TEACHER CANDIDACY

TEACHER CANDIDACY

BENCHMARK II

Teacher Candidacy

Educator Preparation Program Progression Requirements and Assessments

Determining Candidates Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions

Liability Insurance

Candidates are required to become members of the Texas State Teachers Association Student Program. The Texas State Teachers Association is affiliated with the National Education Association. Therefore, they qualify for NEA/TSTA-SP’s liability coverage insurance every time they step into a school.

POLICIES PERTAINING TO FIELD EXPERIENCE

Guidelines for Candidates enrolled in Field Experience

The candidate should:

Begin the field experience as soon as the placement is received.

Introduce themselves to the cooperating teacher and the school principal.

Exchange contact information (email, telephone number) with the cooperating teacher and field experience mentor.

Work out a schedule with the cooperating teacher to observe and interact with the students. If required to teach lessons, work out a schedule to teach these lessons. Be sure to include the Field Experience Mentor in the scheduling of these lessons.

Stick to the schedule. If a day must be missed because of illness, an emergency, or participating in an athletic event, notify the cooperating teacher immediately. Athletes should provide their cooperating teacher with a copy of their athletic schedule.

Dress professionally when attending the placement. Do not wear anything too tight, short, or revealing. No flip flops. No high heels. No jeans, leggings, or sweat pants. No shirts with inappropriate logos/sayings, no gum, etc. Cover tattoos. No piercings (except ears for female students) with small earrings. Please look like a well-dressed professional teacher, not a student.

Please lock cell phones away or out of sight. They have no place in the classroom. In the event of an emergency please give family members the number of the school.

Follow all rules and regulations of the school.

Explain to the cooperating teacher of the need to spend time interacting with the students not just sitting and observing.  Texas Education Agency requires interactive field placements. This means: Work with an individual student, small group or with the whole class.

Keep the time sheet up to date and have the cooperating teacher date and sign it each time he or she attends.

Provide the cooperating teacher with all forms required and collect them when appropriate.

When teaching lessons, explain to the cooperating teacher in advance that he or she must complete an assessment for each lesson taught.

Work with the cooperating teacher in planning the lesson. Ask for feedback after the lesson is taught. Include the discussion questions in the conversation with the field experience mentor.

Schedule lessons and notify the instructor and/or Field Experience Mentor who will observe, if the candidate is not videotaping the lesson. The candidate should submit the lesson plan to the Field Experience Mentor observing them at least 24 hours in advance of teaching the lesson.  The field Experience Mentor must approve the lesson.

After teaching a lesson, complete the self-assessment and bring it, along with the cooperating teacher’s assessment, and to the follow-up conference with the Field Experience Mentor.

Be open to feedback from the cooperating teacher and Field Experience Mentor. They are both in place to help improve the candidate’s teaching skills.

Complete the reflection tasks that need to be completed and submitted to the Field Experience Mentor.

Complete all observation hours and/or lessons, and turn in all forms according to the timeline specified by the Field Experience Mentor.

When reporting to the school, present the Wiley College identification and officially sign in and out at the office for each observation. The school may require a visitor’s name tag.

Treat all information learned about individuals or schools in the instructional setting as CONFIDENTIAL!

Notify their Field Experience Mentor of any problems encountered during the field experience.

Be aware that each placement can be terminated by the school site personnel, course instructor, or Dean when it is deemed to be in the best interest of the student, school, or learners.

Enjoy the field experience!

Guidelines for Cooperating Teachers

All cooperating teachers are certified teachers who have at least three years of experience and professional status. It is under the cooperating teacher’s guidance that the candidate completes required observation hours and, in some cases, teaches one or more lessons. The candidate should meet with the cooperating teacher as soon as possible after the placement has been made to exchange contact information and determine a schedule for completing field experience hours. The candidate may come to observe during other weeks when his/her schedule and the school’s schedules permit. Cooperating teachers should welcome the candidate and allow him/her to interact with students whenever appropriate. The School of Education and Sciences expects the candidates to have active observations, not passive ones.

All field experience candidates will be required to complete an observation log indicating the dates and times of their classroom observations. Cooperating teachers must validate the time spent by signing the log each time the candidate observes. Additionally, cooperating teachers are asked to complete a final evaluation of the candidate’s field experience participation. If the candidate’s education course(s) requires him/her to teach one or more lessons, the lessons must be scheduled in advance with the cooperating teacher and the Field Experience Mentor. The Field Experience Mentor will observe lessons taught by the candidate and complete an assessment of the lessons using the Wiley Evaluation Form and to complete a Discussion Form with the candidate.  Cooperating teachers are also required to complete an evaluation of each lesson and to provide constructive feedback to the candidate in a timely manner. The cooperating teacher also will be asked to sign a form allowing Wiley faculty to enter the data electronically.

In fulfilling the role of cooperating teacher, the School of Education and Sciences asks that the cooperating teacher:

Meet with the Wiley teacher candidate and exchange email and telephone contact information.

Introduce the Wiley teacher candidate to the students in the classroom and other school personnel.

TEA requirements state that the teacher candidates should engage in interactive observations. In other words, teacher candidates should engage in teaching individuals and small groups.

Determine a schedule for observations and teaching lessons.

Make the teacher candidate aware of school/classroom rules and regulations.

Notify the Dean or Assistant Dean of Education and Sciences if the teacher candidate fails to arrive on time, is absent without proper notification, or is not dressed appropriately.

Sign the teacher candidate’s observation log each time the student observes.

If the teacher candidate is required to teach one or more lessons, work with the candidate to plan the lessons, complete an assessment after each lesson, and provide constructive feedback to the candidate. Teacher candidates are required to bring their cooperating teacher’s assessment along with their self-evaluation to the follow-up conference with their Field Experience Mentor.

Students may request permission to video-tape themselves working with students. Parental permission will be required. (Universal Permission for the school.)

Have a discussion with the teacher candidate regarding his or her performance using the Discussion Form.

Confer with the Field Experience Mentor when he/she visits to monitor the teacher candidate’s performance and resolve any problems.

Complete the Final Evaluation by Cooperating Teacher and the Permission to Enter Data forms.

Wiley College’s School of Education and Sciences greatly appreciates the assistance in getting our students off to a positive start in their journey toward becoming an educator. Keep in mind that some of these students will be having their initial experience in classroom observation or in teaching a lesson. The cooperating teacher’s encouragement and guidance is invaluable to their success.

Guidelines for Field Experience Mentors (Wiley College Faculty)

All Field Experience Mentors are faculty members from Wiley College. These faculty guide teacher candidates in field experience placements at the local school. The teacher candidate should meet with their assigned Wiley Field Experience Mentor as soon as possible after the placement has been made to exchange contact information and determine a schedule for completing observation hours. Field Experience Mentors are responsible for providing their assigned teacher candidates with the appropriate forms and reflection questions/assignments. Field Experience Mentors are also responsible for gathering all required time sheets and placement forms.

All teacher candidates will be required to complete a Time Sheet indicating the dates and times of their classroom observations. Cooperating teachers must validate the time spent by signing the time sheet each time the teacher candidate attends. Additionally, cooperating teachers are asked to complete the Final Evaluation by Cooperating Teacher to assess teacher candidate’s field experience. If the teacher candidate’s education course(s) requires him/her to teach one or more lessons, the lessons must be scheduled in advance with the cooperating teacher and the Field Experience Mentor. The Field Experience Mentor will observe lessons taught by the candidate and complete an assessment of the lessons using the Wiley Field Experience Performance Assessment.  Cooperating teachers are also required to complete an evaluation of each lesson using the Wiley Field Experience Performance Assessment. Cooperating teacher should provide teacher candidates with constructive feedback in a timely manner. The cooperating teacher also will be asked to sign the Permission to Enter Data to provide Wiley faculty permission to enter the data electronically.

In fulfilling the role of Field Experience Mentor, please:

Meet with the Wiley teacher candidate, exchange email and telephone contact information during this meeting.

As soon as placements are made, candidates will be notified of their assigned school and teacher by the School of Education and Sciences.

Encourage candidates to begin their observations immediately.

Go over candidates’ field experience responsibilities with them.

There are a series of Field Observation Tasks. Set deadlines for them to be submitted the assignment. Evaluate them and give the candidates written feedback.

TEA requirements state that the teacher candidates should engage in interactive observations. In other words, teacher candidates should engage in teaching individuals, small groups and whole group.

Determine a schedule for observations and teaching lessons with the candidate as he or she makes arrangements with the cooperating teacher.

If the teacher candidate is required to teach one or more lessons, give them feedback on the lesson plan after it has been reviewed by the cooperating teacher and prior to the observation. The first time the Field Experience Mentor sees the lesson plan should not be the same date and time that the he or she is scheduled to observe the lesson.

Be sure the candidate understands how to complete the Wiley Lesson Plan format.

For classes where candidates are required to teach lessons, provide the candidates with the Wiley College Lesson Plan format.

Complete an assessment the lesson taught, and provide constructive feedback to the candidate.

Teacher candidates are required to bring their cooperating teacher’s assessment along with their self-assessment to the follow-up conference with the Field Experience. Mentor.

Candidates may request permission to video-tape themselves working with students. Parental permission will be required. (Universal Permission for the school.) Be sure all permissions slips are appropriately signed.

Collect all forms from the candidates. Submit them to the School of Education and Sciences. For example, if they are to teach lessons that may be videotaped, require candidates to give all permission to videotape forms to the School of Education and Sciences.

Have a discussion with the teacher candidate regarding his or her performance using the Discussion Form.

Check with them periodically to discuss their field placements.

Spend time introducing/reviewing the lesson plan format to be sure the students understand how to complete it correctly.

Provide candidates with all forms if needed e.g., cooperating teacher final evaluation, time sheets, assessments, permission to enter cooperating teacher data, permission to video, etc. These may be posted in JICS.

Field Experience Mentors will be given a date when observations/lessons must be completed. Include this in the syllabus assignments.

Every semester, at least 4 weeks are designated as field experience weeks. This information will be provided to the Field Experience Mentor by the School of Education and Sciences faculty and Dean. Check the calendar of the schools and school districts. Flexibility will be required.

Please notify the Dean of the School of Education and Sciences of any problems students may report during teacher candidate’s field experience.

Wiley College’s School of Education and Sciences and Sciences greatly appreciates the assistance provided by the Field Experience Mentor in getting candidates off to a positive start in their journey toward becoming an educator. Keep in mind that some of these students will be having their initial experience in classroom observation or in teaching a lesson. The Field Experience Mentor’s encouragement and guidance will be invaluable to their success.

Background Check Statement Required for Field Experiences

Before beginning every field experience placement, Wiley College teacher candidates must agree sign a background check statement which documents their understanding of the background check requirement. Wiley teacher candidates are required to complete the Texas Education Agency (TEA) federal criminal background check process (including fingerprinting) for student teaching and again for the certification application process. As previously stated, at graduation when the certification application is submitted, teacher candidates will be required to complete the Texas Education Agency (TEA) federal criminal background check process (including fingerprinting) as a condition for employment and/or certification.  Employment and/or certification may be denied based of results of this background check.

By signing the document, the candidates acknowledge that he or she is aware of the information above and realize that any falsification or lack of reporting is grounds for dismissal from the Education Preparation Program in the School of Education and Sciences at Wiley College.  The candidate also acknowledges that he or she is aware that he or she may confidentially submit a request to the Dean of the School of Education and Sciences and the Texas Education Agency that would provide an indication of whether previous incidents might have a negative impact on my future teacher certification.