In the OU teacher preparation program, students encounter a wide range field placements, including experiences in rural, urban, and suburban schools, and at a variety of grade levels.
Before being allowed into a classroom for a field placement, OU students are legally required to submit the following paperwork to JRCoE:
This paperwork was likely completed as part of your application to the College of Education. If you are unsure whether you have submitted all forms, please contact the Undergraduate Advising Office for assistance (phone: 405.325.2238, email: jrcoe.advising@ou.edu; location: 137 Ellsworth Collings Hall).
Please contact the Undergraduate Advising Office at your earliest convenience for assistance with these forms (phone: 405.325.2238, email: jrcoe.advising@ou.edu; location: 137 Ellsworth Collings Hall). Failure to submit these forms in a timely manner may delay your entry into a field experience.
Field experiences are an integral part of the TE-PLUS program. The program requires all candidates to complete four different developmentally sequenced field experiences, as described below. Regardless of major, candidates are required to complete these field experiences in a variety of grade levels and school settings (e.g., urban/suburban/rural; Title I schools). In addition to these four required field experiences, any instructor can require a field component within his/her class.
General guidelines for field placement:
EIPT 3473: Learning, Development, and Assessment for Teachers; Rural Setting
Who Completes This Field Experience? All education majors are required to take this course and complete the field experience.
What Is the Focus of This Field Experience? The field experience focuses on teaching, learning and the learner. Candidates will spend the bulk of their time observing in the classroom and working with individual students and small groups of students. The field experience allows the candidate to observe and apply concepts, theories and issues discussed in EIPT3473. Candidates write about how course concepts are applied in their field placement in the field experience paper.
How Many Clock Hours are Required? Candidates are required to complete 20 hours of field experience associated with this course.
How Is the Placement Made? Registration forms are completed by candidates during the first class session of the semester. Candidates are asked to provide contact information. They may also make general requests regarding the field experience. The Field Experiences Office uses this information to contact principals about placing the candidates. When placements are confirmed, candidates receive an e-mail message with their placement and contact information. Candidates are typically placed by the fourth week of the semester.
How Is the Field Experience Evaluated? The field experience evaluation includes three elements. First, candidates are required to keep a log of the dates and times that they are present in the field placement classroom. This log is to be signed by the cooperating teacher at the conclusion of each school visit. The log is used to determine whether candidates have met the requirement of 20 hours in the field placement. Second, as a requirement of EIPT 3473, candidates must write a field experience paper following provided guidelines. This paper is graded by the EIPT3473 instructor. Third, near the end of the semester, the TE-PLUS Assessment Coordinator sends an e-mail message containing a link to a secure on-line survey to cooperating teachers who are hosting our candidates. Data from cooperating teacher surveys are used to assess candidate professional development as well as program continual improvement.
Who Completes This Field Experience? All education majors are required to take this course and complete the field experience.
What Is the Focus of This Field Experience? This course focuses on the institution of school in American society and social justice issues related to schools and schooling. The field experience introduces the OU candidate to the whole school from the perspective of an adult, with the candidate’s observations and experiences relating to what he or she has learned in class about the historical, philosophical and sociological context of today’s schools. Candidates write about how course concepts are applied in their field placement in the field experience paper.
How Many Clock Hours are Required? Candidates are required to complete 30 hours of field experience divided among three settings: the classroom, the school (i.e., at the building-level), and the surrounding community.
How Is the Placement Made? The lead instructor for the EDS4003 program coordinates the placements with Oklahoma City Public Schools.
Pre-internship; Suburban Setting
Who Completes This Field Experience? All education majors are required to complete this field experience.
What Is the Focus of This Field Experience? These experiences are associated with methods courses, which are designed to teach lesson and unit design and presentation. Candidates are required to plan lessons under the supervision of a certified teacher and present those lessons to a class of learners.
How Many Clock Hours are Required? Candidates are required to complete 30 hours of field experience or more depending on their major. The requirement varies across program areas.
How Is the Placement Made? Placements are made by each individual program area.
How Is the Field Experience Evaluated? As a requirement of the associated methods course, candidates must write lesson and/or unit plans following provided guidelines. They are also required to write associated reflections on their teaching experiences. These products are graded by the instructor of the methods course. Additionally, near the end of the semester, the TE-PLUS Assessment Coordinator sends an e-mail message containing a link to a secure on-line survey to cooperating teachers who are hosting our candidates. Data from cooperating teacher surveys are used to assess candidate professional development as well as program continual improvement.
| Program Area | Corresponding Course Number |
|---|---|
| Early Childhood | EDEC 4123 |
| Elementary | EDUC 4980 |
| Language Arts | EDEN 4913 |
| Mathematics | EDMA 4242 |
| Science | EDSC 4513 |
| Social Studies | EDSS 4563 |
| Special Education | EDSP 4890 |
| World Languages | MLLL 4813 |
Level 4 Field Experience
Internship; various setting
Who Completes This Field Experience? All education majors are required to complete this field experience.
What Is the Focus of This Field Experience? Full time classroom teaching, in preparation for certification and licensure.
How Many Clock Hours are Required? Interns will be in their assigned classrooms full-time for 16 weeks, or full-time in two different classrooms for 8 weeks each.
How Is the Placement Made? Placements are made by each individual program area.
How Is the Field Experience Evaluated? The internship evaluation includes three elements. First, candidates are enrolled in an associated seminar during the internship semester. Assignments for this seminar are completed in the internship setting and graded by the seminar instructor. Second, all candidates are assessed with two different performance rubrics at mid-semester and again at the end of the semester. One of these performance rubrics is a required assessment for national recognition by the relevant Specialized Professional Association (SPA). The other is a required assessment for national recognition by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). Third, near the end of the semester, the TE-PLUS Assessment Coordinator sends an e-mail message containing a link to a secure on-line survey to cooperating teachers who are hosting our candidates. Data from cooperating teacher surveys are used to assess candidate professional development as well as program continual improvement.
[1] The Early Childhood Education program on the OU-Tulsa campus is built around an emphasis on serving urban communities. Candidates at OU-Tulsa experience a variety of field experience placements while in the program, but the most common setting is an urban one.
