Clinical Practice Support
Overview
This Clinical Practice Support resource was developed to help teacher education faculty facilitate virtual clinical practice experiences during school closures.
Introduction
Our goal is to support teacher educators in designing clinical practice experiences for their teacher candidates. Faculty are encouraged to remix this resource to make it work for their unique student communities. We hope to facilitate continuous improvement of lesson planning and teaching.
These activities were intended to introduce candidates to increasingly greater levels of responsibility in the roles for which they are preparing. These activities are specifically designed to help candidates attain identified knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions outlined in professional, state, and institutional standards. (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education Standards, 2016).
The following Clinical Practice resource offers support for the following components of clinical practice :
- Observe
- Reflect
- Plan
- Teach
Reflect: We invite teacher educators to reflect on the following questions while thinking about clinical practice.
- What is "teaching" during the pandemic?
- What would best help and support teacher candidates?
Observe
Choose one of the twenty one lesson videos to observe from the Achieve the Core Supplemental Lesson Videos here https://achievethecore.org/category/1196/supplemental-lesson-videos
Reflect
This section replaces the intimate reflection experience teacher candidates would typically have with faculty, mentors, and/or university supervisors after a lesson is taught.
By systematically reflecting on the outcomes of each lesson to examine why learning occurred or not, teachers have an opportunity to build their knowledge and advance their expertise (Zwozdiak-Myers, 2012).
Below you will find several questions to support candidates' development in becoming critically refelctive educators.
Thinking about context:
What was the grade level, subject, topic, funds of knowledge, ethnic composition, language(s), academic strengths academic challenges, and student interests observed?
What evidence did you observe of preparing the learning environment to support learning (materials, technology, seating arrangement, timing/transitions).
Thinking about Framing Principles:
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Barriers: What barriers to learning exist within this lesson and within the learning environment? How do you plan on minimizing or tackling these barriers?
Engagement: How did the teacher provide multiple means of engagement to encourage purposeful and motivated learners in this lesson plan context? How did the teacher share the responsibility of learning with the students?
Action and Expression: In what ways did you observe students “showing what they know” of the content within the lesson time? How will they provide options for executive functions, communication and physical action?
Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP)
- What do you know about assessing students’ learning and development?
- Is there evidence that the teacher identified students' interests and skills, and adapted the curriculum and environment?
- What supports were in place to deepen learning or scaffold students who were struggling?
- What do you think would have happened had the teacher not met the students where they were?
Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Practices (CLSP)
How did the lesson reflect the cultures and funds of knowledge of the students?
Overall Reflections:
Using the information gathered in the video and the information above, write a written reflection using the “What, So What, Now What” format.
What: Share insights you gained from your own detailed analysis of your video.
So What: How did those insights lead you to a deeper understanding of teaching and learning? Connect your new insights to theory and research—especially when considering what you would do differently next time.
Now What: What goals do you have for your teaching practice in the last few months of the semester? What goals do you have long term (by the end of the year)?
(Connecticut Workgroup, 2017)
Plan
Plan a lesson based off the data gathered from your observations and reflection
Here is where we encourage new strategies and ideas based off action research, critical analysis, theory, and students funds of knowledge.
Here are some sample lesson templates:
- University of Northern Colorado Lesson Planning Guide (Overview of Lesson Plan Formats)
- STEM Inquiry Lesson Plan Template https://www.oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/55761/overview
- Understanding by Design Lesson Plan Template
- Lesson Plan with Hyperlinks to Standards (Quick access to NGSS and Math/ELA CCSS)
Teach
Considerations for teaching during school closures:
- How can districts and Educator Preparation Programs engage teacher candidates?
- What virtual teaching opportunities are available?
- What in-person teaching opportunities are available?