Table 3.7

Field Experiences and Clinical Practice in Initial M.A.T. Programs in Middle Grades and Secondary Education

Semester
or Term / Course / Field Experience or Clinical Practice Requirements
Summer I / EDUC 5000 Summer Field Experience
EDUC 6040 Foundations of Curriculum and Instruction
EDUC 6020 Educational Technology / Observation in a classroom setting of rising 5th-8th grade students (15 hours)
Fall
Semester / EDUC 5020 Teaching Mathematics in the Middle Grades
EDUC 5021 Teaching Social Studies in the Middle Grades
EDUC 5022 Teaching Science in the Middle Grades
EDUC 5023 Teaching English Language Arts in the Middle Grades
OR
EDUC 5020A Teaching Mathematics in the Secondary Grades
EDUC 5021A Teaching History in the Secondary Grades
EDUC 5022A Teaching Science in the Secondary Grades
EDUC 5023A Teaching English in the Secondary Grades
AND
EDUC 5060 Students with Special Needs
EDUC 5700 Internship I / Placement in a classroom for 180 hours during a minimum of 12 weeks: Placement of middle grades interns in one of their two areas of concentration; placement of secondary education interns in their expected area of certification
January / EDUC 5040 Affirming Diversity in the Classroom OR
EDUC 5050 Affirming Diversity in the Classroom: Teaching Reading for Success in Changing Times / M.A.T. candidates will explore grade levels outside area of certification. (Minimum 10 hours field experience in a diverse setting is required.)
Spring
Semester / EDUC 5020 Teaching Mathematics in the Middle Grades
EDUC 5021 Teaching Social Studies in the Middle Grades
EDUC 5022 Teaching Science in the Middle Grades
EDUC 5023 Teaching English Language Arts in the Middle Grades
OR
EDUC 5020B Teaching Mathematics in the Secondary Grades
EDUC 5021B Teaching History in the Secondary Grades
EDUC 5022B Teaching Science in the Secondary Grades
EDUC 5023B Teaching English in the Secondary Grades
AND
EDUC 5700 Internship II / Placement in a classroom for 480 hours full-time during a minimum of 12 weeks: Placement of middle grades interns in second area of concentration; placement of secondary education interns in their expected area of certification in a different school from their Internship I school. Gradual assumption of full-time teaching responsibilities in the classroom for a period of at least two weeks. Complete the Teacher Work Sample (TWS) during solo-teaching.
Summer II / EDUC 6030 Problems in Reading
EDUC 6010 Assessment and Accountability OR
EDUC 5070 Assessing and Improving Literacy

In addition to the field and clinical experiences outlined in above, candidates are required in some instances and encouraged in others to participate in these two additional opportunities to work with P-12 students and teachers:

·  Incoming M.A.T. cohorts participate in “Summer Camp,” a program that enrolls 30-60 middle grade students from throughout the region and that provide M.A.T. candidates with a 3 week experience working with culturally and ethnically diverse students. This program, which began in Summer 2008, involves extensive collaboration with Troup County School District and with local community agencies. Each year, the program establishes a curriculum, defines criteria for hiring teacher leaders who will guide candidates, and selects diverse 5th – 8th grade students who will participate in the program. The summer camp theme for 2008 was “Water Systems”. The unit continues to research similar programs across the country to ensure it remains an important community resource for area youth and simultaneously provide a distinctive and authentic field experience for M.A.T. candidates that is focused specifically on issues of diversity.

·  Candidates in both the B.A. and M.A.T. programs are encouraged to participate in the Student Professional Association for Georgia Educators (SPAGE) and Phi Delta Kappa (PDK). SPAGE meets at least once every semester; PDK meets four times a year. Both organizations provide candidates with opportunities to meet with local teachers and administrators, hear guest speakers, and discuss current educational topics with professionals in the field.

The purpose of field experiences and clinical practice is to provide candidates with multiple opportunities throughout their programs to apply in real classroom settings the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they are developing in courses. Equally important are the assessments that faculty and site supervisors conduct of candidates’ performance during these field and clinical experiences. As a result, the unit assesses candidate performance in field and clinical experiences multiple times using most of its eight key assessment instruments prior to or during the experiences.

Candidates must successfully complete Internships I and II within three attempts. If a candidate fails to successfully complete Internships I and II in three attempts, the candidate will be dismissed from the program.

Specifically with respect to admission to and completion of a culminating internship in the M.A.T. programs in middle grades and secondary education, candidates must meet the following seven performance standards:

·  Have a GPA of at least 2.5 to enter field experience and clinical

·  Meet expectations on the first and second administrations of the Professional Dispositions Evaluation

·  Meet expectations on administrations of Lesson Plan Evaluations

·  Score at least 3 on administrations of the Teaching Performance Observation Instrument

·  Score at least 80% on the Teacher Work Sample