example.)Usually immediately after the observation, the supervisor will conference with the intern.  Sometimes the conference includes the mentor teacher.  A written copy of the conference is provided either at the conclusion of the conference or shortly after.  A written copy is also given to the mentor teacher.  The university supervisor will keep the interns long lesson plan and a copy of the conference. Materials from two of the four formal observations are kept as part of the intern’s permanent record.

The University Supervisors will also conduct a Unit Interview. These interviews are conducted after the initial work on a unit is completed prior to the actual teaching of the unit.  This interview may be following an observation or at a separate time.  Usually the supervisor observes one of the unit lessons.  Additional formal and /or informal observations/visits may be made at the discretion of the supervisor or department. Often additional visits are concerning PDS activities. Have your notebook and long lesson plan available when the university supervisor visits you. 

The university supervisor will conduct two 3-way evaluations with the intern and the mentor teacher(s).  One will be held at the mid-point of the semester and one will be held at the end of the semester.  see the form in the appendix.  Early Childhood interns also have an addendum evaluation form.  This is also in the appendix.  There is a separate evaluation of the intern's mastery of content knowledge completed by the mentor teacher for program assessment for NCATE.  (See appendix.)

The planning and teaching of two five day or one ten day unit is the major requirement of ELED 495 Teaching Internship II class.  The overall purpose of the unit assignment is to guide interns in the development of their competency in long term planning, their use of assessments to guide instruction, and to evaluate the impact of their instruction upon the students in the class.  The assignment is explained during the orientation meeting and included in the handbook.  The interns meet with their university supevisor for an interview before the actual teaching of the unit.  The unit is assessed on a rubric by the university supervisor and the mentor teacher after the completion of the teaching of the unit.  The rubric is collected as part of the intern's permanent record.

Interns are expected to teach full time for 10 days with at least 5 consecutively. If interns are not teaching, they are to be observing, assisting their mentor teachers, or working with their mentor teachers on coursework that is tied to field work.  Full time teaching means assuming the normal responsibilities of the mentor teacher.  The mentor teacher may be present but assumes an assisting role or that of a team member.

The major assignment of the EDUC 422 Leadership Seminar is the completion of a professional portfolio.  Each intern prepares a portfolio documenting the six unit outcomes:  Dedicated Professional, Instructional Leader, Continuous Assessor, Collaborative Bridge Builder, Educational Advocate, Reflective Decision-Maker.  The interns present the portfolio for assessment during Portfolio Night at the end of the Intern II semester.  Assessors are Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty, Educational Professions faculty, and Public School faculty.  Details of the portfolio will be discussed during Leadership seminar.  A copy of the rubric used for the portfolio assessment is in the appendix.  One third of the rubric pertains to impact on students.

By the date listed on the semester calendar, the following completed documents must be received by the university supervisor:

a.  Approval of Notebook Rubric
b.  Daily Time Sheets and Summary Sheets
c.  Mid and Final Evaluation Form(s)
d.  Early Childhood Addendum, if applicable
e.  Mentor Teacher Evaluation Regarding Candidate's Mastery of Content Knowledge
f.  Unit Assessment Rubric
g.  Listing of PDS Activities

The completed forms will be placed in the candidate's file in the Office of Unit Assessment.  (See appendix for checklist for permanent folders.)

Candidates often establish and maintain a credential file during Internship II.  It is a helpful service.  There is a $20.00 fee for the service.  To establish the credential file, the candidate should contact:

Dr. Robbie Cordle, Director
Office of Career Services
Frostburg State University
(301) 687- 4403