Dalton State College School of Education

1. Dalton State College School of Education Orientation for Area F Students

2. Welcome to Area F Classes The faculty and staff of Dalton State College School of education welcome you to our Area F classes. We have site teachers working with us in public schools in nine school districts in Northwest Georgia and one system in East Tennessee. You will have opportunities to do classroom assistance in a variety of schools. We have majors in early childhood education and early childhood education with an ESOL endorsement. We have secondary education majors in biology, chemistry, math, English, and history. Our faculty members have a wide variety of experience as early childhood, elementary, middle school, high school teachers, college, and university teachers. Some have served as public school administrators. You are in good hands.

3. Our Conceptual Framework The unit’s vision is to become a 21st-century regional teacher education preparation program of choice. We firmly believe that our teacher candidates, as they enter the classroom, will have the self-efficacy to appropriately apply their professional content and pedagogical knowledge in a variety of teaching contexts (Gorrell & Capron, 1990). The unit will accomplish this vision by closely working with our public school partners. Through sharing in the preparation of teacher candidates, we will produce teachers who are ready to enter the teaching field demonstrating competence, collaboration, caring, and reflection to build effective classrooms environments to support all learners (Eisner, 2005; Gardner; 1985; Lezotte, 1997).

4. What to Remember About Our Conceptual Framework Dalton State College Students are CCCR: Competent Collaborative Caring Reflective

5. Area F Classes • EDUC 2110 Investigating Contemporary and Critical Issues in Education: You learn about current issues in education and do 10 hours of classroom assistance in a public school. • EDUC 2120: Exploring Socio-Cultural Perspectives You learn about tolerance and diversity and do 10 hours of service learning in the community or a public school. The assignments vary with each professor. • EDUC 2130: Exploring Learning and Teaching: You learn what is traditionally known as educational psychology, theories of instruction, and how children learn. Your field placement involves teaching 5 lessons for junior achievement in a public school.

6. About Our Field Placements • In Area F you do a total of 30 field hours in three different settings. • Teacher candidates spend a minimum of 900 hours in the field in the junior, and senior years. • In the junior and senior semesters are called Blocks, with Block I being the first block of the junior year; and block IV being student teaching in the second half of the senior year. • Early childhood teacher candidates have a long-term plan to insure placements in PK-K; grades 1, 2, or 3; and grades 4 or 5. • Secondary education majors have placements in both middle school and high school. • Students are placed in culturally and economically diverse settings in Blocks I, II, and III and may choose, with the approval of the site teacher, administrator/and or central office, to remain in the same setting for Blocks III and IV.

7. Things to Remember • You cannot do a field experience in a school in which you attended or in which you have close relatives. • You must fill out a field placement request form to be placed in the field. • You must contact your site teacher by e-mail or phone as soon as you receive your placement information and let her or him know when you would like to be in the classroom. • Ask about the time classes start. • Ask about the dress code for teachers, and always dress professionally.

8. Our Dress Code • Teacher Candidates enrolled in the pre-professional and professional education courses should be dressed and groomed according to professional standards. They must identify and comply with the adopted dress code of the School of Education and the host school. • Body pierces and tattoos will be covered. • The Site Supervising Teacher should discuss the host school’s dress code on the first day the student is in the school.

9. Time Sheet • You will be provided with a time sheet. This must be signed by the site teacher on each visit to the school. • At the end of the semester, no student will pass an Area F course if the required number of hours are not completed. • The time sheet must be turned in to Nichole Potzauf, the assessment manager for the School of Education, at the end of the semester.

10. Relationships and Confidentiality • We ask that you introduce our students to your class as “teacher candidates” who are working with you to learn how to be a good teacher. • Teacher Candidates should exercise respectful discretion when voicing their personal views. • Confidentiality is expected in all professional discussions. Discussions with the Site Supervising Teacher may give Teacher Candidates access to confidential student and/or school information. It is important that this information be used only in professional circumstances.

11. Legal Issues • Background Checks and Liability Insurance All DSC Teacher Candidates are required to have a background check and to carry professional liability insurance before they are permitted to do field work. • Substitute Teaching Even though our Teacher Candidates may be teaching the lessons in the absence of the Site Supervising Teacher, The State of Georgia requires the presence of a certified teacher or system authorized substitute in the classroom to be in the classroom for legal reasons. • Medication Our Teacher Candidates are not permitted to give medication to children. .

12. Emergency Contact Information • The Teacher Candidate should give emergency contact information to the Site Supervising Teacher in case an illness or accident occurs. This would include family members to contact, a preferred doctor’s name, and a preferred hospital. • In case of a serious emergency, call 911 and get the Teacher Candidate to the nearest hospital.

13. Entering the Bachelor’s Degree Program in Education • There are two entry points, one in the fall semester and one in the spring. Deadlines will be given for admission. • Download an admissions packet from the School of Education web site and turn it in to the School of Education’s administrative assistant. • Get two letters of recommendation if you are a secondary major and three if you are an early childhood major. At least one must be from an education professor. • Take the GACE Basic Skills test unless you are exempt by having a score of 1000 on the SAT and ----on the ACT. • Pass a criminal background check done at http://www.certifiedbackground.com • Obtain professional liability insurance (Suggestion: Join GAE or PAGE for a small fee; and it is provided by them.)

14. Block I • Early childhood teacher candidates will spend two full days per week (Tuesday/ Thursday OR Monday/Wednesday) at designated sites. Teacher Candidates will arrive daily at 7:30 A.M. and remain at the school site until 3:00 PM, unless otherwise instructed by the site teacher. • In Block I, the early childhood teacher candidate will be placed in three settings if he or she is seeking an ESOL endorsement: 4 days in an ESOL middle school setting, 4 days in an ESOL high school setting, and the remaining time in an early childhood setting. If not working on an ESOL endorsement, the candidate will remain in the early childhood placement for the entire placement period. • Block I secondary majors will be placed in either a middle school or high school placement in their major subject area and will do 133 hours in the field. Their schedules will be arranged with individual teachers. • It is important that the Site Supervising Teacher explain what and why activities are accomplished.

15. Appropriate Tasks for Block I • The teacher candidate is not there just to be an observe. We ask that most of the time be spent directly involved with helping students. • He/she is there to help the site supervising teacher in any way possible: • reading to the students • working with a small group or individual • supervising tables or projects • walk children to the library, lunch, or recess • making a game • grading papers; etc.

16. Block II • Block II early childhood teacher candidates are in the field two days per week. Secondary majors should be in the field at least 133 hours by the end of the semester. • In addition to the regularly expected co-teaching and classroom assistance, the teacher candidate will develop and deliver three instructional lesson plans, which will be evaluated by a college supervisor. • In early childhood classes, one plan must be in social studies and one plan must be in reading aligned with the methods courses, and one plan should be in mathematics. In secondary education, all lessons must be in the major field of study. • These lessons must be approved by the site teacher, and a copy of the lesson plan must be prepared for the DSC Supervisor prior to delivery. Each delivered lesson will be assessed by the DSC Supervisor and/or Site Supervising Teacher.

17. Block III • In Block III, teacher candidates are expected to be responsible for: • teaching small groups of students. • preparing and delivering a minimum of three formal instructional lessons to the whole class. A college supervisor will evaluate these lessons. • The teacher candidate is expected to co-teach with the site supervising teacher or teach from the site supervising teacher’s lesson plans on a regular basis (preferably each week).

18. Block IV • Block IV candidates will spend five days per week (Monday-Friday) at designated sites. Teacher candidates will be in the classroom for the full day, beginning at the same time as the Site Supervising Teacher. Secondary majors will spend ½ of the semester in a middle school and ½ of the semester in a high school. • During the semester, the increasing responsibility for planning, organizing, and delivering instruction is assumed by the teacher candidate. • When the supervisors deem it appropriate, the teacher candidate responsibilities increase to include full-time teaching for a minimum of two consecutive weeks. • After the required full-time teaching period, the teacher candidate may continue to teach as a member of the teaching team. Full participation as a professional in the classroom will continue until the end of the semester.

19. Administering the APBD • The APBD asks the site teacher to evaluate the teacher candidates on a number of professional behaviors and dispositions using a simple scoring system of 1 for does not meet expectations, 3 for meets expectations, and 5 for exceeds expectations. • A score of 5 is only given for those Teacher Candidates who are truly exceptional in the area. • Anyone can download a copy of the APB D from the School of Education web site. Instructions for submitting the online version will be sent at the midterm and final parts of the semester. The online version goes into an assessment system for accreditation records for our program. • The teacher candidate should discuss his/her progress on the he APBD regularly with the site teacher. At the midterm and final evaluatons, the site teacher will evaluate the teacher candidate formally, print a copy, and give it to her or him for records. The teacher candidate in turn will give a copy to their seminar professor for the School of Education’s files.

20. Contact Information • Please contact the Director of Field Experiences with any questions you have. Lelia Christie Mullis, Ed.D. Director of Field Experiences 650 College Drive Dalton, Georgia 30720 Phone (706) 272-2497 FAX: (706) 272-2495 E-Mail: lmullis@daltonstate.edu