ECPK 481 Syllabus – Mentored Teaching Fieldwork I, Birth-K (3 cr.)

BSU Supervisor:
Address:
Phone:
E-Mail:
Blackboard Site: ECPK 481 Mentored Teaching Fldwk, Birth-K (Collaboration)

Catalog Description:

This course involves field experience in an approved early childhood setting (Birth-K), which may be the student’s workplace and rarely a public-school classroom. Students also attend scheduled seminars. The practicum is at least four weeks long and requires a minimum of 100 documented hours working with children while being supervised by an assigned college supervisor and by a licensed, site-based cooperating practitioner. Prerequisites:
 Three of the five 300-level courses in the major
 ECPK 420
 2.5 GPA both overall and in major
 Concurrent with ECPK 480
 Application to CEHS and to Early Education and Care Practicum Liaison for registration.
This course may be transferred.

Expanded Course Description:

This field experience is designed to guide and support Early Education and Care Major students to examine their practices and those of the early childhood settings they are experiencing. The student will compare practices to the State’s Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences. This experience may be completed in the student’s work setting. Students transferring to BSU’s degree program will likely have completed this documented field experience as part of an Associate’s Degree program.

Logistics:

This field-experience is a bridge between the program’s observational course, ECPK 420, and the capstone, ECPK 492. As such, the student should spend some time examining the program being run by the site-based practitioner and contribute to the program. In some cases, the student is the Lead Teacher in the setting, limiting the opportunities to learn by observation and modeling. Students schedule observation sessions with their assigned college supervisor.

The setting can be the student’s current work setting. If the student is not currently working in an appropriate early childhood setting, suitable field placements will be suggested by the Early Education and Care Practicum Liaison. Students need to select ONE classroom and arrange regular times when significant program offerings are implemented to interact with the children and to add to the room’s activity offerings.

The ECPK 481 field experience is at least 4 weeks long, at least twice a week, and include 100 hours or more of documented time providing direct services to a stable group of children (excluding nap times). Examples of workable schedules would be:

A suitable schedule will be approved by the student, the site-based cooperating practitioner, and the college supervisor. A person in the work setting with EEC Lead Teacher or Director credentials who has regular opportunities to observe the student’s work in the classroom and to confer with the student will be designated as the site-based cooperating practitioner unless no such person exists. If you are a FCC provider, you will need a center-based experience as part of your practicum. You have two options: complete 481 in a center; or complete half of your 492 experience in a center.
The college supervisor, site-based supervisor, and the student will be in regular contact. Some contacts will be face-to-face, others will be by phone, E-mail, or mail. The college supervisor will make an initial visit plus at least two other scheduled visits to the student’s practicum setting to observe the student working with children and to give feedback and to consult with the site-based supervisor. The college and site-based supervisor and the student will consult with each other on the final evaluation of the student. The college supervisor will be responsible for evaluating the field experience and assigning the course grade.

Course Objectives and Outcomes:

We expect students will:
1. Demonstrate the ability to support children’s learning in all developmental domains and all content areas in

• The Guidelines for Preschool and Kindergarten Learning Experiences (GPKLE)  available at http://www.doe.mass.edu/sfs/earlylearning/resources/#curriculum
• 2010 Massachusetts Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers available at

https://www.mass.gov/eec-learning-standards-and-curriculum-guidelines

2. Routinely participate in and contribute to the instructional process in the classroom in both teacher-directed and child-directed contexts.
3. Write up 2 formal activity plans and teach the activities.
4. Observe and document children’s abilities and interests and become familiar with the classroom’s assessment system and see how they could use and contribute to it.
5. Reflect upon and evaluate curriculum decisions, using systematic observation, documentation, and other effective assessment strategies in an ethical way to show children’s growth, instructional design, and continuous improvement of professional practices.
6. Participate in all the program’s orientations and in professional development.
7. Attend 3 evening meetings on the BSU campus.
8. Upload final field evaluation rubric and 3 observation visit reports to Google Sites portfolio.

CEHS Dispositions

1. Demonstrates respect for human diversity, community and cultural perspectives.
2. Collaborates with others (faculty, supervising practitioners, peers, students, and parents) in a thoughtful and considerate manner.
3. Demonstrates clear understanding of legal and moral obligations of the profession, mandated reporting responsibilities and confidentiality.

4.(a) Believes in creating a safe learning environment demonstrating respect for students’ differences, provides fair and equitable access to all learners including vulnerable populations;

(b) Believes that all students can learn.

5. Communicates effectively and professionally in speech, writing, and nonverbal contexts.
6. Demonstrates professional demeanor and a passion for their chosen profession.
7. Demonstrates their own social emotional skills
8. Understands the importance of fostering social emotional skills in their students;

9. Exhibits personal integrity and professional conduct with all members of the learning community.

Evaluation and Grading:

You are graded in 2 areas.

1. Professionalism which includes written, complete activity plans submitted to your BSU supervisor in a timely manner, attendance at the campus meetings, and uploading your final evaluation and 3 observation reports on Blackboard
2. Final Field Evaluation determined by the BSU, site supervisor, and you.

Field Evaluation ECPK 481 Grading Scale: (Total points possible = 570 points.  The grading starts with 100 at 456 or an average score of 4.0)

For the course:

Policies

E-mail

You are responsible to read and respond to any e-mail communications sent by Early Education and Care Program faculty to your BSU e-mail account per the University’s E-mail as an Official Means of Communication to Students policy. It is important that you regularly check your BSU e-mail so that you do not miss important communications.

Change of Grade

“If a student believes that a mistake was made in the original grade recorded for a course, the student may petition the instructor for a change of grade no later than the last day of final exams in the academic semester following that in which the grade was recorded. A change of grade will not be considered after this time.” – excerpted from the Credit Hour and Grading System policy.

BSU’s Sexual Violence Policy

Please visit the BSU Title IX Office which has many resources about sexual violence and harassment.

Student Code of Conduct

The student Code of Conduct governs policies and regulations regarding the rights and responsibilities of Bridgewater State University community members, along with the judicial process followed when members violate the rights of others. The Code of Conduct is in the Student Handbook.

Nondiscrimination Policy:

Bridgewater State University is committed to nondiscrimination of handicapped persons as specified in Section 540 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Students who qualify as handicapped persons or who have extenuating circumstances which might interfere with course work assigned should meet with the instructor at the beginning of the course so that reasonable modification in course instruction and/or requirements may be made.

Privacy and Confidentiality in the Classroom

The academic experience is designed so that students can draw on the wealth of examples from their personal experiences in class discussions and in their written work. However, it is imperative that students not share information that is confidential, privileged, or proprietary in nature. Students must be mindful of any contracts you have with your employer.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is an important component of life and academic success for all BSU students, faculty, administrators, and staff. When all of us follow and support academic integrity values and standards, teaching and learning can proceed in an environment of trust and respect. When such standards are violated, teaching and learning are impaired. Therefore, the best interests of the university community require that cases of alleged academic integrity violations be addressed seriously and equitably. For a full description of the BSU Academic Integrity Policy, please click here.

Accessibility Statement

Reasonable accommodations will be provided for students with documented disabilities. Please contact your BSU supervisor as early as possible to discuss accommodations for this course.  Meet in a confidential environment to develop a plan for the implementation of the accommodations. Please notify your BSU supervisor with requests for accommodations in a timely manner preferably at the beginning of the semester; however, I understand if you may not be ready to self-disclose or may be diagnosed until later in the semester. If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a documented disability, have emergency medical information to share with me, or require other special arrangements, please inform your BSU supervisor of these needs as soon as possible so that they may be taken into account when your course work is assigned and evaluated.

BSU offers a number of services to students who have a documented medical condition, are physically challenged, or have emotional or learning disabilities. Students with disabilities are encouraged to register with the Disability Resources Office (Maxwell Library 001) and for the purpose of establishing disability documentation and verification, determine reasonable accommodations , and to receive a letter of notification to provide your instructors of the accommodations required. In compliance with Bridgewater State University policy and equal access legislation, staff members of the Disability Resources Office are available to discuss appropriate accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability.

Campus Resources

Academic Achievement Center (AAC)

The Center located in Maxwell Library offers programs and services to support the continued academic success of BSU students. Learning assistance programs and services are many and varied. The Achievement Center is home to the University Honors Program, Second Language Services, the Office of Disability Resources, Tutoring Services, as well as the Writing Studio, Mathematics Services, Study and Research Services, and the Communications Laboratory. Contact: (508) 531-1214

Writing Studio

Peer consultants provide helpful feedback to student writers working at all levels of the writing process. We encourage students to bring any form of writing to us, regardless of the genre or course discipline. In addition, they can brainstorm ideas and help you interpret assignments. Contact: 508-531-2053

Tutoring Central

Tutoring Central specializes in supporting courses that fall in the beginning level courses within a major. Services include: 1) One-on-One and Small Group, 2) Content Tutoring, 3) Academic Coaches, and 4) Language Coaches.

Preferred Name on BSU Records
Did you know that you can indicate your preferred names on some university records? Review the Student Handbook for how to set your documents up to reflect your preferred name.

Blackboard 9 Learning Management System

For help with learning how to access and use Blackboard 9 go to your BSU Student portal and select the Blackboard 9 icon. You will log into Blackboard with your BSU user name and password. Select Student Help to get started or explore on your own. Additional tutorials are available at Atomic Learning.

Tech Support

The BSU Information Technology department is available for Tech support. From 8:00-5:00: contact IT Support Services at ITSupport@bridgew.edu, 508.531.2555. If you need help after normal business hours at any time, day or night; go to After Hours Support (https://my.bridgew.edu/departments/Support/SitePages/AfterHoursSupport.aspx)