The Evergreen State College

Master in Teaching Program

Multiple Voices in Democratic Education:

Language, Literacy, & Social Transformation

Winter/Spring 2005 Field Guidelines

OVERVIEW

            Wednesdays are devoted to learning in public schools and the community. School placements for Winter will continue through Spring quarter and progress to where you will teach lessons in your assigned classroom(s). 

            You are to arrive at your school site at the time teachers are required to be at the school (generally 20-30 minutes prior to the actual start of classes).  You should plan to be at your school with your assigned classroom teacher all day each Wednesday (see syllabus for schedule).  During these weekly classroom visits, you are expected to collaborate with your teacher to determine how you might best be incorporated into the activities of the classroom as a “teacher’s assistant.”  The expectation is that you will begin to be directly involved in roles that are connected to the teacher’s teaching responsibilities, particularly working directly with students

The exception to this requirement is when you gather community data and conduct interviews with school staff and (see Week 5 due date for list of interviews & specific questions).  Do not leave all of your interviews to Week 5 – it is impossible to complete them in one day!   Therefore, plan ahead and schedule your interviews.  If more than one MIT student is at your school, plan to do your interviews together so that individuals won’t be asked the same questions more than once.  Ideally you should also be given time within your classroom to begin completing your field assignments as listed below.

            Additionally, you are expected to attend no later than March 9  (a) a school parent-teacher organization meeting or school site council meeting and (b) a school board meeting (see school office for schedule of meetings).  You must include in your field journal the agenda for the meetings you attended and your reflections on the meeting based on what you have been learning in this program.

            NOTE:  For these two quarters you will need a separate portfolio (or a large program portfolio) with notebook dividers to separate categories/assignments below.  All prompts listed below by week and for interviews must have written responses that are put in your portfolio.  To complete these assignments, you will often need to ask various school personnel for information and documents.

Due:

·         Friday, February 4: Current field notebook for mid-quarter evaluation

·         Friday, March 11: Final field notebook for Winter Quarter for end-of-quarter evaluation

ASSIGNMENTS

Week Two (Jan. 12):

In order to get a sense of the variety of daily experiences – classes, playground/lunchroom duty, planning period, etc. – that one teacher has, the first week is an opportunity for you to get acquainted with your teacher.   In addition to noting the flow of the teacher's daily schedule, you should devote this observation session to following last quarter's first observation assignment on describing the classroom environment (see  Fall guidelines).  Because the physical environment includes curriculum materials, you must add to this a request to examine textbooks and other resources (including any educational software for the computer) that the teacher uses. Note the names/publishers of these books or software.

As is the case for each assignment, all of this information must be recorded into your field notebook.

Week Three (Jan. 19):  

1.         Cultural diversity & education

·         How does the school curriculum include a focus on issues of power and privilege through examples in history, art, science, and other disciplines?

·         How are structural changes being made in the school to make it a more affirming and just environment for students from different racial, ethnic, cultural, language, and social class groups?

·         What changes are being made in teaching strategies to accommodate students from different racial, ethnic, cultural language, and social class groups? [1]

·         What community and school resources exist to support cultural diversity and equity?

2.         School-community demographics

·         What are the demographics of your school/school district?  Note race, class, and immigrant/English language learner populations/percentages.  

·         How do these school demographic figures compare to what you have been able to gather about the community in which the school district is located?

Week Four (Jan. 26):

1.      Arrange to talk to your teacher about his/her lesson plans for the day. Determine what assessment approaches the teacher uses to evaluate students.  Compare/contrast these assessment procedures to what you have learned from reading Stiggins.

2.         As part of your content area observations, consult with the classroom teacher and the EALRs to determine under which EALRs the curriculum is organized. 

Weeks Four (Jan. 26) & Five (Feb. 2):

1.         In relation to your readings in The Inclusive Classroom: Strategies for Effective Instruction and Readings on the Development of Children thus far, analyze what you are observing about the students in your classroom.

2.         For elementary school and middle/high school observations, the following notes describe observation differences you.

·         Elementary: 

Observe and describe what approaches the teacher is using for teaching mathematical concepts and reading.  Describe what mathematical concepts are being taught and how are they being taught. Describe as closely as you can what the teacher says and the kinds of resources used by the children.  When you observe reading, describe what the students are reading and how the teacher organizes the reading/word recognition/comprehension experiences.  Note as to whether or not oral language skills are being taught.

·         Middle School/High School:

Observe and describe the content focus of the teaching in each class period. That is to say, what specific content is the teacher having the students address? What are the teacher’s learning objectives for that class and how were they met? What was his/her teaching approach? What resources were used? What perspectives were introduced? Questions posed? If tests were given, what kind? What take-home or in‑class assignments were given?  What were students’ responses to these activities?  What was their level of engagement?

Ask your teacher if you might borrow a copy of the textbook used in the class in order to study the content that is provided.

Completed no later than Week 5 (Feb. 2):

You will interview various school personnel to learn about school-community resources/connections/perspectives.  Some of the items overlap between the school and the community.  Note:  If more than one of you is assigned to the same school, please do the interviews together.

The following is a list of individuals by mid-quarter who you must interview and transcribe (legibly) into your field journal:

·         Your classroom teacher:

How does the classroom teacher define his/her role as a teacher?  What are the teacher’s hope for each of his/her students over an academic year or semester?  What resources within the school does the teacher have access to? What resources (both human & material) within the community does the teacher have access to and use?  What is the school’s procedure when the teacher purchases instructional and curricular supplies?  What is the school’s budget for such purchases?  As related to school matters, when and how does your teacher interact with parents and community members? 

·         Principal:

Have a conversation with the principal about what the principal's various roles are in the school; the school's philosophy, the socio‑economic and racial profile of the student body, the principal’s approach to working with parents and the local community, what he/she feels are important points for you to pay attention to as someone who is preparing to be a classroom teacher.  What should new teachers know about what support/expectations a principal might give or have? How does the school work with children with special needs?

·         Vice-principal (or, if no vice-principal, ask the principal):

How does the school promote a sense of community within the school for students? teachers? parents? community members?  What, if any, community support resources does the school use to help develop a sense of community within the school?  What is the school’s approach to classroom management?  What is the school’s philosophy and practice in regards to disruptive student behavior?  Is there any pattern regarding the “type” of student who is most often involved in disruptive behavior?  What, if any, community support resources does the school use to help students who habitually display disruptive behavior?  What other kinds of concerns does the vice-principal have about students who have difficulty achieving in the school?

·         (a) Media/technology specialist (or teacher with recognized skills in computers/media) and (b) Librarian:

What kinds of educational technology does the school have? How much are they used by teachers? What specific software is available at the school and is most often used?  How are computers used in the school? Are they hooked up to e‑mail, Internet, for student use?  What kinds of programs does the library have that relate to what the students are doing in their studies? In what ways does the librarian work with teachers? How do books and videos get selected for the school library? How are students oriented to use the resources of the library?  Are there any use of community resources to support the learning goals of students?  If so, what?

·         Special needs classroom teacher/consultant:

How does this school integrate children with special needs into the overall program? What need categories are there in the current school population, including your assigned classroom?  What is the school’s process for identifying students with special needs?  Who participates in the creation of the Individual Education Plan (IEP)? How do the special needs teachers collaborate with other teachers? What do classroom teachers generally do to incorporate these students into their regular classes? Does your district have students with certain needs clustered in a separate program within one designated school?  Does the district depend on any resources outside the school in helping students with special needs and their parents and teachers?  If so, what?

·         School counselor:

What are the most common issues/problems the counselor works with at your particular teaching grade levels?  What does the counselor spend most of his/her on‑the‑job time doing?  How closely do they work with teachers and on what kinds of things?  What role do they have in working children with special needs and their families?  Does the counselor depend on any resources outside the school in helping students and teachers?  If so, what?  What is the school’s ration of counselors to students?

·         English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teacher (at school, school district, or local Educational Service District – check with your teacher or principal):

How does the ESL teacher conceive of his or her role?  What does the ESL teacher consider his/her teaching and assessment priority?  In what ways does this teacher collaborate with other staff and community members?  How is instruction scheduled and structured for ESL students?  What resources from the community does this teacher use? In what ways are ESL students supported in your school or school district?

·         School secretary

What tasks demand the most time of the school secretary?  In what ways does he/she perceive him/herself supporting the academic mission of the school?  How would he/she describe the school’s climate?

·         School custodian

What tasks demand the most time of the school custodian?  In what ways does he/she perceive him/herself supporting the academic mission of the school?   would he/she describe the school’s climate?

Week Six (Feb. 9): No observation – Conference paper writing/meeting with your faculty reader.

Week Seven (Feb. 16):

1.         Consider instructional conceptions and methodologies intended to engage students in learning.

·         How could/do the approaches of Dewey & Teaching the Best Practice Way: Methods that Matter K-12 to school & community for student learning apply to the community in which your  school is located? 

·         What community resources could be used to support these approaches?  Be specific as possible with actual examples.

2.         IMPORTANT FOR SPRING QUARTER: Begin determining with your teacher when in late April/early May would be the best time/date for you to teach 3 lessons that  you will be designing at the beginning of Spring quarter.  You must determine the specific content you will be teaching with your supervising teacher.  Your Spring Quarter teaching “contract” is due to your seminar faculty no later than March 3.  The contract is located in the Appendix of this document.

Week eight  (Feb. 23):

·         In what ways are parents and community members involved in your classroom? 

·         Compare and contrast strategies form Involving Latino Families in School.

Week Nine (March 2):

1.         Compare and contrast classroom management strategies to those in The Art of Classroom Management.

2.         Reminder:  Spring teaching “contract due to your faculty no later than Thursday, March 3.

Week ten  (March 9):

1.         What are the specific teaching strategies used to promote and teach egalitarianism? [2]

2.         Based on what you have been learning from your studies in reading (Weaver text, workshops, seminars), compare/contrast this learning to what you have been observing & learning in your classroom.

Completed no later than Week 10 (March 9):

Attend (a) a school parent-teacher organization meeting or school site council meeting and (b) a school board meeting (see school office for schedule of meetings).

Continuing into Spring Quarter…

            Attached to these guidelines are the performance-based assessment rubrics for which you will be assessed for the lessons you design and present.  The rubrics are from the Master in Teaching Program Student Teaching Handbook.  The lessons are expected to reflect principles of multicultural education that you have gained specifically from Banks’ Cultural Diversity and Education: Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching.  You must also include what community resources exist that can support your lessons.

Additional information/timelines will be provided to you at the beginning of the Spring Quarter. Examples of additional prompts will include:

·         Teaching students with special needs within the regular class classroom

How are IEP goals and objectives being met within the classroom?

·         Gender & sexual orientation equity

What community and school resources exist to support gender & sexual orientation equity?

·         Sex/sexuality education

What community and school resources exist to support gender & sexual orientation equity?  What are the school’s/school district’s policies on the teaching of sex and sexuality education?

·         Social & economic class

In what ways do you observe social & economic class having learning and social effects in your practicum classroom/school?

J  Assessment rubrics for “Planning and Preparation,” “Instruction,” and “Reflection on Teaching” [3]   in the Appendix of this document.

APPENDIX

1.  “Spring Quarter 2005 Teaching Agreement”

2.  “Minimum Components of the Teacher Candidate’s Lesson Plan”

3.  Student Teaching Handbook: Domains 1-3