Field Experiences
The Education Studies department embodies the 91精简版 value of theory in
practice. Students in EDS courses often have the opportunity to observe educational
practices in action and practice pedagogical theory in classrooms.
Many students experience their first field placement in the department鈥檚 lab school:
The Early Childhood Center (ECC). In ED200 Child Development and Learning, students have the opportunity to complete a 1-credit service learning component
in the ECC. In ED231 Children鈥檚 Literature, many students complete a read-aloud assignment with the children in the ECC. In
the first course in the methods sequence, ED233 Emergent Literacy, EDS majors complete a 2-hour per week lab component in the ECC. At this point in
the program, EDS majors begin to model their teaching after the experienced ECC teachers
and to develop a reflective stance in their emerging teaching practice.
All EDS majors complete field placements in local elementary schools in the Saratoga
Springs City School District and surrounding districts. For example, in ED213 The Exceptional Child in the Elementary School, students complete observational hours in local classrooms to develop an understanding
of the educational experience of students with special needs. In connection to their
methods coursework (ED334 Integrated Curriculum and Instruction, ED335 Teaching Reading in the Elementary School, and ED336 Teaching Elementary Mathematics), EDS majors complete 2-day per week field placements in local classrooms. This opportunity
allows students to observe and practice what they learn in their college classes the
very next day in their elementary school placement classrooms.
EDS majors鈥� culminating experience is student teaching. Student teaching is a full-time
semester spent in elementary classrooms (lower and upper elementary placements). Students
work collaboratively with a cooperating teacher 5-days a week to take on increasing
instructional responsibility. Each placement concludes with a 鈥渟olo week鈥� where the
student teacher takes on all planning and instruction for the elementary students.
Majors are supported by a college supervisor who visits, observes, and consults with
student teachers throughout their placement experience. In addition, students participate
in a weekly seminar meeting on campus where EDS faculty work with the cohort to apply
theory to practice and continue to develop a reflective stance toward teaching.