FAQs - Professional Field Experiences

What is the Office of Professional Field Experiences (PFE)

Once admitted to the Initial Teacher Certification (ITC) program, each student will be required to satisfy three semesters of specific field experience requirements and one semester of student teaching. (NOTE: Some programs may have exceptions to this format. Check with your advisor for details.) The PFE office will assist the student in securing an appropriate school site for this field experience requirement, collect required paperwork and monitor the student's success. This office is located in the basement of Payne Hall in Room L1-14. Our phone number is 480.965.6255. Our regular business hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

What is field experience?

Students in the ITC program must register for a class in the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education that is taken in conjunction with their methods courses. Students are placed in a local school setting to allow a marriage of course theory to classroom practice. Fieldwork adds perspective for understanding and interpreting information presented in class. It also provides a unique opportunity for interns to interact with and learn from classroom practitioners. Both the placement teacher in the school and the student intern initiate activities that encourage and enhance the intern's classroom participation and professional development. With assistance from program faculty, interns are usually allowed to request where they would like to be placed for their field experiences. Students will need to have a reliable car or accessibility to public transportation in order to get to the placement school.

How many hours per week must an intern spend in this classroom?

It depends on the area of specialization but a student can plan on spending a minimum of 6 clock hours per week beginning in the 3rd week of the semester and lasting for a minimum of 12 weeks.

How does an intern receive feedback about their classroom skills?

Student interns are evaluated by the placement teacher midway through the semester and at the end of the semester. Interns will receive an intern packet each semester for the placement teacher to complete.

How does an intern keep a log of their hours?

Student interns will find a timecard in their intern packet or on-line. They will log their field experience hours on the time card and have the timecard signed by their placement teacher every month.

What happens to all the interns' appraisals and timecards?

All paperwork must be submitted to the Office of Professional Field Experiences (Payne L1-14) in order for a student to receive a passing grade. All submitted paperwork is reviewed by office personnel. Reviewers are looking for indicators that may show weaknesses in certain teaching skills. In some cases, the intern may be asked to discuss these weaknesses with the Director of PFE or a Counselor.

What is student teaching?

Teaching is an immensely complex, multi-faceted endeavor. Student teaching is a full-time, 15-week commitment working one-on-one with a trained mentor teacher. Student teachers may not receive a salary or stipend from the school district while they are clocking student teaching hours. Student teachers are required to be on duty at their assigned school for the complete school day during the entire semester. Students should expect that their student teaching day will not end at 4:00 PM. Instead, the preparation of lesson plans, grading , in-service meetings and parent conferences may require continued work far beyond the eight-hour day.

All student teachers are required to use TaskStream, write weekly reflection entries, maintain an accurate timecard, organize instructional information in a notebook, and attend professional seminars. The university supervisor and mentor teacher will assess these basic requirements and give the student teacher constant feedback.

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