Internship for the MAE in Learning Disabilities Program Dr. Abby Cameron-Standerford Northern Michigan University Updated 5/28/14

Practicum guidelines – When Should I apply?  You must have completed ED 565 (Bulletins prior to Fall 2014) or all Tier 1 & 2 coursework (Bulletins after Fall 2014) successfully  ED 568A or ED 569A together represents the capstone experience for the degree – your cognates and concentration or Tier 1 & 2 courses should be successfully completed

Practicum Guidelines – I have finished my coursework – now what?  Go to and click on your Education tab. At the bottom of that list is a link for the LD Teaching application.  Register for BOTH ED 568A Internship for Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities – 3 credits and ED 569A Seminar for the Supervised Practicum for the Learning Disabilities Endorsement 1-credit  Complete the 1 st item as soon as possible. Complete the 2 nd item when it is time to register as soon as the courses are open for the semester you will be completing your practicum.

I will be completing my practicum next semester - what else do I have to complete?  After you have registered for both ED 568A and ED 569A  Find a site-based supervising teacher – if you are already teaching – find someone who will be your supervising teacher at your school/district  If you are not currently teaching – find a district/school/teacher that will accept you to student teach (practicum)  You must teach 8 weeks or 180 hours (depending on whether you have a previous certification in special education).

Practicum Guidelines  If you are employed on an emergency certification in an LD classroom, that employment will count as your 8 week experience.  If you are employed full-time as a teacher, you will need to work out a schedule where you can teach the equivalent of 8 full weeks in an LD classroom where you would deliver instruction in reading and math and attend IEPs. In this scenario, it often takes students an entire semester to complete the necessary amount of time.

I am Not currently teaching – what do I do?  If you are not currently teaching, you can do an 8 week experience with a certified LD teacher in the same way you did your undergraduate student teaching.

What Can Be Counted toward the time?  Work during prep periods for the LD portion  Before and after school with work with students with LD  Attendance at Individual Education Plan Meetings  Attendance at Professional Development

NMU Student responsibilities  We ask our graduate students to contact a principal and LD teacher in a school where they feel they would be most successful in completing this experience. If you would like some support in setting up a placement we can assist you.  As mentioned previously, you will need to go to the website to complete a application for student teaching. One suggestion was provided, another method to obtain the application is: ions/StudentTeaching/StudentTeaching.shtml. ions/StudentTeaching/StudentTeaching.shtml

I am having difficulty with the application – what should I do?  If you cannot connect with this site, please contact the School of Education, Leadership & Public Service Field Office Secretary, Tracy VanAbel at:  or call

Practicum guidelines continued  Contact your university practicum supervisor (Dr. Abby Cameron-Standerford at to notify her of your supervising teacher/district/administrator when you have received confirmation of your  Please have readily available:  Name of supervising teacher, phone,  Name of school/district with address, phone  Name of school administrator, phone,  Name and address of the school in which you will complete your practicum.

How Will I be graded?  The Early Observation form is to be completed during week 3 or during week 4. The Final Evaluation form is to be completed before the end of week 6 or before the end of week 8. The evaluation process is student-led meaning that you will self-evaluate on each indicator, provide a narrative which provides examples to illustrate how you are meeting the criteria outlined in the domain, and identify goals that you will be working toward. You will then forward this form to your site-based supervisor for him/her to evaluate you, building upon the same document. Your site-based supervisor is to complete the form and send it to you electronically. You are then to send the evaluation form to me as your university supervisor. For each evaluation, please also include a video clip (not more than 5 minutes) of you teaching and articulate in what way this helps to demonstrate your ability to meet evaluation standards.  Both ED 568A and ED 569A are graded using a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory rating.

Endorsement Guidelines for LD You must apply for endorsement through these steps: 1. All courses for endorsement (Bulletins prior to Fall 2014) or all courses for the MAE in LD (Bulletins Fall 2014 later) must be completed 2. You must pass the MTTC in Learning Disabilities ( to register for this testwww.mttc.nesinc.com 3. After successfully completing Steps 1 and 2, register for endorsement through the state at: ( Questions regarding certification should be addressed to Mrs. Nancy Carter, Certification Counselor. She can be reached at

Updated 5/28/14