Three such practica are required of all students and a fourth is an elective. A student enrolled in Community Service is placed in a classroom, community agency, or youth organization to spend 25 hours assisting the teacher or leader. Each student enrolled in EDU 140 is assigned to an elementary classroom to aide the classroom teacher. Approximately 30 hours of aiding are completed during the semester. Initial Fieldwork Students enrolled in EDU 270, Becoming and Early Childhood Teacher, are assigned to a preschool for 2 hours per week and to a kindergarten for 1 hour per week during that semester.
Students observe and work informally with the children.
During each study students spend two days at each of the 4 sites and conduct observations on a particular focus of education. The observations are shared with students in the class. Methods block and part-time student teaching. Approximately 300 hours are spent developing teaching skills. By the end of the semester, the student will have entirely planned and taught at least three consecutive days.