The candidate is expected to successfully complete all field assignments listed in the ELED 494 syllabus and the field assignments of each of the Internship I courses.
- ELED 494 Field Assignments: All assignments are explained in the ELED 494 syllabus. Materials for these assignments are provided in the PreK-9 Field Experience Materials website.
- 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 in at the website.
- Maintain daily time sheets. All observation, non-instructional and teaching activities should be documented on the Internship I 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.
- Full participation in daily activities of the PDS. Interns should document their PDS activities on the Record of Professional Development School Activities/Experiences. This form will also be used to document the PDS activities in Internship II.
- Complete requirements for teaching (minimum of 5 full days) and supervisor observations (minimum of 2 observations). A minimum of five full days of teaching is required, with three 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 6 week experience, the university supervisor will conduct a minimum of 2 formal observations.
- Provide evidence of daily lesson planning. Intern I candidates should be involved in daily teaching across the 6 weeks. The number and content of all lessons for Intern I’s will be determined by the mentor teacher. Interns should have a lesson plan for every teaching experience. The lesson plans included in the Field Experience Notebook section would represent a sample of all the lessons written during the 6 week experience and since Intern I candidates are engaging in both long lesson planning and short lesson planning, examples of both types of lessons should be included in in Section 5 of the Field Experience Notebook (hard copy or TS electronic).
- Complete Internship I Instructional Unit. Interns should consult their mentor teacher to determine the topic and timeline for the unit during the Induction/Preparation Days. Additional information and materials related to the unit are located at the Materials website.
- 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.
- 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)
- 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.
2. Coursework During Internship I - Classes do not meet during the 6 week Internship I experience. These courses meet the required time for a 3 credit course by extending the length of classes during the first part of the semester. Also, some Friday seminar classes are utilized as course time. Candidates are expected to complete field-related course assignments during the Internship I experience. The requirements for these assignments are briefly described later in this appendix. Additional details will be provided by course instructors before the field experience.
REED 425 Materials and Motivations for Reading. A reading interest inventory is to be created, administered and analyzed. Based on analysis of the inventory results, the intern will create a Children’s Library Proposal to be assessed by the instructor. These assignments will be further explained and assessed by the instructor.
REED 420 Assessment for Reading Instruction. During the initial visit, interns will be required to interview either a mentor teacher/classroom reading teacher OR the school’s reading specialist about the literacy assessments used in the classroom or school environment. This interview will be used in a later assignment. During the Internship I, the intern will compile a literacy assessment notebook, consisting of a variety of assessments collected for and administered with one selected student in the field classroom. The purpose of this assignment is to develop the candidate’s skills in informal and formal assessment administration, analysis and interpretation. These assignments will be further explained and assessed by the instructor.
Note: EC/ELEM majors taking ECED 431: ECE Curriculum & Assessment and ELEM/MID candidates taking EDUC 445: Middle School Curriculum and Methods will have specific Internship I field assignments. These assignments will be described in detail by the respective instructor.