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Teaching Level Field Experience Requirements

Decent Essays

The IR states (pp. 40-41) that the unit 's field experience requirements are sequenced to align with PDE recommendations. There are four stages of field experience:
• Observation,
• Exploration,
• Pre-student Teaching, and
• Student Teaching.

The early field experiences in each of the initial programs focus on observation and exploration. Cooperating teachers can provide additional opportunities based on the candidates’ readiness and abilities.

The methods pre-student teaching level field experiences for juniors/seniors are lengthier because candidates are expected to tutor individual students, work with small groups of students, and even teach lesson(s) following the plans of and under the supervision of the cooperating teacher …show more content…

41).

The unit has instituted Transition Points (Gates) at both initial and advanced levels to track and gather evidence of candidates ' outcomes, guide faculty and candidates as they transition through the program and the unit assessment system, specifically in relation to knowledge, skills and dispositions (Exhibit 2.3.a. These assessments are both formative and summative.

According to the IR, the gates for initial Programs are:
• Pre-Admission,
• Admission to the program,
• Admission to Student Teaching and
• Program Completion (p. 27).

A new regulation approved by PDE under Act 168, requires that all candidates pass a Basic Skills Tests before they exceeded 60 semester hours and are be formally admitted to Teacher Education programs. There are four ways:
• SAT or ACT scores,
• PAPA (Pre-service Academic Performance Assessments) tests or
• CORE Basic Skill Tests

Since candidates take these tests at various times during the first 60 hours the unit is finding difficulty in disaggregating the data by academic cohort

The gates for advanced Programs are, but may vary:
• Admission to the program,
• Advancement to Candidacy, and
• Program Completion (p. 27).

The unit provide no additional guidelines on the advanced program Transition Points (Gates) System and the systematic progression of the advanced program candidates through their programs.

The unit identified 5 (five) key assessments for data collection on candidates ' performance. These

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