200:017 Exploring Teaching
Becky Hawbaker, Coordinator of Field Experiences
Terry Ketter, Secretary
Office 273-7664Price Lab School 116/
UNI Field Experiences
At UNI, teacher education involves successful completion of a comprehensive program of studies. This program includes four major components: (1) the Liberal Arts Core requirements, (2) intensive study of the content area(s) in which teacher candidates seek certification, (3) the Professional Education Sequence, and (4) field experiences in PreK-12 classroom settings. You are registered for 200:017 (Exploring Teaching) and are beginning Level 1 of the four major field experiences at UNI. The purpose of Level 1 is to help you explore teaching through active observation of the teaching/learning process in your assigned classroom and by assisting the supervising teacher with the many tasks required of today’s educators. Beyond this experience lie the Levels 2 and 3 field experiences followed by student teaching.
Level 1: Exploring Teaching
Semester Schedule
The field experience session for the fall semester will begin the week of September 15, and will end by the week of December 5, 2008.
Time Requirement
The total requirement for the Level 1 field experience is 30 hours (1800 minutes). You must complete all 30 hours on-site in your assigned classroom/school. Travel time and planning time outside of the school are not counted in the 30 hours.
Placement
You will be assigned to a classroom in one approximately 50 schools in the metro area and surrounding communities. Although every effort will be made to assign you to your requested grade level/content area, at this stage of your program the aim is understanding human development, teaching, and learning from a general perspective, not from a content-specific or age-specific perspective. Cooperating teachers have been asked to provide you with a wide variety of teacher tasks so you will have a broad base of experience as you explore the teaching profession. Please perform these tasks willingly and enthusiastically because every responsibility of teaching is an opportunity to grow and to learn about the demands of the profession.
Objectives
- To help you make decisions concerning your preparation for working in the field of education.
- To provide insightful experiences that inform your choice of grade-level and subject specialization.
- To give you the opportunity to interact with students of varying social, cultural, economic, backgrounds.
- To help you comprehend how students grow, mature, develop, and learn.
- To raise your awareness of the nature and work of the schools their relationships with various communities.
- To maintain continuous evaluation and self-renewal of the ongoing teacher education program at the University of Northern Iowa.
Evaluation
Evaluations are completed by cooperating teachers. They are a part of the assessment process, which assists your professor in assigning credit for this field experience. In the evaluation, the teacher will report the activities you completed in the experience, will describe your strengths, and will make suggestions for improvement. If you demonstrate a positive attitude, are punctual and responsible about your placement day and time, keep accurate accounts of your experiences, and cooperate in assignments from the cooperating teacher, you will succeed in gaining an invaluable experience.
Professionalism
The expectation: all teacher candidates will view themselves as professional educators, will act accordingly, and will be a positive influence in every way, every day. As a pre-service teacher, however, you should never be left alone in the classroom without a certified teacher present.
Dress
As well as acting professionally, you need to dress professionally. You must follow the dress policies of your assigned school and need to be aware of the effect your appearance has in the classroom. Business casual is appropriate in most cases. Body piercings, colored hair, and visible tattoos will be an issue in many schools. Cleanliness of body and clothing is a must particularly if you smoke or have been partying the night before. On the first day in your assigned classroom, you should request clarification from your cooperating teacher regarding expectations with regard to dress and appearance.
Attitude
The most common concerns expressed by cooperating teachers about their field experience students relate to attitude, especially lack of responsibility and lack of initiative. This experience will only be as good as you make it. Be responsible in attendance and follow through, show initiative, and get involved. If you have any doubt about what you should be doing on any given day, take the initiative by asking your cooperating teacher for direction.
Activities
While much of this experience will involve observation, your experience will gain value as you increase your involvement in the classroom and interactions with the students. Most Level 1 students assist their teachers by checking student work, creating learning materials, and working with small groups of students or with individual students. Some Level 1 students plan and teach lessons, but this is not an expectation of this experience.
Attendance/Sign-In Books
Teacher candidates are required to sign in and out each time in a log book in the principal’s office in the assigned school. Also, attendance will be taken by the cooperating teacher and a record will be supplied to the university.
Absences
If you are ever absent, it is your responsibility to make up all absences to meet the time requirement for this field experience. Make up dates are entirely at your teacher’s discretion. If you become ill and are unable to attend a scheduled day during your field experience, you MUST call your cooperating teacher well in advance. On the first day in your assigned classroom, please request your cooperating teacher’s direct contact information for this purpose. Excessive absences reflect poorly on your commitment to teaching and jeopardize your successful completion of this experience.
Pledge and Code of Ethics
You are expected to be familiar with the Teacher Education Pledge and know the content of the Code of Ethics. Both documents are on the back page of this pamphlet. Please review them carefully.
Name Tags
Teacher candidates are expected to wear UNI nametags at all field experiences. You should place your order, using the provided order envelope, in SEC 656 as soon as possible.
Weather-Related Closings/Early Releases
If the assigned field experience falls during hot weather or the winter months and there is any question about whether the assigned school will maintain the regular schedule on a given day, you should view KWWL TV or go to their website ( to get information regarding closings, early outs, or late starts. Please do not call the school or your cooperating teacher for this information or expect your cooperating teacher to alert you.
Other Important Information
DCI Criminal History Background Check
Iowa schools are requiring all adults who work in their schools, in any capacity, to be able to prove that they have been screened by the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation for any history of criminal behavior. It is recommended that teacher education majors request a Criminal History background check with the Iowa DCI at least one month prior to the first field experience at UNI. This background check will be valid for all further field experiences in the UNI Teacher Education Program. Procedures may be found at under “Information for Students” UNI is not responsible for students who are denied access to agencies requiring proof of a background check prior to working with their children. Faxed requests for the background check yield faster results than mailed requests.
OSHA Requirement
All teacher candidates must complete this requirement prior to being allowed in the assigned classroom. Group training sessions are available on Friday, September 5th at 8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. You only need to attend ONE of the sessions to complete the certification. Note: Please be on time because you will not be admitted once the session is started. Once your training is completed, your certificate will be available on the UNITED system. You are required to present a COPY of this certificate to your cooperating teacher on the first day of your Level 1 field experience and all future field experiences. If you are unable to attend the September 5th training, there is a video training option available at the IRTS lab in SEC 222. Questions regarding this requirement should be directed to Barbara Hill in SEC 159.
Teacher Education Orientation (This is in addition to the Level 1 orientation you are required to attend.)
An orientation is provided by the Director of Teacher Education to assist students in meeting the admission requirements for the UNI Teacher Education program. This orientation is required for all future teachers currently enrolled in 200:017 and/or 200:030. Dates for this semester are Tuesday, September 2, 2008, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. OR Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. OR 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. All orientation sessions are held in SEC 244/245. You are required to attend one of the above sessions.
Child Abuse Seminars
This requirement should be completed in the semester prior to student teaching.
Student Teaching Round Up
Teacher candidates should be aware that this event will take place ONE year in advance of the semester they plan to student teach. The Round Up is held the first two days of each semester, beginning at 3:30 p.m., in one of the lecture halls in SEC. Candidates only need to attend one of these sessions.
Teacher Education Pledge
As a Teaching Major at the University of Northern Iowa,
I pledge that I shall:
Develop a knowledge of human development, learning, and socio-cultural factors
as the essential basis for pedagogical decision-making.
Develop skills of observation, reflection, decision-making, and leadership.
Develop those literacy, numeracy, and critical and creative thinking abilities and ethical values
associated with the concept of an educated person.
Gain knowledge of and the ability to use effective teaching skills and techniques
and effective communication skills.
Develop the ability to transform content knowledge into pedagogical content,
knowledge appropriate to future professional responsibilities.
Demonstrate a commitment to professional development and growth
incorporating adaptation and creative responses to changes in our society.
Demonstrate a growing sense of professional responsibility
to the profession and those it serves.
Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the social and moral responsibility
that underlies the practice of the profession.
In this way I can become a teacher who is a responsible,
reflective decision maker in a global society.
Code of Ethics for Field Experience Students
In your role as a participant you will have responsibilities that require you to represent yourself as a preservice professional. Your participation may include both instructional and non-instructional activities within and outside the immediate classroom assignment in which you will encounter other students, teachers and administrators in educational settings. There will be occasions when you may not realize what kinds of procedures are appropriate for your role. If there are specific concerns, inquire of your cooperating teacher.
Code of Ethics (adapted from the California Student Teachers’ Association):
- Keep confidential all information received about pupils in their classes or schools.
- Maintain the dignity necessary to gain the respect of their pupils.
- Be responsible for creating a positive learning environment for all pupils.
- Be empathetic and courteous toward all pupils.
- Consider yourself to be members of the community in which you teach.
- Conform to disciplinary measures used by the approved school policies.
- Be a positive model for pupils—physically, mentally, and ethically.
- Realize that each pupil is an individual, and take into consideration individual abilities, interests, and preferences.
- Strive to be impartial in dealing with pupils and be fair in judging pupils’ actions and accomplishments.
- Refrain from imposing religious and political views upon their pupils, and exhibit an open-minded, tolerant attitude toward groups and individuals.