TE 407 Field PlacementsProcedures for Getting Started in your Senior Placement

MSU Secondary Teacher Preparation Team

Social Studies Cohort

The idea behind senior placements• TE 407/8 – The “Lesson

Planning” class, also called a “methods” class

• Seminar– Standards– The structure of a lesson– Epistemology of the discipline– Instructional strategies– Assessment

The idea behind senior placements• Lab

– Practicing lessons in controlled environment

– Considering the impact of lesson features on a diverse set of students

• Field– Observing and understanding

the mentor’s lesson planning and execution

– Executing teaching episodes in uncontrolled environment of real classrooms

The reality behind senior placements• Mentors are under

tremendous pressure to achieve high levels of success with each and every child

• Every day is critical to that outcome

• Stakes for mentors are high and getting higher

The reality behind senior placements• Teacher Shortage Areas (TSAs):

www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.doc

A productive model – Lesson Study• Key Features

– One carefully planned lesson– Several contributors– A question– Observation of the lesson– Debriefing– Revision of the lesson

• Your field placement will be built around several iterations of a Lesson Study

Meeting your group• You have been placed in

groups of five with a mentor teacher. This was to allow you to visit the school at the same time, and it is how your mentor expects you to schedule your visits.

• These arrangements were made based on your survey responses. Please coordinate your schedule with your group to find out when you have common availability for field work.

Requirements for field work• You should attend your placement

school approximately FOUR hours each week, usually four class periods.

• This four hour requirement does not include travel time to and from the school.

• If your school is not on a typical six-period daily schedule, you need to make sure that your visitation schedule:– Is at least 3.5 hours in a school per week– Includes time each week to meet with

your mentor teacher• If possible, attend on two different

days each week, so that you can see at least one class period more than once a week.

Requirements for field workFall Semester• Your field work begins

immediately.– Contact your mentor as soon as you

receive your placement information to arrange your first visit.

– First visit should be within the week.– Complete any additional background

checks before beginning field work.• You will attend your field

placement until the week before the final week of classes for fall term, unless you have additional time to make up.

Requirements for field workSpring Semester• You will begin your field work

in the spring the first week of classes. Make plans for this visit before leaving your field placement for the fall.

• You will attend your field placement in the spring until the week before the final week of regular classes.

How to contact your mentor• Use the Web to locate

information about the school, including where it is located.

• Look for other things on the school site and district site that can help you learn about the school setting and culture.

• Look for web pages your teacher may generate that include additional information about the class or schedule.

How to contact your mentor• Pick one person from your

group to call the school number. This may be the main office phone, or it may be the classroom phone. You may be sent directly to voice mail. Think ahead about what you will say in each of these instances.

How to contact your mentor• In person, begin by giving:

– Your name– Say that you are the

representative from the group of MSU “seniors” who have been assigned to that teacher’s classroom this year.

– Explain that you are calling to arrange the first field visit for you and your group.

How to contact your mentor• If you need to leave a

message, in addition to your name, your role as an “MSU senior,” and the purpose of your call, also give:– Your phone– Your email

How to contact your mentor• If you do not hear back from

the teacher in the next 24 hours, follow up with an email to the teacher. – Provide your group members’

names, role (MSU Seniors), and copy the rest of the group on this message.

– Ask about the best way to contact the teacher to arrange your first visit.

How to contact your mentor• Some teachers do not have

reliable access to phone or email. It would be appropriate for you to follow up about every two days via phone and/or email.

• If you have been dialing direct to the teacher but have not gotten a reply, try dialing the school’s main number (found on the website) and asking the person that answers to connect you to the teacher.

How to contact your mentor• If you do not hear from your

teacher by a week from your first attempt at contact, let your course instructor and coordinator know.

Once you make contact with your mentor• Describe yourself as an “MSU

senior” (not as a “TE 407 student” or “tutor”).

• Talk with your mentor to determine when you will make your field visits. – You have been paired with a

teacher whose schedule is compatible with the common availability shared by your group. This may not be your first choice of times.

– PLEASE be accommodating and gracious in these negotiations.

Once you make contact with your mentor• Exchange or confirm each

other’s contact information.• Discuss what you should do

to contact your teacher in the event you cannot attend your placement.

Once you make contact with your mentor• Confirm with your mentor

that you have completed the appropriate background check process.– Fingerprinting required in Haslett;

stop in to Haslett Admin Building and see Michelle in Human Resources.

– Fingerprinting and Orientation Meeting required in Holt. See Angel site, and contact Vicki Nucich at vnucich@hpsk12.net.

– You MUST complete these procedures before visiting the school

Once you make contact with your mentor• Find out any important

procedures for getting in the building appropriately, including:– Where to park and any permits

required– Where to enter the building– Office check-in procedures you

should follow– Identification you should provide

or carry– How to find the teacher’s

classroom• Find out any special dress code

requirements in the school

Once you make contact with your mentor• Share all of this information

with the rest of your group• Make your travel plans• Compile a list of names,

email addresses, phone numbers and emergency contact information for your group to bring with you to the first visit.

For your first visitFirst impressions are important –

both with your mentor and with your students.

• Dress conservatively.• Be prompt.• Turn off your cell phone on the

way in – or, even better, leave it in the car.

• On your way in (if you have time) or your way out, stop by to introduce yourself to the principal.

For your first visit• Greet your mentor

professionally (i.e., shake hands) and ask how he/she would like to be addressed, both in front of students and in your private conversations.

• Provide materials from your course instructor about your field work and evaluation.

• Provide emergency contact information to the mentor and school.

How lucky are we? Remember that we are guests in

the schools. Schools exist to educate the

children in that district, and our participation is subordinate to that purpose. We are in schools by the courtesy of the Board of Education, the administration and the mentor teachers.

In return for this opportunity to gain actual experience with children, we must exhibit high standards of professional performance and attitude.

Professional behavior and responsibilities• Attendance and

communicating absences– If you will be absent from your

field placement, notify• Your mentor• Your partner• Your course instructor

– You must make up any time you miss EXCEPT those due to snow days and other days the school does not meet.

– ASSIGNMENTS delayed by these missed days DO need to be made up.

Professional behavior and responsibilities• Attendance and

communicating absences– Punctuality in schools is not

like punctuality for a dentist appointment.

– Establish a regular and precise arrival and departure time and be consistent with this schedule. Any exceptions must be negotiated with your mentor teacher in advance.

Professional behavior and responsibilities• Be ever vigilant about your

online presence and your outgoing voicemail and email greetings.

• Be impeccably appropriate in your use of personal communication devices in the school.

• Be white-collar in your approach to the work, not blue-collar.

Professional behavior and responsibilities• Confidentiality and ethical dilemmas

– In casual conversations or social settings, do not relate stories from classrooms or schools that may be embarrassing to teachers or students, or that include sensitive information about a student or family.

– You will be discussing your field experiences regularly in your courses. Use fictitious names for students if you need to include family or personal information, or if the situation is difficult.

– Mask the names of students in work used in class or in assignments.

– When discussing teaching practice you have observed in the field, maintain a tone of professional courtesy.

My Mentor TeacherMy Mentor TeacherIf I were you, I would like my mentor teacher to If I were you, I would like my mentor teacher to

be exactly like my favorite teacher from high be exactly like my favorite teacher from high school;school;

And… to be the spitting image of my ideal future And… to be the spitting image of my ideal future self when I am a teacher;self when I am a teacher;

And… to be a model of all the methods I will And… to be a model of all the methods I will study in my TE classes.study in my TE classes.

What is the probability of that?What is the probability of that?

Reality – We will be working with ordinary human Reality – We will be working with ordinary human beings who are trying to teach school.beings who are trying to teach school.

- Tom Bird

What Assistant Teachers do…

What Assistant Teachers do…• Learn students’ names• Lead start-of-class routines• Collect homework • Work with individuals or small groups of students• Support students’ reading skills• Monitor seat work or lab work or work on computers• Assist with end-of-class routines and policies• Correct papers with mentor teacher’s guidance• Help plan a field trip or special project• Prepare bulletin boards• Locate, gather and prepare materials for use in the

classroom – for their lessons or their mentor’s• Learn to use classroom equipment and software• Observe how teachers work in the hallways,

bathrooms, and commons areas between classes• Observe special education, ESL, or other support

settings at the school• Keep a journal/log about classroom experiences• Look for other ways to be helpful to their mentor• Talk about teaching with their mentor teacher• Take the initiative to ask their mentor for suggestions

What Assistant Teachers do…Always keep in mind:• What would you like to learn

this year in your placement?• How are you going to work

with your group and mentor? How are you going to treat each other?

• How are you going to take initiative to make the most of this experience and relationship?

Evaluating your work in the field• Each semester your mentor

will evaluate your work in the school– Professional Criteria for

Internship– Content Knowledge for Teaching– Planning, Teaching and

Reflecting on Lessons– Concerns about moving on to the

internship year• See Angel site for sample of

this evaluation

Secondary Team CoordinatorsKelly Hodges116R Erickson432-9601hodgesk@msu.edu Justin Thorpethorpeju@msu.edu

Secondary Team Website:http://education.msu.edu/te/secondary/