Standard 3 Field Experience and Clinical Practice

3a. Collaboration between Unit and School Partners

1. Who are the unit's partners in the design, delivery, and evaluation of the unit's field and clinical experiences? The unit's partners in the design, delivery, and evaluation of field and clinical experiences include elementary, middle and high schools in public school districts, charter schools, private and parochial schools, and in some cases agencies working under contract with school districts (e..g., juvenile courts or truancy centers). In the Commonwealth of PA many supportive services to school districts are provided by public entities, termed Intermediate Units or IU's. The IU's engage in initiatives related to in-service training, special services to students who qualify for special education services, or leadership roles in gaining funding for school district collaborations. regional IU's also participate in the development of field and clinical practice experiences. Our partners include the teachers,administrators, and support staff who work in areas that require specialist certification: such as, counselors, school nurses and home and school visitors. Many of the adjunct faculty who supervise candidates for initial certification as early childhood, elementary secondary and special education teachers are currently employed in school settings. In addition, school administrators (principals, supervisor, and superintendents) participate in design, delivery and evaluation of field experiences, student teaching and clinical experiences for candidates seeking licensure as other school personnel. Widener University has established two Professional Development Schools in the Ridley School District: these sites, the Lakeview Elementary School and the Ridley Middle School, provide our candidates with the opportunity to take methods courses on site. The "junior block" is an opportunity for candidates who are seeking initial certification as early childhood and/or elementary teachers to study and interact with students in an intensive format. Part of their field experience takes place with classroom teachers who are able to collaborate with Widener faculty on a regular basis. They provide feedback to candidates and to Widener faculty and they reinforce the reflective component of planned field experience activities.

In our specialist programs for reading, home and school visitor and school nurse, placements are selected based on professional ties between the adjunct faculty who supervise and the school personnel who provide the mentoring at the school sites. Placements are chosen based on the supervisor's understanding of "fit" between the professional needs of a candidate and the opportunities that a particular school can provide. In licensure programs leading to certification as a principal, supervisor or superintendent/assistant superintendent, candidates often complete their internships where they work. In these instances, the supervisors already have established partnerships with administrators who serve as mentors to candidates.

The Advisory Board of the Center for Education consists of representatives from the public and private schools and local Delaware County IU. Advisory board members include school administrators who also are adjunct faculty for the Center for Education and they teach professional practice courses. The board meets twice a year and it deliberates on evidence presented by the Associate Dean, the Director of Certification, and on some occasions the NCATE Coordinator. The Professional Development School Liaison, who is also Coordinator of the Teacher Intern Program, meets regularly with teachers and administrators from the Lakeview Elementary School and the Ridley Middle School. These are opportunities to improve and refine existing collaborations, to plan new collaborations, and to enrich the experience of the field on the Widener University campus in Chester.

2. In what ways have the unit's partners contributed to the design, delivery, and evaluation of the unit's field and clinical experiences? The Center for Education has an advisory board which meets on a semi-annual basis. This advisory board, composed of stakeholders from local school districts and other community partners, helps in the design, delivery and evaluation of the field experiences of the unit. As an example, Dr. Barbara White, a local school principal and member of this board, has helped to design field experiences at multiple levels from tutoring through student teaching experiences. Further, all members of the advisory board are asked to help deign and evaluate the field experiences at all levels in response to data received through the office of field experience. In addition to this formal board. Each of the unit programs: special education, education administration, human sexuality, and higher education have separate advisory boards to provide direction for field experiences in ways that are specific to their particular areas.

Beyond the formal board processes, the Center for Education employs a liaison who is instrumental in working with community partners (E.G. Ridley SD, Charter School, CDC, etc.) in designing, implementing, and assessing these placements. This liaison reports back to the Director of Field Experiences and Student Teaching to provide high quality experiences.

Other procedures include regular contact with all field experiences and contact between university faculty, supervisors and cooperating teachers and building administrators. During these contacts, information about placement design, delivery and assessment are regularly discussed. An example of this is in the methods courses, where university faculty meet with building teachers and administrators in order to develop lessons and units that are aligned with district curriculum and assess candidate proficiencies and student learning. Other examples include work in the education administration and special education programs, where faculty meet with special placements for special education (such as programs with students with more significant disabilities)or in education administration (with district superintendents and other administration) faculty meet with these constituencies to assure quality field experience planning and development.

Finally, because Widener’s supervisory experiences during the more advanced field components are weekly, there is a constant communication between entities to bring back feedback on the experience design, delivery and assessment.

3. What is the role of the unit and its school partners in determining how and where candidates are placed for field experiences, student teaching, and internships? At the present time Widener University places candidates at all levels of field experience, student teaching and internships in 139 public schools and 15 private schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. These are established partnerships.

At this time placements for field experiences are determined either by the Office of Certification (for students enrolled in Ed 101 Introduction to Teaching) or by faculty members who teach methods courses and who have developed instructional plans for candidates who are headed for the field. Decisions regarding where candidates should be placed depend on the kinds of experiences that are built into the curriculum of a particular methods course. For example, when the learning objectives of a methods course emphasize inclusion of students who require special services for physical disabilities, hearing or speech impairments, or cognitive needs, then schools are selected that where best practices in inclusion are likely to be observed.

Student teaching placements are made by the Office of Certification. Decisions are based on the willingness of schools and classroom teachers to provide placements for our candidates, and the ability of candidates to travel to various locations.

Clinical practice (internships and practica) may occur at a candidate's place of employment; or placements may be determined by the faculty member who will be the candidate's supervisor. For example, the Pottstown School District has served dependably as a site where home and school visitor candidates can be placed if the candidate is not already employed in a school. Candidates who are placed in the Pottstown School District work with a licensed home and school visitor.

Clinical practice for reading specialists occurs on the Widener main campus in Chester, PA. Candidates for certification as reading specialists complete ED 539 Practicum for Reading Specialists during the summer semester. The practicum is a collaboration with the Widener University Child Development Laboratory School.

Clinical practice (internships) for principals, district level supervisors and the Letter of Eligibility for superintendent/assistant superintendent more often than not occur at the school where a candidate is employed. The supervision of these internships is by either a full-time faculty member or an adjunct faculty member -- both of whom have many years of service as school administrators. Both the planning of the internship and the supervision of the internship are strengthened by the long professional associations between the Widener faculty and administrators at the internship sites.

4. How do the unit and its school partners share expertise and resources to support candidates' learning in field experiences and clinical practice? Certificate programs vary on how expertise and resources are used. Technology support, supervisor support, web resources, and in class support are all utilized. Building faculty and administrators participate in class sessions for preparatory and follow up activities. The Office of Field Experience and Student Teaching, along with the liaison for schools, also brings together these resources and expertise. For example, Widener Technology support has regularly been used in cooperating schools to assist with candidate performance and provide modeling for cooperating teachers. Local districts have also provided space and time with administrators at all levels for candidates at the advanced level. Finally, the most utilized partners (CDC, Charter School, Ridley, et al) have all shared resources such as university faculty working with teachers to improve skills (reading workshops, science teaching, etc.) and cooperating districts have allowed the use of facilities for classroom and field experiences, providing candidates with more practical on site activities. A description of some of the collaborations that have occurred between the Center for Education and its school partners appears below in Exhibit 3.4.

5. What differences, if any, exist in collaboration with school partners in programs for other school professionals, off-campus programs, and distance learning programs? Collaboration with school partners in programs for other school professionals and off-campus programs have been integrated with the forms of collaboration described above in Section 3.1. The Advisory Board consists of representatives who are school administrators at off-campus sites as well as teachers and administrators from local districts. None of the certificate programs are offered in a distance-learning format.

The following exhibit is not part of the Institutional Report. It has been added as supplemental information for BOE team members.

Exhibit 3.4 Collaboration with School Partners

Standard 3 - Field Experience and Clinical Practice home