Frequently Asked Questions

Observation Hours

When do I start my observations hours (example: what day do I report at the site - the first day of their academic year or RU's)?

That is up to you and the host teacher. If the host teacher and school are willing to have you attend the various sessions prior to kids returning to school, that would be fine (and could help when you start working in a school after licensure), but keep in mind that most of the time should be classroom time with students.

What will I be doing at the host school?

We expect Field Experience to begin with classroom observation but quickly shift to increased interaction with students. Those activities will be determined by the host teacher, but are often things such as tutoring or small group instruction. The last hours for FE3 would ideally include teaching a whole class lesson to prepare for student teaching and the edTPA.

Can I still satisfy the 50 observation hours requirement if I miss days because of class?

Field Experience 3 and Instructional Coaching 2

The 50-hours ideally would be spread across the entire semester and include most days of the week and different times of the day to give the most accurate view of what teaching is like (certain things only happen on Friday mornings, for example), but that is not a requirement. By spreading the time that way, there should be no problem in doing the 50-hours despite having days where you don't go due to course time or other things you need to do. There are at least 12 weeks of the semester where you would be doing FE (and could be more as the semester is 15-weeks), so 4 hours a week during that time is almost the entire 50-hours.

ATLAS Video Library

How do I access the Atlas video(s) for a course when the link on Blackboard is sending me to the Atlas login screen rather than directly to the assigned video?

Contact your instructor. It's possible the video was not embedded in their Blackboard course. Once the instructor embeds the video in the Blackboard course, you will be able to view it on Blackboard.

How do I access the Atlas video(s) for a course on Blackboard when I get the error message "Atlas is currently down for maintenance. Thank you for your patience while we improve our site”?

Do not use Safari. The ATLAS LTI Tool (as of 9/20/21) is incompatible with Safari. We recommend using the LTI with Chrome or Firefox.
You MUST allow third-party cookies. ATLAS uses a cookie to connect your LMS session to your ATLAS session. If you don't allow third-party cookies, ATLAS cannot connect the sessions and log you in.
Make sure atlas.nbpts.org has been added to your allowed sites if you are strict about your cookie settings.
Try a different browser or even a different device to see if you can access the videos through the link in your LMS.