Office of Undergraduate Teacher Education and Accreditation

UNDERGRADUATE FIELD EXPERIENCE PLACEMENTS

Area school systems are significant partners in field experience opportunities. Systems and Georgia Southern are equal partners in the implementation of field experiences. It is important, then, that outcomes of these experiences be mutually beneficial.

With the intent of maximizing benefits, a set of procedures for field experience implementation has been identified. The structure described on this and linked pages is to be followed for the placement, monitoring and exiting of each Georgia Southern University undergraduate student in a field experience.

Georgia State Law requires that teachers undergo a criminal background check prior to employment. The College of Education at Georgia Southern University operates in accordance with the law and in response to the desire of school systems to have criminal background checks on teacher candidates participating in field experiences in schools. For purposes of Georgia Southern University, every student identified below must complete a criminal background check:

Students registered for Pre-Professional Block Practicum. The background check must be completed during the week of PPB orientation and prior to receiving a field placement.
Students transferring into Georgia Southern University and entering a Teacher Education Program (including all Dublin Cohorts, students returning to complete a Teacher Education Program and courtesy placements). The background check must be completed upon admission into the Teacher Education Program.
Teacher candidates applying to student teach. The background check must be completed by the deadline to apply to student teach. Teacher candidates will not receive a student teaching assignment if the background check is not completed by the deadline to apply to student teach.

The criminal background check report will be reviewed regularly by the Director of Field Experiences and Partnerships in the Office of Undergraduate Teacher Education. If no criminal history is found, the results will be documented and available for verification when field placements are required. If the criminal background check results in a negative finding this information will be documented by the Director of Field Experiences and Partnerships. The Director will notify the student of a negative criminal background check. The student will be informed that the information will be shared with any school system which is asked to host a field experience for them. The decision to accept the student for field placement will be at the sole discretion of the school. The student may consult the Georgia Professional Standards Commission gary.walker@gapscom to determine if the negative findings will impact his or her ability to obtain a teaching certificate in Georgia.

Background Check Fees: Initial Background Check - $30.00 (out-of-state residents will have one additional county check completed at an additional $13.50 fee)

Complete the following steps for a criminal background check:

www.CertifiedBackground.com and click on Students.

Questions about the criminal background check may be directed to Pat Parsons, Director of Field Experiences and Partnerships, College of Education at (912) 478-5247 or pparsons@GeorgiaSouthern.edu

FIELD EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTIONS

Field experiences are structured to offer the Teacher Candidates sequenced, gradual involvement with students and role responsibilities. Four levels of field
experience are offered. A description of each follows:

Level 1 - Teacher Candidates are primarily involved in observing teaching and students' response(s) to the instruction. Structured and unstructured observations are utilized.

Level 2 - Teacher Candidates observe, assist the teacher and are involved in the instruction of individual students, small groups of students, and the total class. Instructional responsibilities are for less than an entire school day.

Level 3 - Teacher Candidates have major planning and instructional responsibilities for all or most of the school day.

Level 4 - Student Teaching: Teacher candidates are expected to perform all the duties and responsibilities of a veteran teacher, with a minimum of four weeks of full-time, all day teaching.

PROCEDURES FOR ESTABLISHING FIELD EXPERIENCE ASSIGNMENTS

The Director of Field Experiences and Partnerships will initiate the communication with P-12 schools about field experiences. The different Program Coordinators will notify the Director of known placement needs one semester before the field experiences are to occur. The Director will submit a request form to P-12 schools to determine the level of interest in the different field experiences. The contact person at each school site (either the clinical associate or principal) will be notified that the request is being sent. Utilizing the request data, programs will make placement recommendations that are submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Teacher Education. Placement recommendations are compiled and sent electronically to schools for confirmation.

Contact With School Personnel

Only the Georgia Southern Director of Field Experiences and Partnerships may contact school personnel to establish field experience settings. Our teacher candidates may not be participants in establishing placements. There are two possibilities of contact persons in schools: principals or Clinical Associates. For schools in which there are Clinical Associates, the associate is the contact. For schools in which there is not a clinical associate, the principal is the contact person. The contact person in the school, and not an individual classroom teacher, is the initial person with whom communication is established. Since many schools host a variety of field experiences, it is essential that opening communication be with the contact person. This will help to prevent field experience overload in any one classroom. Communication with the school's contact person to begin the field experience placement process generally takes place the semester prior to the anticipated beginning of the experience. Communication regarding a few field experiences will take place early in the semester in which the experience is anticipated to begin. This time frame is essential in allowing the contact person ample time to communicate with teachers about the request.

Clinical Supervisor and University Supervisor Interaction

The classroom teacher who hosts a Georgia Southern teacher candidate is referred to as Clinical Supervisor. The Georgia Southern faculty member who monitors the student's participation is referred to as University Supervisor. Clinical Supervisors must have completed an application for that position and been approved by their building administrator and the appropriate education program.

Consistent interaction between these two roles is a critical ingredient in the development and evaluation of the Georgia Southern teacher candidate. Clear expectations for this interaction should be established from the outset of the experience.

The Georgia Southern University Supervisor should provide each Clinical Supervisor her/his telephone number and acquire the Clinical Supervisor's numbers. The ability to contact each other is especially important.

Clinical Supervisor Application Elementary

Clinical Supervisor Application - Middle/High

Clinical Supervisor and Student Interaction

Interaction between the Clinical Supervisor and the Georgia Southern teacher candidate is a significant contribution in the student's development. Expectations for interaction will be delineated by the University Supervisor for the Clinical Supervisor and GSU teacher candidate.

Information about field placements will be entered in the database, creating a profile of field experience placements. The required information will be obtained from Clinical Supervisors' application. Field placement assignments will be sent to the Director of Field Experiences and Partnerships by all Program Coordinators. This document will include teacher candidate name, Eagle ID#, school assignment, and Clinical Supervisor. The Director's administrative assistant will enter all field placement assignments into the database. When funds for stipends are to be requested, data entered in the database from this form will be used to determine payment to Clinical Supervisors. Timely entry of data in the database is an important consideration.

Placement Overlaps

Clinical Supervisors may host students from more than one Georgia Southern course (with the exception of student teaching) during a term. To place students from more than one course in a classroom requires approval of the school contact person and Clinical Supervisor.

When Problems Arise

When problems arise for the Georgia Southern teacher candidate in the field experience setting, the school contact person should be informed, as should the University Supervisor or instructor of record. Should the University Supervisor or instructor of record be unavailable, the Department Chair or Director of Field Experiences and Partnerships should be contacted.

FIELD EXPERIENCE POLICY

Intervention Policies for Field Experiences, Internship and Clinical Experience

Allow maximum of two (2) Performance Agreements (Form A) per field experience.

Allow maximum of one (1) Probation (Form B) per field experience.

In very rare situations an extension of the student teaching experience (maximum of two weeks) may occur, at the recommendation of the Program Coordinator and upon approval of the Department Chair.

Repeating/Extending Field Experiences, Internship and Clinical Experience

In very rare situations an extension of a pre-student teaching field experience (maximum of two weeks) may occur, at the recommendation of the Program Coordinator and upon approval of the Department Chair.

Candidates may repeat each field experience one (1) time.

Withdraw failing or withdrawing at the recommendation of the program faculty from a field experience will be considered one (1) attempt at that field experience.

When school personnel request that candidates be removed from the school for performance or professional reasons, a new field placement will not be identified until the following semester.

Procedures for Training University and Clinical Supervisors

Each semester Program Coordinators will convene a meeting early in the semester to train and/or update all University Supervisors.

Each semester University Supervisors will train and/or update Clinical Supervisors in a meeting (one-on-one or group) early in the field experience.