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Education 646

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