Office of Field Experiences and Licensure

EDCI 231, SPED 335/336/337, PSY 321, COURSES

EDCI 231 -- Historical, Social, and Philosophical Foundations of Education

EDCI 231 serves as an introduction to the study of education as it exists in the United States today. Its foundations are on the historical, sociological and philosophical aspects of education providing field-based experiences for students to relate to in class discussions. Opportunity is provided for students to reflect on their school-related activities via journals and formal reports.

Field experiences in EDCI 231 provide opportunities for students to relate the content of the course with what occurs in the public schools. Activities may involve, but are not limited to: 1) keeping a journal consisting of an entry made for each school visit describing the student’s observations and experiences; 2) analyzing in written reports three aspects of school life--classroom climate and management, curriculum and instruction, and social structure.

SPED 335/336/337 -- Teaching Exceptional Children

Field experiences in SPED 335/336/337 provide students with opportunities to observe and interact with learners with special needs who are positively included in the general education classroom. Assignments may involve, but are not limited to, any of the following activities: 1) observations and reflections on the use of strategies to actively include diverse learners; 2) interviews with inclusion teachers and/or students with disabilities; 3) implementation of accommodations and/or modifications for learners with disabilities; 4) participation in classroom activities at the host teacher’s discretion, and 5) integration of field experience with class discussions. Each student takes one of these three classes.

PSY 321--Educational Psychology

The major purpose of the field experiences in PSY 321 is to provide students with opportunities to integrate conceptual information from research and theory from educational psychology with actual observation of learner-teacher interactions. Students in PSY 321 have had previous field experiences focused on the nature of the school environment in EDCI 231 and focused on child development in PSY 320. Thus, PSY 321 field experiences provide a final pre-student teaching opportunity for observation of and involvement in the teaching-learning process. Specific goals include: 1) to learn how to systematically observe teacher-learner interaction and interpret it in light of theory and research; 2) to have an opportunity through class assignments to engage in planning and execution of teaching experiences and to receive feedback on their teaching; 3) to participate in appropriate classroom activities as requested and supervised by the host teacher.

Students are assigned exercises by the PSY 321 instructors that involve students in systematic observation of teacher-student interaction. These activities may involve, but are not limited to: 1) naturalistic observation focusing on teaching and learning processes; 2) interviews of teachers and students and/or informal teaching or tutoring of students; 3) systematic analyses of school materials and environments. Discussion of these activities and reports occur in the PSY 321 classes.

In the methods course and in the internship/student teaching seminar, students are provided opportunities to integrate what was learned in the pre-student teaching field experiences and in the EDCI 231, SPED 335/336/337, and PSY 321 courses.