Graduate Fieldwork/Student Observation Requirements
Graduate Program in Childhood Education, Sequence 2
All students in the Master’s degree program for education – Sequence 2, must complete a total of 100 hours of fieldwork/observation. This is a New York State requirement. These hours must be completed prior to student teaching or teaching practicum. The state requires that a student be exposed to various settings while observing. Therefore, you must have observations in the following areas: 15 hours in special education, and at least 50 hours in a Title One school – one that has more than 60% of its students receiving free hot lunch.
Childhood candidates will do the 100 across developmental levels, with at least 25 hours in grades 1-3 and 25 hours in grades 4-6.
All of the core courses in the sequence 2 program have observation hours attached to them. Please be aware of the number of hours required when you register, since you need to consider these as part of your workload for the course. All fieldwork hours must be complete prior to student teaching or applying for the Internship Certificate.
If you are presently teaching or are a substitute you may observe in your school but not in your own class. You need to observe a colleague. Paraprofessionals may observe in their class as long as it is at the appropriate developmental level.
At the beginning of each semester a letter of introduction along with a time sheet will be given to each student. This letter is to be taken to the school when you observe and the time sheet is to be signed by the classroom teacher you are observing. Your class will be assigned a partner school host site for fieldwork. These are schools with which we have strong relationships. You will be expected to attend that school. Any exceptions must be discussed in advance with the Director of Fieldwork. Once assigned, it is your responsibility (unless your professor made other arrangements) to email the contact person and arrange a schedule – usually after the first two weeks of the semester.
Completed timesheets should be turned in to the purple box under the mailboxes in 208.
The courses that include fieldwork/observation hours for candidates in the childhood education program are:
EDD 602 – 10 hours EDD 609 – 10 hours
EDP 660 – 20 hours EDE 601 – 15 hours
EDE 602 – 15 hours EDE 603 – 15 hours
EDE 604 – 15 hours