Office of Field Experiences
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the Field Experience Process
Field experiences provide valuable opportunities for student candidates to apply their learning in a practical setting and gain valuable insights into the teaching profession. Students in licensure programs will complete two types of field experiences:
Practicum: All experiences in a school setting prior to the internship.
Internship: The culminating field experience (i.e., student teaching) that prepares students for their future careers in teaching.
⭐️ Every experience follows three steps: the request, the match, and the confirmation.
practicum and internship requests
The Field Office issues placement requests to preK-12 school administrators, inviting them to recommend Mentor Teachers for the upcoming term's field experiences.
⭐️ Please note that each district follows a specific process for field requests, and The Field Office follows such processes.
student candidate and mentor teacher match
The Field Office reviews a list of qualified teachers for potential placements and matches them with a teacher candidate based on the following factors.
- Location
- Classroom type (grade and subject area)
- Previous field experiences
⭐️ To ensure a diverse placement for all students, the Field Office may consider and
determine other factors. Examples include schools previously attended or those affiliated
with family connections.
notification and confirmation of placement
Practicum: Upon receiving their placement, practicum candidates will schedule a preliminary meeting with their mentor teacher to discuss school policy and teaching schedule.
Internship: After the Field Office assigns a preliminary placement and sends tentative confirmation to the principal/administrator, the candidate must interview with the mentor teacher. A field placement is not final until all parties are in agreement. Once this is completed, the student teaching placement is confirmed.
⭐️ Changes in placements are extremely rare due to the limited number of available sites and the importance of maintaining positive working relationships with school partners.
