Download Assessment 4 Clinical Experience Narrative

Assessment 4
Clinical Experience
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Narrative
Description of assessment and use in program
All secondary history/social studies teacher candidates are required to complete a 14 week
clinical experience in an 8th -12th grade classroom. In order to be admitted to the practicum, candidates
must be within 6 semester credit hours of completing required coursework with a minimum of a 2.50
GPA. Additional prerequisites are passing scores on their TExES and PPR exams. The clinical experience
is provided in EDMG 4648 Student Teaching for middle school and EDSC 4641 Student Teaching
Secondary.
The mission of this program is to prepare the best educators for middle and high school grades.
The practicum for student teaching takes place in an accredited school district, charter or private school at
the request of the program with the approval of the campus/district administration. Secondary
history/social studies teacher candidates seeking certification in history/social studies are placed with a
secondary history/social studies teacher. The practicum requires the student teacher attend the assigned
classroom for the entire school day, five days a week (unpaid) for one complete semester.
Teacher candidates are observed and evaluated by a university filed supervisor. Within the
teacher candidate’s first five days of the student teaching semester, the field supervisor initiates a meeting
with the Mentor Teacher and campus administration. Initially, the candidate will observe the Mentor
Teacher, while providing little active instruction. Over the course of the semester the observation time
will decrease and instruction responsibilities will increase. Full teaching responsibilities will begin at
approximately the mid-point of the student teaching assignment.
Supervision of the student teacher is the responsibility of both a qualified university field
supervisor and a Mentor Teacher. The field supervisor is required to have at a minimum a master’s level
degree with a current Texas State teaching certification, as well as a minimum of 3 years classroom
teaching experience in an EC-12 setting is required. Field supervisors receive initial training and semester
updates provided by the university. In addition, the student teacher will be in a classroom setting under
the guidance of a Texas state certified teacher, referred to as the Mentor Teacher.
Description of How Assessment Aligns with Standards
Depending on their placement during the clinical experience, candidates implement lessons in
U.S. History, geography, world history, government, or economics addressing, at minimum, NCSS
Standards as outlined below. Additionally, depending on the context of the lesson, e.g. the unit as part of
which it is taught, candidates also have the opportunity to address standards beyond those commonly
aligned with the grade level of instruction.
NCSS Standards Addressed
Clinical Experience
1.2
U.S. History (8th and 11th grade)
1.3
Geography (9th grade)
1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.9
World history (10th grade)
1.6, 1.10
Government (12th grade)
1.7
Economics (12th grade)
Assessment 4
Clinical Experience
Depending on the context of the lesson, e.g. the unit as part of which it is taught, candidates have the
opportunity to address additional standards. The table below shows which standards can potentially be
addressed in addition to the minimum standards:
NCSS Standards Addressed
Clinical Experience
1.1, 1.3, 1.8, 1.9
U.S. History (8th and 11th grade)
1.1, 1.9
Geography (9th grade)
1.1
World history (10th grade)
1.4, 1.9
Government (12th grade)
1.7, 1.8
Economics (12th grade)
Analysis of data:
This new assessment was first implemented in spring of 2013 as part of the clinical experience
evaluation. Of the four teacher candidates assessed, none were assessed teaching all standards.
The standards that were observed and assessed varied, however all students earned indicator
scores of 3 on the observed standards which illustrates they met expectations.
Interpretation of data – How it provides evidence for meeting the standards:
Standard 1.1: Two teacher candidates were assessed on this standard. Both met expectations
when teaching this standard.
Standard 1.2: Three teacher candidates were assessed on this standard and all met expectations
when teaching this standard.
Standard 1.3: Three teacher candidates were assessed on this standard and all met expectations
when teaching this standard.
Standard 1.4: Two teacher candidates were assessed on this standard. Both met expectations
when teaching this standard.
Standard 1.5: Two teacher candidates were assessed on this standard. Both met expectations
when teaching this standard.
Standard 1.6: Four teacher candidates were assessed on this standard and all met expectations
when teaching this standard.
Standard 1.7: Two teacher candidates were assessed on this standard. Both met expectations
when teaching this standard.
Standard 1.8: Was not addressed.
Standard 1.9: Was not addressed.
Standard 1.10: Four teacher candidates were assessed on this standard and all met expectations
when teaching this standard.
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Assessment 4
Clinical Experience
Description of the Assessment
Appendix 1 - Description of the Assessment
The Student Teacher Evaluation is conducted a minimum of four times with each teacher
candidate throughout their student teaching field placement experience. Four of the observations
are done by the university supervisor and four are completed by the mentor teachers. The
assessment schedule is as follows.
Observation Number
1
2
3
4
Approximate Date
of Observation
Week 3
Week 6
Week 9
Week 12
Placement Level
Secondary
Secondary
Secondary
Secondary
Person Conducting
the Observation
University Supervisor
University Supervisor
University Supervisor
University Supervisor
Each observation is approximately one hour in length and includes a silent observation by
either the University Supervisor or Mentor Teacher. At the conclusion of each observation the
rating rubric is reviewed with the teacher candidate and both the Teacher Candidate and the
University Supervisor or Mentor Teacher must sign the form. Once completed the form is
submitted to the local school administrator for review and signature and the original is placed in
the Teacher Candidates file.
Teacher-Candidate Observation Form History/Social Studies Addendum1
The rubric created for the history/social studies addendum shows for which standards the
candidate scores below expectations (1), approaches expectations (2) or meets expectations (3).
A mean score that results from the total of all observations is reported for each standard
addressed. In order to earn recommendation, a candidate must achieve a score of 2.5 for each
standard. The following addendum to the Teacher-Candidate Observation form was created to
assess history/social studies teacher candidates’ strength and weaknesses in the individual
standards:
Indicator
Quality Markers
Below
1-3 points: The candidate exhibits little or no evidence of meeting the
Expectations - 1 standard, or evidence that is below the minimum acceptable expectations of
the program. Does not enable students learning.
Approaches
4-7 points: The candidate exhibits minimum performance in relation to
Expectations - 2 essential knowledge, skills, or disposition required by the standard. Provides
basic evidence of attainment that meets minimum program expectations.
Meets
8-9 points: The candidate exhibits advanced performance in relation to
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(2004). Program standards for the initial preparation of social studies teachers. Silver Spring, MD: National Council for the Social Studies.
Retrieved from http://www.american.edu/cas/seth/pdf/upload/NCSS_NCATE_STDS-04rev.pdf
Assessment 4
Clinical Experience
Expectations - 3 essential knowledge, skills, or dispositions required by the standard. Provides
convincing evidence of sound work, usually with multiple examples of
achievement that substantially exceed minimum expectations and show
excellence in performance that results in all students learning.
Teacher-Candidate Observation Form History/Social Studies Addendum2 Instructions:
Check the theme(s) applicable for lesson observed. A theme is based on whether the lesson
pertains to world history, geography, etc., but might not be limited to these themes. If you
checked that a theme applies, you must assess all components. If a theme was not
planned/observed for this lesson, do not enter a score.
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(2004). Program standards for the initial preparation of social studies teachers. Silver Spring,
MD: National Council for the Social Studies. Retrieved from
http://www.american.edu/cas/seth/pdf/upload/NCSS_NCATE_STDS-04rev.pdf
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