Field Experience Fact Sheet

SED 554/554S and SED 555/555S

This fact sheet highlights procedures and policies regarding the field experiences. The official policies can be found in the Early Field Experience & Student Teaching Handbook for the Single Subject Preliminary Credential Program at the following web address: https://www.csun.edu/eisner-education/secondary-education/student-teaching

SED 554/554S

The SED 554/S Early Field Experience and Seminar is the first of two semesters of formal field experience. SED 554/S is usually completed in your second-to-final semester of the program. You, the Candidate, work with a Mentor Teacher at a school for 1 period daily, the same period every day, or at least 5 hours per week if on block scheduling, plus another 1 hour daily for consultation, observations, and planning, for one full semester or track—in other words, a total of at least 10 hours weekly. You begin with several weeks of observing classrooms, and working with small groups or individual students, then gradually assume responsibility for teaching the class. You also attend a weekly seminar that supports your early field experience and culminates in the submission of the Feedback-Receiving edTPA (FRED), an abridged version of the edTPA.

SED 555/555S

SED 555/S Student Teaching and Seminar is the second of two semesters of formal field experience, and is usually taken in your final program semester. You work with a Mentor Teacher at a school site for the same 2 periods daily, or the equivalent (~ 10 hours weekly) in schools with block schedules, plus another 1 hour daily for consultation, observations, and planning, for one full semester or track—in other words, a total of at least 15 hours weekly. You are expected to teach both classes from the first day. You also attend a weekly seminar that supports your student teaching and preparation of the edTPA.

Applying for Field Experiences

• It is your responsibility to meet the Credential Office (CO) application deadlines for field experiences: July 1 (for fall placements) and December 1 (for spring placements). Apply online at: https://www.csun.edu/eisner-education/credential-office/student-teaching-applications
• The CO determines whether you are eligible for the early field experience (SED 554) or student teaching (SED 555) and communicates this information to you by email. It is your responsibility to work with the CO to understand the conditions you must meet to become eligible.
• Once you are found eligible, the CO forwards your name to the Secondary Education Department (SED), and the Field Office Support Coordinator or Subject Coordinator in your subject will contact you and initiate your placement at a school.
• You must also request permission numbers to enroll in SED 554/S or SED 555/S. Do this online at: http://www.csun.edu/eisner-education/secondary-education/student-teaching. You will receive permission numbers only after you have been cleared by the CO and have met course pre- and co-requisites. (Exception: ACT Candidates will be given permission numbers for SED 554/S and SED 555/S without having to apply for them online.)
• You must self-enroll in SOLAR in these courses; this will not be done for you.
• If you do not meet registration and fee deadlines, the University may disenroll you.

The School Assignment/Placement

You must meet two requirements in order to formally begin a field assignment in the field, working directly with secondary-school students, including classroom observations:

1. You must be found eligible for the field experience by the Credential Office.
2. You must be officially enrolled in the appropriate field-experience courses.

There are no exceptions to this policy. Both conditions must be met before you are allowed to begin any field experience, including observations and teaching. Note: Many schools and districts now require additional clearance tests and documentation, above and beyond what CSUN requires. You must meet these requirements as well before you can begin your assignment. Please attend to these as quickly as possible so as not to delay your start.

• It is the department’s responsibility to arrange the placement, not yours. You may indicate preferences, but we must take into account a number of other factors and may not be able to accommodate your requests. CSUN has partnerships with many secondary schools in the San Fernando Valley, and long-standing relationships and contracts with LAUSD and other nearby school districts. Student teachers are placed in these schools whenever possible.
• In general, in order to give you diversity of experience and to comply with program standards from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, at least one semester of field experience must include a cross-cultural experience and one assignment must include at least one class that enrolls English learners.
• With your Preliminary Credential, you will earn the “ELAS” authorization, which authorizes you to teach English learners and assist with English language development in your content-area classroom.
• To ensure that you are provided with a qualified University Supervisor in your subject area, school placements are located within a 20-mile radius of CSUN.
• One of your field-experience assignments will take place at a middle school and the other at a high school; the order does not matter. Rare exceptions are made when the nature of the subject requires it.
• CSUN must wait for schools to make decisions on Mentor Teachers and classroom assignments for our Candidates. In a few cases, the assignment may not be finalized until after the school semester has begun.
• Once you know your placement school, contact the school’s Assistant Principal and your Mentor Teacher and arrange to meet and begin planning for the semester. Discuss with them the fact sheet entitled “Responsibilities of the Mentor Teacher in SED 554 or SED 555.”  This is critical, because your University Supervisor will not make a first visit until after school has started.

Professional Expectations

• You are expected to observe and/or teach at the school site from the beginning to end of that school’s semester or track, independent of the beginning and end of CSUN’s semester, and independent of when your final evaluation is due or submitted.
• You are expected to attend your assigned class or classes every day they meet, except in cases of illness or a family emergency. Absences exceeding 5 school days will normally result in a No Credit for the field experience and seminar courses and a dismissal from the assignment.
• You must complete a lesson plan for every lesson you teach and keep the plans in the classroom in a binder or electronic folder that is accessible to your Mentor Teacher and University Supervisor.

When a Problem Arises

• If you do not demonstrate satisfactory progress, the University Supervisor, in collaboration with the Mentor Teacher, will develop an Assistance Plan. This plan is agreed upon and signed by all parties.
• If the school becomes dissatisfied with your performance or professionalism, the administration may terminate your assignment at any time. In most cases, this will result in an automatic No Credit for the field-experience and seminar courses.
• If you receive grades of No Credit in two different semesters of field experience (that is, in any combination of SED 554/S and SED 555/S), you will be disqualified from the credential program.