TTE 593 – Internship Guidelines Teach Arizona Program Fall 2009

Supervising Instructors: Dr. Barry Roth, Ed. D. & Dr. Patty Stowers, Ed. D. Contact Information: [email protected], 205-0285 & [email protected], 577-6929 Office Hours: By Appointment, Flowing Wells H.S., Rm. 52/53

Internship Objectives

Initially, the internship experience provides an opportunity for students to observe and examine the practice of teaching. As the internship progresses, students will gradually assume the professional duties of a student teacher, with guidance and supervision provided by a cooperating teacher and university supervisor. (Professional Teaching Standards 6 and 8).

Hours

Fall Semester: Monday-Friday. Interns should arrive 15 minutes prior to the beginning of first period and stay until approximately 11:30 to give them time to eat lunch and travel to their afternoon UA classes. The exact departure time depends upon the bell schedule at the school site.

Attendance is required. Excessive absences may result in a grade of “Incomplete” being awarded. All holidays or special events observed by organized religions will be honored for those students who show affiliation with that particular religion. Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of Students (or Dean’s designee) will be honored. Interns should notify the cooperating teacher and Dr. Roth about internship absences in advance if possible. All missed internship hours must be made up.

Dates

Fall Semester: During this semester, the interns will follow the University of Arizona calendar for holidays as well as for the beginning and end dates of the internship. Site observations will officially begin on August 24 and end on December 11. However, interns are encouraged to attend as many beginning-of- the-year activities as possible prior to August 24, and they are encouraged to stay beyond December 11 depending upon their final exam schedules.

Grading Policy

The internship will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Formal midterm and final conferences and evaluations will be conducted during the student teaching semester. Grades will be based upon fulfillment of internship hours and duties. The instructors, acting upon the recommendation of the university supervisor, will assign the grade. Accommodations

Students who are registered with the Disability Resource Center must submit appropriate documentation to the instructors if requesting reasonable accommodations.

Expectations of Professionalism

Interns are expected to conduct themselves with the professionalism of a regular school faculty member. Dress and behavior should be aligned with the professional standards and with the climate of the school. To ensure the safety of teachers and students, schools have procedures regarding visitors. Interns should adhere to policies regarding visitors on campus. They should also obtain appropriate faculty ID cards and parking passes.

The learning time of the students is the first priority, so interns should be careful not to disrupt instructional time. During the fall semester, the interns will take field notes and collect action research data. The privacy of teachers and students much be protected. Accordingly, the full names of students and teachers will not be used in field notes, and notes should be kept secure at all times. District policies must be adhered to when gathering data for the purposes of action research.

Fall Semester Responsibilities

The interns will spend the entire morning at the school site. They will be assigned to their cooperating teacher for two class periods. Below is a description of their responsibilities during those two periods, as well as suggestions for how the remainder of the morning should be spent:

Assigned Morning Class Periods: The intern and cooperating teacher will select two morning periods which the intern will eventually student teach in the spring. As the fall semester progresses, the interns should gradually assume some management, planning and teaching duties with those two classes. The semester should begin with observation, but should eventually evolve into a team-teaching situation with the cooperating teacher. Below is a suggested phase in schedule.

August/September Observe and take field notes Become acquainted with school faculty, staff, administration and school rules Take and post attendance Learn classroom rules, procedures, expectations Review course syllabus, textbook and teaching resources Review cooperating teacher’s units and lesson plans Observe cooperating teacher conduct a discipline conference or parent contact Grade papers/tests and record grades in the grade book or on the computer Complete paperwork re: tardies, referrals, etc. Assist students during seatwork Teach segments of lessons October Locate or create lesson materials such as handouts, quizzes, labs, etc. Create units and lesson plans Increase involvement with students during seat work Teach some lessons and post-conference with the cooperating teacher Videotape a lesson Begin to take on some management and discipline tasks Participate in the completion of progress reports, quarter grades, etc. Collect baseline data for action research

November/December Team-planning, team-teaching, team-management with cooperating teacher Continue to collect baseline data for action research

Remainder of the Morning: During this time, the interns should: a) Conference with the cooperating teacher b) Observe the cooperating teacher teach other classes c) Observe other teachers at the school site who model effective teaching d) Observe teachers at other school sites Observation Field Notes and Journal

These observations afford you the opportunity to begin viewing classrooms from a teacher’s perspective rather than a student’s. Your task is not to criticize teachers and students, but to get a feel for the school climate, to observe interactions among students and teachers, and to reflect on practicing teachers’ daily decisions regarding classroom management and instruction.

Field Notes:

During your observations, you are expected to take field notes. These notes are a record of events that occur in the classroom. The privacy of teachers and students must be protected. Accordingly, when you take field notes, never use the full name of a student or teacher. Initials, first name only, or a pseudonym would be best. Keep your field notebook secure at all times so students cannot look at it.

Field notes are objective details of what is happening in the classroom. You are not expected to script every word or action taken by the students and teacher. However, the more closely you observe and the more complete your field notes, the useful they will be. Here are some suggestions for field note-taking:

1. Write objective statements. Leave subjective statements for your journal. If you do write something subjective, put it in brackets to differentiate it.

2. Develop a shorthand for common words (i.e.: “students” = Ss, an individual student could be S16, “teacher” = T, “bell work” = BW, “homework” = HW)

3. Try to script direct quotes of a student or teacher if you deem them to important. Put direct quotes in quotation marks to prevent confusion later.

4. Make a chart of the classroom, including a seating chart if possible. Also note the location of the teacher throughout the room as the class progresses.

5. On your first day, describe the classroom … posting of rules/procedures, bulletin boards, posters, etc.

6. Move around the room or position yourself differently each time you observe. You will see more.

7. Copy key information that the teacher puts on the chalkboard or overhead, if feasible. Do not write down whole assignments, but focus on bell work, instructions for assignments/labs, etc. since these will become important as we discuss classroom management and instruction.

8. Remember to observe the students. It is easy to become too focused on the teacher and forget to watch the students’ interactions and involvement. Note non-instructional events, such as students arriving tardy.

9. Finally, look up! Much of what occurs in classrooms is non-verbal. If you are always looking down at what you are writing, you may miss the teacher who masterfully uses a look or gesture, or the student who uses body language to send a message.

As time goes on, you will spend less time observing and more time working with the students in the classes you will take over, so take advantage of the early chances to take field notes in those classes. And always take field notes in your observations of teachers other than your cooperating teacher. Journals:

One characteristic of a successful teacher is the ability to be reflective, to routinely analyze professional decisions and actions. To encourage this type of professional reflection, you are encouraged to keep a journal during the year. The journal will allow you to reflect upon what you are learning about the teaching profession and how this impacts your own teaching philosophy. In the end, it will show your evolution through this program. Finally, it can serve as a notebook of effective practices and strategies you hope to emulate when you have your own classroom. Each year our graduates tell us how valuable it is to have this record of their year-long internship.

Here are some suggestions to help you focus your journal:

1. You may choose to write about a “well-remembered event,” In other words, this is something that occurred in the classroom that was significant to you. Describe the event, why it was significant to you, and how it impacts your ideas about classroom teaching. (If you disagree with how the teacher handled the situation, remember to resist the urge to simply write, “I wouldn’t do it that way,” Instead focus on why you would do it differently and how you would do it differently.)

2. Use this as a collection of “Best Practices.” Write down effective classroom management, lesson planning, instruction or assessment strategies you witnessed during observations.

3. Reflect on new ideas you learned in TTE 536 or your methods course.

4. Keep a running list of questions you have about schooling and teaching, both specific and philosophical, to be discussed in your university courses with your peers, instructors, or cooperating teacher.

5. Follow one student’s development throughout the semester, focusing on skills, classroom behavior, cognitive ability, etc.

6. Begin to identify issues which will be a challenge for you when you take over that class in the spring, such as students not completing homework, chronic tardiness, a wide variety of skill levels, students with limited English proficiency. These may also translate into possible topics for your action research project.