TE 407 Field Placements Procedures for Getting Started in your Senior Placement MSU Secondary Teacher Preparation Team

Secondary Team Coordinators Trudy Sykes English and Social Studies 346 Erickson Kelly Hodges Math, Science and World Language 348 Erickson edu Secondary Team Website:

Meeting Your Partner Whenever possible you have been placed in pairs with a mentor teacher. This was to allow you to visit the school at the same time, and it is how your mentor expects you to schedule your visits. These arrangements were made based on your survey responses. Please coordinate your schedule with your partner to find out when you have common availability for field work.

Requirements For Field Work You should attend your placement school TWICE a week for TWO class periods at each visit, for a total of approximately FOUR hours at the school each week. This four hour requirement does not include travel time to and from the school. If your school is not on a typical six- period daily schedule, you need to make sure that your visitation schedule: –Is at least 3.5 hours in a classroom per week –Allows you to see at least one class at least twice a week

Requirements for Field Work Your field work begins ASAP – you should contact your mentor today to arrange your first visit. –First visit should be within the week. –Some schools also require additional background checks before beginning. You will attend your field placement until the week before the final week of classes for fall term, unless you have additional time to make up. You will begin your field work in the spring the first week of classes – make plans for this visit before leaving your field placement for the fall. You will attend your field placement in the spring until the week before the final week of regular classes.

How to contact your mentor Use the Web to locate information about the school, including where it is located. Look for other things on the school site and district site that can help you learn about the school setting and culture. Look for web pages your teacher may generate that include additional information about the class or schedule.

How to contact your mentor Pick one person from your pair to call the school number. This may be the main office phone, or it may be the classroom phone. You may be sent directly to voice mail. Think ahead about what you will say in each of these instances. Be sure to provide: –Your name and your partner’s name –Say that you are MSU “seniors” who have been assigned to that teacher’s classroom this year. –Explain that you are calling to arrange the first field visit for you and your partner.

How to contact your mentor If you need to leave a message, in addition to your name, your role as an “MSU senior,” and the purpose of your call, also give: –Your phone –Your –Your partner’s name –Your partner’s phone –Your partner’s

How to contact your mentor If you do not hear back from the teacher in the next 24 hours, both partners should follow up with an to the teacher. Again provide your names, role, phone numbers and addresses, and copy each other on this message. Ask about the best way to contact the teacher to arrange your first visit.

How to contact your mentor Keep in mind that some teachers do not have reliable access to phone or . It would be appropriate for you to follow up about every two days via phone and/or . If you have been dialing direct to the teacher but have not gotten a reply, try dialing the school’s main number (found on the website) and asking the person that answers to connect you to the teacher. If you do not hear from your teacher by a week from your first attempt at contact, let your coordinator know.

Once you make contact with your mentor Describe yourself as an “MSU senior” (not as a “TE 407 student”). Talk with your mentor to determine when you will be making your field visits. You have been paired with a teacher whose schedule is compatible with the common availability shared by you and your partner. This may not be your first choice of times. PLEASE be accommodating and gracious in these negotiations. Exchange or confirm each other’s contact information. Discuss what you should do to contact your teacher in the event you cannot attend your placement.

Once you make contact with your mentor Find out any important procedures for getting in the building appropriately, including: –Where to park and any permits required –Where to enter the building –What office check-in procedures you should follow –Any identification you should provide or carry –How to find the teacher’s classroom Find out any special dress code requirements in the school

For your first visit First impressions are important – both with your mentor and with your students. Dress conservatively. Be prompt. Turn off your cell phone on the way in – or, even better, leave it in the car. On your way in (if you have time) or your way out, stop by to introduce yourself to the principal.

For your first visit Greet your mentor professionally (i.e., shake hands) and ask how he/she would like to be addressed, both in front of students and in your private conversations. Provide materials from your course instructor about your field work and evaluation. Additional questions about arranging first visit?

How lucky are we? … Remember that we are guests in the schools. Schools exist to educate the children in that district, and our participation is subordinate to that purpose. We are in schools by the courtesy of the Board of Education, the administration and the mentor teachers. In return for this opportunity to gain actual experience with children, we must exhibit high standards of professional performance and attitude.

Professional Behavior and Responsibilities Attendance and communicating absences –If you will be absent from your field placement, notify Your mentor Your partner Your course instructor –You must make up any time you miss EXCEPT those due to snow days and other days the school does not meet. –ASSIGNMENTS delayed by these missed days DO need to be made up.

Professional Behavior and Responsibilities Attendance and communicating absences –Punctuality in schools is not like punctuality for a dentist appointment. –Establish a regular and precise arrival and departure time and be consistent with this schedule. Any exceptions must be negotiated with your mentor teacher in advance.

Professional Behavior and Responsibilities Be ever vigilant about your online presence and your outgoing voic and greetings.

Professional Behavior and Responsibilities Confidentiality and ethical dilemmas –In casual conversations or social settings, do not relate stories from classrooms or schools that may be embarrassing to teachers or students, or that include sensitive information about a student or family. –You will be discussing your field experiences regularly in your courses. Use fictitious names for students if you need to include family or personal information, or if the situation is difficult. –Mask the names of students in work used in class or in assignments. – When discussing teaching practice you have observed in the field, maintain a tone of professional courtesy.

My Mentor Teacher If I were you, I would like my Mentor Teacher to be exactly like my favorite teacher from high school; And… to be the spitting image of my ideal future self when I am a teacher; And… to be a model of all the methods I will study in my TE classes. What is the probability of that? Reality – We will be working with ordinary human beings who are trying to teach school. - Tom Bird

What Assistant Teachers do…

Learn students’ names Lead start-of-class routines Collect homework Work with individuals or small groups of students Support students’ reading skills Monitor seat work or lab work or work on computers Assist with end-of-class routines and policies Correct papers with mentor teacher’s guidance Help plan a field trip or special project Prepare bulletin boards Locate, gather and prepare materials for use in the classroom – for their lessons or their mentor’s Learn to use classroom equipment and software Observe how teachers work in the hallways, bathrooms, and commons areas between classes Observe special education, ESL, or other support classes at the school Keep a journal/log about classroom experiences Look for other ways to be helpful to their mentor Talk about teaching with their mentor teacher Take the initiative to ask their mentor for suggestions

How are you going to be The Best Assistant Teacher You Can Be? What are you here to do? How are you going to work with your partner and mentor? How are you going to treat each other? How are you going to take initiative to make this happen?