Early Public School Experience

As part of the Liberal Studies Major, you are required to have a minimum of 45 hours of early classroom experience. The Standards of Program Quality and Effectiveness stipulate that each prospective multiple subject candidate must be provided with:

See below for 45-hour experience guidelines

•  Planned, structured observations and experiences in K- 8 classrooms

•  Field observations and experiences that are linked to the content of coursework in the program

•  Opportunities to reflect on, analyze and discuss their K-8 observations and experiences in relation to course content in one or more subject matter courses

•  Experiences in the classrooms that represent California 's diverse student population

•  Certified classroom teachers

 

To meet these requirements, the professional preparation programs in the School of Education , have developed pre-requisite courses to enhance the experience and satisfy the state requirements (please refer to the table below for the program specific course information).

 

Program	Early Experience Requirement
Multiple Subject EDUC **	EDTE 255: K-12 Introductory Classroom Experience (45 hours of early experience embedded)
Bilingual MS & SS PSED ***	45 hours* of early classroom experience prior to enrollment in EDTE 440: Practicum in Multilingual/Multicultural Classroom Settings . (*will accept EDCI 110 or EDTE 255 for first 45 hours)
Special Education PSED ***	45 hours * of early classroom experience prior to enrollment in SPED 596: Field Experience - General and Special Education . (*will accept EDCI 110 or EDTE 255 for first 45 hours).
Tri-Placement PSED ***	45 hours* of early classroom experience prior to enrollment in EDTE 440: Practicum in Multilingual/Multicultural Classroom Settings . (*will accept EDCI 110 or EDTE 255 for first 45 hours)

** EDUC - Department of Education - Tehema 101 - Deborah Summers, Chair
*** PSED - Professional Studies in Education - Tehema 401 - Jim Richmond, Chair

 

 

*45- HOUR EARLY CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT

The 45 hours of early experience required by all programs must satisfy the guidelines listed below. The experience must:

 

•  Be program appropriate (elementary level for Multiple Subject; secondary level for Single Subject; bilingual setting for Bilingual program candidates.

•  Be completed within the last four years prior to professional preparation program entry

•  Have at least 30 hours (2/3 of the total hours) in traditional public school setting, observing and/ or aiding a certified classroom teacher

•  Have at least 15 hours (1/3 of the total hours) in a linguistically diverse classroom. These 15 hours could be part of the 30- hour requirement above. Bilingual candidates must have a minimum of 30 hours in a linguistically diverse classroom taught by a bilingual certified or BCLAD emphasis teacher.

Prospective multiple subject candidates may receive credit for a maximum of fifteen (15) hours in one of the following options:

•  Experience in a private school

•  Substitute teacher or teacher-of-record with written verification by a school administrator or teacher

•  Tutoring or other educational service project or course that provides direct experience with students (i.e., special education setting, mentoring programs, specialized charter schools, magnet schools, after-school academic programs- see program advisor for possible approval of settings not listed )

 

Verification of 45 hour Early Experience

If you are completing hours outside a course setting you must provide a letter verifying the hours worked. Moreover, professional preparation programs require 2 letters of recommendation. At least one letter must be from a credentialed teacher or a school administrator who has seen you work with children in a school setting. This letter could serve both purposes: verification of hours worked and recommendation for entry into a professional preparation program. The letter must be on a school letterhead and provide the following information:

•  Grade level

•  Was it a culturally diverse classroom? (i.e., were there several English Learners, ethnic minority, low socioeconomic and/ or special populations pupils in the classroom?)

•  Amount of hours worked in the classroom

 

Liberal Studies Program
asr: 6/06