STANDARD 3: FIELD EXPERIENCES AND CLINICAL PRACTICE
The unit and its school partners design, implement, and evaluate field experiences and clinical practice so that teacher candidates and other school professionals develop and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions necessary to help all students learn.
3.1 Field Experiences and Clinical Practice
How does the unit work with the school partners to deliver field experiences and clinical practice to enable candidates to develop the knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions to help all students learn?
3a. Collaboration between Unit and School Partners
The unit, school partners, and other members of the professional community design, deliver, and evaluate field experiences and clinical practice to help candidates develop the knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions required to become effective educators. In design, the unit and school partners identify and approve the placement of candidates in field experience and clinical teaching to afford candidates appropriate teaching/learning experiences with master teachers in varied contexts. Field and clinical teaching experiences provide opportunities for candidates, university supervisors, and university faculty to work collaboratively with teachers and administrators in P-12 settings. The delivery and evaluation of these experiences are conducted in partnership between the unit and P-12 placements. Coursework provides foundational knowledge and skills for candidates that compliments their observations and participation in P-12 settings and provides opportunities for discussion of real-world experiences or practices within the higher-education classroom. Assessment by the course instructor or university supervisor and the cooperating teacher accompanies each field and clinical teaching experience.
The Teacher Education Council (TEC) reviews all policies & procedures related to the field experiences & clinical teaching. The Director of Teacher Education, Certification & Field Experiences (Director of TE) & the Director of Graduate Programs (Director of GP) are responsible for placement of candidates for field experiences at initial and advanced level, respectively. Placements for candidates include opportunities to work with learners from various ethnicities & cultural groups, children living with exceptionalities, schools representing a range of socioeconomic statuses, rural, and urban populations.
The principal is usually the initial contact. Via email, candidate information & cooperating teacher requirements are shared. Copies of correspondences are placed in the files of the candidates kept in the Director of TE's office. A spreadsheet of field experiences & clinical teaching placements is also maintained.
Candidates may request three options for placement sites for field experiences and/or clinical teaching. For advanced level field experiences, placements are based on candidates' employment sites. Candidates who are not teachers give the instructor three options of sites. Educators hosting candidates must be certified & should have at least three years of experience in the area of certification, as verified by the principal.
3b. Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Field Experiences and Clinical Practice
In initial, professional education programs require field experiences in four courses. One course is taken prior to admission in Teacher Education with others sequenced throughout the programs. In total, candidates spend a minimum of 60 field experience hours in public school settings, 15 hours per placement, prior to completing the semester of clinical teaching. Requiring candidates to complete clinical teaching in two placements during one semester provides candidates the opportunity to apply content, pedagogical knowledge, skills, & professional dispositions in varied contexts. In addition to 60hours of field experience & prior to clinical teaching, some courses require additional observation, tutoring, & service learning projects. These service learning projects provide candidates with increased opportunities to work with students, educators, & the community. Documentation of all field experiences are required.
In the final semester of the senior year, initial candidates concurrently enroll in ED 4002 Education Seminar: Clinical Practice & ED 4270 Clinical Practice Elementary or ED 4280 Clinical Practice Secondary. In ED 4002, candidates are given information & materials to assist them in their clinical teaching experience: Clinical Teaching Handbook, portfolio requirements, & clinical teaching schedule. This course outlines the expectations, dispositions & responsibilities for candidates as pre-professional educators. Additionally, the course emphasizes the importance of collaboration with fellow clinical teachers, assigned cooperating teachers, building administrators, university supervisor, & families.
In assessing clinical teaching, three formal evaluative & mentoring sessions utilizing a formative assessment instrument are required of the university supervisor & of the cooperating teacher during each of the two placements. The sessions require the assessor to observe a lesson or teaching/learning experience conducted by the clinical teacher, complete the formative assessment form, & meet with the clinical teacher at the completion of lesson/experience. The meeting provides opportunities to discuss the evaluation, highlighting strengths & providing instruction/support for areas needing strengthening. The university supervisor & cooperating teacher also completes one summative general assessment & one SPA-specific assessment based on the information collected during the three formal evaluative & mentoring sessions. During the initial visit by the Director of TE or university supervisor the observation instruments are discussed with the cooperating teacher & with the clinical teacher.
The Educational Leadership Plan of Study includes five courses with required field experiences. In advanced field experiences, candidates observe, analyze, diagnose, & solve problems. They are required to document experiences emphasizing these skills & reflection. In the Educational Leadership program, each candidate is expected to work under the supervision of a building administrator for one semester, a minimum of 90 hours. Administrators assign administrative duties to candidates, serve as mentors, & assess the progress of the candidates. The university supervisor/course instructor oversees the field experience & provides the final grade.
3c. Candidates' Development and Demonstration of Knowledge, Skills, and Professional Dispositions to Help All Students Learn
Candidates show evidence of student learning & demonstrate the belief that all students can learn as evidenced through the use of formative, summative, & SPA-specific clinical teaching evaluations.
In field experiences & clinical teaching, candidates demonstrate their abilities to work with students of varying abilities, ethnicities, cultures, & backgrounds. Through interaction with students in the P-12 setting, specific criteria on the field & clinical teaching experiences assessments & the Disposition Evaluation provide evidence of candidates' abilities to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, & professional dispositions necessary to help all students learn. Prior to the adoption of the Disposition Evaluation created following the revision & adoption of the current conceptual framework in spring 2014, dispositions were evaluated based on interview criteria collected during faculty interviews held with candidates seeking admittance in Teacher Education & Clinical Teaching & select criteria from summative clinical teaching evaluations (generalized & SPA-specific).
At the advanced level, the design, implementation, & assessment of field experiences provide opportunities for candidates to demonstrate standards-based content, pedagogical knowledge, and professionalism. Candidates collect data on student learning, analyze & reflect on the data, & develop learning improvement strategies based on the courses for which field experiences are required.
3.2 Moving Toward Target or Continuous Improvement
Please respond to 3.2.a if this is the standard on which the unit is moving to the target level. If it is not the standard on which you are moving to the target level, respond to 3.2.b.
3.2.a Standard on which the unit is moving to the target level
Describe areas of the standard at which the unit is currently performing at the target level for each element of the standard. Summarize activities and their impact on candidate performance and program quality that have led to target level performance. Discuss plans and timelines for attaining and/or sustaining target level performance as articulated in this standard.
n/a
3.2.b Continuous Improvement
Summarize activities and changes based on data that have led to continuous improvement of candidate performance and program quality. Discuss plans for sustaining and enhancing performance through continuous improvement as articulated in this standard. Changes leading to continuous improvement of candidate performance and program quality and plans for sustaining and enhancing performance through continuous improvement include the following:
The Advisory Council was established in Spring 2015. This Council meets once each semester to solicit input from stakeholders inside and outside of the TEU. Members include public school administrators and teachers, LU graduates, TEU faculty, Nursing faculty, and LU administration. The TEU, its school partners, and other members of the professional community are working collaboratively to design and evaluate field experiences and clinical practice to help candidates develop their knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions. Meetings are conducted simultaneously in person and via ITV. Incorporating these two methods allows for members who are close to LU-Langston to attend in person and those who live or work in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas to attend without having to drive long distances. The Advisory Council has been charged with the task of reviewing and commenting on program and unit documents, assessment instruments, and data. The goal is to support on-going partnerships and to assist the TEU in preparing graduates who possess the skills, knowledge, and personal attributes required for professional success.
The TEU has outlined entry and exit criteria for clinical practice in the Clinical Teaching handbook and for advanced candidates' field experiences in the Graduate Handbook. Currently, processes, procedures, assessment instruments, and handbooks are being reviewed to ensure alignment with the conceptual framework (revised and approved spring 2014) and professional dispositions delineated in institution, state, and national standards, specifically InTASC. The unit is in the process of reviewing and refining its assessment instruments to improve assessment and understanding of candidates' knowledge of their content or subject matter, teaching effectiveness, and abilities to help all students learn. The admission interviews, field experiences, and clinical teaching instruments are being reviewed to identify consistency of scales, ensure criteria is aligned with current standards, review verbiage to ensure criteria are observable and measureable, and ensure consistent formatting. These instruments will be complete and ready for implementation beginning fall 2015. On going review of the instruments will be part of the Curriculum Committee and Advisory Committee at the close of each semester.
The revised Plans of Study (to be implemented fall 2015) allowed for changes to the timing and courses associated with field experiences. Field experiences will now increase participation of candidates, progressing from observers to observer-participants to participants in which candidates assume an appropriate level of responsibility for integrating coursework, assisting, tutoring, and instructing. These experiences, in addition to service learning projects, provide candidates opportunities to interact with families of students and assist teachers or other school professionals prior to clinical practice. Servicelearning projects are connected to content courses and occur in varied settings. For example, Math Educuation candidates provide math tutoring in a rural community after school; English Education candidates assist in remedial classes on campus; and Early Childhood Education candidates participate in the NAEYC accredited Early Childhood Development Laboratory.
Additional plans for sustaining and enhancing performance through continuous improvement include
• the addition of an informative meeting for cooperating teachers prior to candidate placement, a feedback meeting with clinical teachers, cooperating teachers, and university supervisors after clinical teaching to solicit input regarding the experience, assignments, and assessments.
• updating the Memoranda of Understanding from districts and other partners.
• exploring the use of PASS-PORT to document and track field and clinical experiences for initial and advanced candidates.
• outlining criteria for school faculty and clinical faculty.
• requiring the completion of the Teacher Work Sample during clinical teaching to assist in the evaluation of candidates' skills, knowledge, and professional dispositions. This signature artifact, along with clinical teaching evaluations, provides the unit evidence of candidates' abilities to apply course work in classroom settings, analyze P–12 student learning, and reflect on their practice. The TWS is a PASS-PORT signature artifact and is required of all candidates during their clinical teaching experiences beginning spring 2015. The addition of a video component to the TWS is planned for implementation in fall 2015 to increase candidates' abilities to reflect, identify areas of strengths and opportunities for improvement in teaching, and analyze behaviors related to the ideal of fairness and the belief that all students can learn. The TWS allows candidates to directly demonstrate student learning and reflect on the effects of choices (i.e. instructional strategies) and actions (i.e. relationships) on others.
• The Disposition Evaluation (approved spring 2014) allows for candidates' self-evaluation and the evaluation of candidate dispositions during field experiences and clinical teaching.
3.3 Areas for Improvement Cited in the Action Report from the Previous Accreditation Review
Summarize activities, processes, and outcomes in addressing each of the AFIs cited for the initial and/or advanced program levels under this standard.
There were no areas for improvement cited for Standard 3 in the Action Report from the previous accreditation review.
3.4 Exhibits
3.4.a Examples across programs of collaborative activities between unit and P-12 schools to support the design, implementation, and evaluation of field experiences and clinical practice, including memoranda of understanding
3.4.a MOU Tulsa Public Schools
3.4.b Aggregate data on candidate placement in field experiences and clinical practice (Data should be disaggregated by program and level regardless of location or method of delivery)
3.4.b Candidate Clinical Teaching Placements 2013-2014
3.4.b Field Experience Demographics
3.4.c Criteria for the selection of clinical faculty, which includes both higher education and P–12 school faculty
3.4.c Selection of Cooperating Teachers
3.4.d Examples of support and evaluation of clinical faculty across programs
3.4.e Guidelines/ handbooks on field experiences and clinical practice for candidates, and clinical faculty, including support provided by the unit and opportunities for feedback and reflection
3.4.e Clinical Teaching Handbook: 9.2.2014 (Field Exp handbooks available in Std 1)
3.4.e Courses requiring Field Experience and Service Learning
3.4.e Graduate Practicum Placement Documents
3.4.f Assessment instruments and scoring guides used for and data collected from field experiences and clinical practice for all programs, including use of technology for teaching and learning (These assessments may be included in program review documents or the exhibits for Standard 1. Cross reference as appropriate.)
3.4.f Summative Assessment Instrument for Clinical Teaching (for SPA-specific see Std 1.a)
3.4.f Formative Assessment Instrument for Clinical Teaching
3.4.f Assessment Instrument for Field Experiences University Supervisor
3.4.f Assessment Instrument for Field Experiences Cooperating Teacher
3.4.g Aggregate data on candidates entering and exiting from clinical practice for all programs (These assessments may be included in program review documents or the exhibits for Standard 1. Cross reference as appropriate.)
3.4.g & 3.4.f Clincial Teaching Evaluations
3.4.g & 3.4.f Field Experience Evaluations
3.4.g & 3.4.f Admission Interviews