The second year focuses on practicing effective instruction with large groups and meeting the expectations for beginning teaching set by the Illinois State Board of Education and partner school districts. During the second year, teacher candidates in all programs enroll in a single field experience course, either Field Experience 3 (for Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle School and Special Education candidates) or Instructional Coaching 2 (for teacher candidates in Secondary Education). In addition, all teacher candidates complete a 15 week student teaching experience. Because the requirements for student teaching are very detailed, only the expectations for Field Experience 3 and the equivalent course in Secondary Education, Instructional Coaching 2, are reviewed below. Please go to the Student Teaching page for more information about this part of your program.
Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle School and Special Education
Candidates fulfill their third required field experience through enrollment in a 1 credit hour course, Individualized Coaching and Field Experience 3. The course meets remotely 1 hour per week for 16 weeks using Zoom. The goal of the course is to develop candidates’ understanding of effective instruction through practice teaching in an appropriate K – 12 classroom. The Danielson Framework for Teaching is the primary tool used to strengthen candidates’ understanding of effective instruction, but candidates continue to refer to the Illinois Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards, Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, Illinois Social/Emotional Learning Standards and other program- or content-specific assessment tools. Significant attention also is given to the edTPA, the State of Illinois mandated capstone assessment for student teaching.
Candidates in Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle School and Special Education develop their emerging instructional skills and knowledge through 50 hours of practice teaching under the guidance of an appropriately licensed mentor teacher. Every effort is made to place candidates in classrooms where student teaching also can occur; however, a “linked placement” is not always possible. Course instructors observe practice teaching two times and provide one-on-one coaching to candidates using the Modified Danielson Framework for Teaching rubric that will be used during student teaching. With the permission of partner schools and cooperating teachers, candidates are provided with an opportunity to pilot the delivery of 2-5 consecutive lessons as a preparation for the edTPA assessment that is required during student teaching.
Candidate Field Experience 3 – Hours
5 hours of observation of instructional videos assigned by the instructor
15 hours of large group analysis and reflection on instruction and instructional frameworks
8 hours of reading and writing assigned by the instructor
50 hours of classroom observation and practice teaching
2 hours of individualized coaching provided by the course instructor
80 hours
Secondary Education
Candidates in Secondary Education fulfill their final field experience requirement through enrollment in a 3 credit hour Instructional Coaching course focused on the completion of 50 hours of practice teaching under the guidance of an appropriately licensed mentor teacher. The goal of the course is to develop candidates’ understanding of effective instruction through practice teaching in an appropriate content area in a local high school. The Danielson Framework for Teaching and the edTPA are the primary tools used to strengthen candidates’ understanding of effective instruction, but candidates also continue to refer to the Illinois Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards, Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, Illinois Social/Emotional Learning Standards and other program- or content-specific assessment tools.
The course contains 10 hours of instructional video analysis assigned by the instructor; 60 hours of reading and written reflection or instructional performance assigned by the instructor; and 50 hours of observation and practice teaching in a high school classroom, for a total of 120 hours of time and effort. Every effort is made to place candidates in classrooms where student teaching also can occur; however, a “linked placement” is not always possible. Course instructors observe practice teaching two times and provide one-on-one coaching to candidates using the Modified Danielson Framework for Teaching rubric that will be used during student teaching. With the permission of partner schools and cooperating teachers, candidates are provided with an opportunity to pilot the delivery of 2-5 consecutive lessons as a preparation for the edTPA assessment that is required during student teaching.
Instructional Coaching 2 – Hours
10 hours of instructional video analysis assigned by the instructor
60 hours of reading and written reflection or instructional performance assigned by the instructor
50 hours of observation and practice teaching in a high school classroom
120