ELED 495 Field Assignments

Interns are expected to complete all the field assignments associated with ELED 495 and the Internship II field experience. All assignments are explained in the ELED 495 Syllabus. Materials for these assignments are listed in the OFCE Handbook and the PreK-9 Field Experience Materials website.

1. Establish and maintain a Field Experience Notebook. Interns should follow the stated criteria for the notebook, formatted into a hard-copy binder or electronic folio on Taskstream. This assignment will be graded by the supervisor following the final conference. Special focus should be placed on the collection of evidence in the “Impact on Learners” Notebook section for this experience. See the full assignment criteria at the Materials site.
2. Maintain daily time sheets. All observation, non-instructional and teaching activities should be documented on the Internship II Time Record. These records could be typed or handwritten in chart form. Supervisors should initial dates for observation. Only induction/preparation days, internship days and make up days should be documented on the time sheets.
3. Full participation in daily activities of the PDS.  Interns should document their PDS activities on the Record of Professional Development School Activities/Experiences during Internship II continuing the form from Internship I if the internship placement is in the same school. A new form is needed with a new school placement.
4. Complete teaching requirements (minimum of 10 full days) and supervisor observations (minimum of 4 observations). A minimum of ten full days of teaching is required, with five days being consecutive. Content and schedule for teaching should be determined in collaboration with the mentor teacher. 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.  During these days, interns should fulfill all the responsibilities of their mentor teacher. The mentor teacher may be present but assumes an assisting role. During the 14 week experience, the university supervisor will conduct a minimum of 4 formal observations.
5. Provide evidence of daily lesson planning.Interns should have a lesson plan for every teaching experience. Long plan format should be used initially until skills in lesson planning have been fully demonstrated. Intern II”s may use short form and block planning following approval from the mentor teacher and university supervisor.
6. Design and implement Internship II Instructional Unit The planning and teaching of one instructional unit, comprise of at least 5 lessons, is the major requirement of ELED 495 Teaching Internship II class.  The unit’s format and requirements will align with the EdTPA requirements as well as additional program requirements. 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 detailed criteria and evaluation rubric are included in this appendix. The intern must meet with their university supervisor and mentor teacher for an interview before the actual teaching of the unit and one unit lesson should be formally observed by the Supervisor. 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
7. Engage in positive Home-School communication. Candidates are required and expected to develop and maintain positive relationships between the home and classroom environments. Drafts of any formal communication to families must be reviewed and approved by the mentor teacher, school principal and the university supervisor before any documents or links are finalized and sent home. Candidates should use effective written communication techniques in any communication and are to be especially attentive to tone, spelling, grammar and mechanics in their written communication with families and caregivers.  During Intern II, candidates will prepare and distribute two communication documents (letter, newsletter, address for webpage, etc) during each field experience.
   1. Introduction - This introductory item should include a clear photo, the candidate’s full name and personal information relevant to their program and the field experience. It must be distributed by the second week of the field experience and could include the release form (see OFCE handbook and this Appendix)
   2. Unit Information-  This informational piece will be shared in conjunction with the intern’s unit and at a minimum should include a description and timeline for the unit, a list of related resources for parents/caregivers, and directions for a related home-based activity. This document should be distributed prior to or during the first week of the unit.

ELED 495 Evaluation Requirements

Visits/Observations by University Supervisors

Each candidate will be assigned a University Supervisor. This supervisor will conduct a minimum of 4 formal observations. The supervisor may conduct additional observations or make additional visits.

1. Candidates should expect an initial visit from the supervisor during the first week of the internship.  They check notebooks, sign time sheets, talk with mentor teachers and discuss progress on field assignments. If it is the fall semester, the supervisor will discuss your induction experience. During this “Hello” visit, the supervisor will establish a time for the first observation and will probably conference with the mentor teacher.  The supervisor may review procedures with the intern about the post-observation conference. Before the first observation, interns need to decide with their mentor teachers a topic for their teaching unit and begin gathering materials.
2. The first observation should be scheduled toward the beginning of the Internship II experience.  Usually at least one lesson from each of the major subject areas taught in elementary school are observed: reading, math, science and social studies. Supervisors will also want to see technology integrated with one of the subject areas. A long, detailed lesson plan will be expected for the first observation.  Following the observation, will hold a short conference with the intern, in order to provide immediate feedback on the intern's teaching. Supervisors provide written comments concerning the observation either at the conclusion of the conference or shortly after. Sometimes the conference includes the mentor teacher.  A written copy of the conference is provided to the intern and the mentor teacher either at the conclusion of the conference or shortly after.  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. After the first observation, the supervisor will set a time for a second observation. 
3. Three additional observations will be scheduled and conducted during the Internship II experience. At least one observation will be completed during the interns unit teaching. After the second observation, the time for the three-way midpoint evaluation conference will be set.  Note that additional observations beyond the minimum requirement may be made at the discretion of the supervisor.

Evaluation Conference

The university supervisor will conduct two evaluation conferences with the candidate and the mentor teacher at the mid-point and the end of the internship.  At these evaluations checkpoints, the Intern Performance Rating and the Professional Dispositions and Responsibilities Rating must be completed. The Early Childhood/Elementary/Middle Grades Addendum (dependent on placement grade level) is to be completed at the final evaluation only.   Once the midpoint and final evaluation conferences are scheduled, the intern should complete the self evaluation and provide his/her mentor/supervisor with his/her results prior to the conference. All parties should take part in the conference and sign the forms at the conclusion. These evaluation forms are collected by the supervisor and submitted to the university at the end of the internship.

Internship Paperwork

By the end of the semester, completed evaluation results must be collected by the university supervisor, for entry on Taskstream. Interns are responsible for completing and submitting the following items in the Internship II folio on Taskstream

• Internship Experience Summary – Signatures required
• PDS Experiences and Activities Form
• Link to Field Experience Notebook – For access to time record forms