I. Course Title: Early Field Experiences in Teaching English Grades 6-12
II. Course Number: EDUC 646
III. Credit Hours: 3 credits
IV. Prerequisites: Admission into the Teacher Education Program
V. Course Description:
This semester- long full-time field experience provides graduate teacher candidates
extensive clinical experience in a grade level appropriate for licensure in English
teaching at the middle level (grades 6-8) or secondary level (grades 6-12). Candidates
design and deliver a wide variety of learning experiences in their placement with
the advantage of mentorship and coaching provided by schools, licensed teachers, and
university faculty. Candidates begin by observing and co-teaching with their cooperating
teachers and then transition to assume full responsibility for appropriate English
classes. Regularly scheduled seminars enhance professional development of the candidate
and are included as a weighted percentage of the student teaching grade.
VI. Detailed Description of Content of the Course:
This is a clinical, field-based course. Students will spend 35 hours per week at their
school placement site. Weekly seminars are scheduled to enhance the professional development
of candidates enrolled in this field experience and include, but are not limited to
the following topics:
- Classroom management and student motivation
- Teaching diverse learners in the English classroom
- Professional growth, reflection, and evaluation
- Communicating with families
- Tools and resources for inquiry-driven English classrooms
- Applications of instructional planning, pedagogy, and assessment
VI. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course:
Candidate placements are made in appropriate English Language Arts classrooms in grades
6-12. Candidates practice teaching diverse learners under the supervision of approved
cooperating teachers and university supervisors. Candidates are embedded in schools
full-time throughout the semester. Effective lesson planning, assessment, instructional
delivery, and classroom management are key focus areas. The experience begins with
observation and culminates in assumption of full teaching responsibility. The student
teaching experience provides for a minimum of 300 clock hours with at least 150 hours
spent supervised in direct teaching activities.
VII. Goals and Objectives of the Course:
Goals, objectives, and assignments address the Virginia Department of Education regulations
for preparing middle/secondary (grades 6-12) English educators. Candidates successfully
completing this course will be able to demonstrate proficient knowledge, skills, and
dispositions of the following:
Goal 1: Incorporate state and national standards in planning and instruction.
- Design and implement structured, differentiated, original lessons that address multiple
aspects of the English curriculum.
Goal 2: Plan evidence-based instruction and assessments to include differentiated
instruction for diverse learners and select appropriate objectives, activities and
teaching materials for English instruction.
- Design and implement lessons that address culturally responsive strategies, address
students’ community, culture, and context.
- Use a variety of methods including whole class, small group, models and modeling,
productive talk strategies, and concept mapping.
- Modify learning experiences to meet the individual needs of students, including students
with disabilities, gifted students, and students with limited proficiency in English
and children with diverse cultural needs.
Goal 3: Candidates demonstrate knowledge of English language arts subject matter
content that specifically includes literature and multimedia texts as well as knowledge
of the nature of adolescents as readers and writers.
- Identify the unique needs and skills of the adolescent reader incorporating reading
strategies and techniques used to enhance reading comprehension skills in both fiction
and nonfiction texts.
- Design instruction for the unique needs and skills of the adolescent writer, with
Instructional strategies that teach the writing process and the different modes of
writing and address grammar, usage, and mechanics and their integration in writing.
- Design and implement lessons that incorporate writing as an instructional and assessment
tool.
- Demonstrate knowledge of, and uses for, fiction and non-fiction texts from young adult,
British, American, world, and ethnic and minority texts appropriate for English instruction.
Goal 4: Apply classroom [and behavior] management techniques and individual interventions,
including techniques that promote the emotional well-being of learners.
- Maintain behavioral conduct consistent with norms, standards and rules of the educational
environment.
- Design instruction using techniques to address diverse approaches based upon behavioral,
cognitive, affective, social and ecological theory and practice
Goal 5: Demonstrate understanding of research-based literacy strategies in developing
instructional tasks, activities, and/or lessons.
- Identify technology, materials, manipulatives, and activities that engage all literacy
learners across ability and achievement levels and support student knowledge of communication
and media literacy skills.
- Design literacy instruction to enhance reading comprehension skills across appropriate
platforms, and modalities.
- Design instruction to teach research including ethical accessing, evaluating, organizing,
crediting, and synthesizing information.
Goal 6: Apply classroom [and behavior] management techniques and individual interventions,
including techniques.
- Demonstrate behavioral management techniques that promote the emotional well-being,
maintaining behavioral conduct consistent with norms, standards and rules of the educational
environment.
- Demonstrate diverse approaches based upon behavioral, cognitive, affective, social
and ecological theory and practice and use student data to reflect upon and improve
their lessons.
- Engage in communication between schools and families as a way to increase family engagement
in student learning.
Goal 7: Develop skills as reflective practitioners.
- Describe how adolescent development, school culture, and community intersect with
the English Language Arts instructional methods occurring in field placement sites.
- Examine and use student data to reflect upon and improve their instruction and engage
in communication between schools and families as a way to increase family engagement
in student learning.
Goal 8: Use multimodal composition and communication technologies to facilitate reflection
and instruction.
- Write a unit of study that allows for a variety of means of expression, including
writing, speaking and listening, and multiliteracies (e.g., artistic responses, film-making,
digital narratives, podcasts, or whatever else you feel will promote understanding
of the concepts at hand).
Goal 9: Teach a range of lessons, reflecting on and using feedback for continued growth,
inquiry, and pedagogical skill.
- Plan, design, and implement a teaching unit encompassing about 4-6 weeks of instruction
organized around a specific theme or principle and should be derived from the theories
of learning and teaching discussed as part of this course.
VIII. Assessment Measures:
Assessment of teaching in the early field experience is both formative and summative
and is collaboratively completed by the cooperating classroom teacher and University
faculty. Evaluation is based upon the INTASC Standards for Beginning Teachers which
are embedded in the Teacher Candidate Evaluation forms. Assessments will include but
are not limited to:
- Key CAEP Performance Assessment: Lesson Plan Assessment
- Key CAEP Performance Assessment: Impact on Student Learning
- Key CAEP Performance Assessment: Professional Characteristics and Dispositions form
- Key CAEP Performance Assessment: Teacher Candidate Evaluation form
- 150 successful teaching hours
- Participation in seminar (discussions and small-group activities; reflective writings
as appropriate)
- Completion of a student teaching portfolio that includes information about the community,
school, students, instructional practices, assessments, analysis, and reflection on
the student teaching experience.
Other Course Information
None
Review and Approval
March 01, 2021