6.3 Field Experiences
Candidates engage in appropriate field experiences to synthesize and apply the content and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions identified in these standards. (PSC 6.3)
Candidates engage in appropriate field experiences to synthesize and apply the content and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions identified in these standards. (PSC 6.3)
While I have had many rewarding field experiences as part of the Instructional Technology Program at KSU, my favorite one is the Duluth Wildcat Walk, the unstructured field experience for ITEC 7410. When my technology mentor invited me to Duluth High School to observe how the school integrates technology into instruction, I jumped at the opportunity. Duluth High School, the Wildcats, has an annual, well-organized, open-door walk through for anyone to observe, hence “The Wildcat Walk.” Furthermore, I was part of a team of teachers from my school to report back to the administration what we observed and how we might incorporate this experience into our school’s technology integration. While I experienced this field work with a handful of teachers from my school, I am the sole creator of the field experience write up.
This field experience shows mastery of Standard 6.3: Field Experiences. For example, I synthesized knowledge from the leadership class (ITEC 7410). I was part of a coalition of stakeholders to observe, plan, and discuss possible courses of action based on our school’s context and student and teacher population. It was a needs assessment in action. This experience improved my disposition towards professionalism and leadership since I networked with teachers and technology leaders from other schools, while also redelivering the highlights of the experience to my own administration. The experience allowed me not only to read about technology leadership, but also to participate in the technology leadership process at my school.
Additionally, this field experience allowed me to synthesize my knowledge and skills identified in these standards. As I observed classrooms, I witnessed teachers using technology to engage students at a high level, to help with classroom management, to teach important content, and to differentiate instruction. In short, I could see the research-based strategies that I have been learning about in action. We also spoke to Duluth’s leadership to get a sense of how they issue devices to teachers and students as well as how they introduce new strategies in their change process. Because I viewed the experience through both a teacher and technology leader perspective, the Wildcat Walk field experience was extremely enriching.
From completing this artifact I learned that my school could host our own Wildcat Walk. This is the message our team delivered to the administrative team. This way teachers can learn from other teachers in a technology-rich environment and get ideas they can bring back to their classrooms. Rather than planning a professional development training, teachers would attend the classes of other teachers in order to improve their own practices. It is a model that our team would like to implement in the future. If I were to do something differently, I would have asked more questions of Duluth’s technology leadership team. There is definitely a culture of collaboration and trust among teachers at Duluth, and I wonder what the leadership team does to encourage/support this collaboration.
The work that went into creating this artifact has impacted school improvement since we brought home a new strategy for conducting professional development in a way that infuses technology, pedagogy, and content. The impact of this learning can be assessed by trying the strategy at our school and surveying teachers to see the extent to which they learned something new by visiting another classroom.
This field experience shows mastery of Standard 6.3: Field Experiences. For example, I synthesized knowledge from the leadership class (ITEC 7410). I was part of a coalition of stakeholders to observe, plan, and discuss possible courses of action based on our school’s context and student and teacher population. It was a needs assessment in action. This experience improved my disposition towards professionalism and leadership since I networked with teachers and technology leaders from other schools, while also redelivering the highlights of the experience to my own administration. The experience allowed me not only to read about technology leadership, but also to participate in the technology leadership process at my school.
Additionally, this field experience allowed me to synthesize my knowledge and skills identified in these standards. As I observed classrooms, I witnessed teachers using technology to engage students at a high level, to help with classroom management, to teach important content, and to differentiate instruction. In short, I could see the research-based strategies that I have been learning about in action. We also spoke to Duluth’s leadership to get a sense of how they issue devices to teachers and students as well as how they introduce new strategies in their change process. Because I viewed the experience through both a teacher and technology leader perspective, the Wildcat Walk field experience was extremely enriching.
From completing this artifact I learned that my school could host our own Wildcat Walk. This is the message our team delivered to the administrative team. This way teachers can learn from other teachers in a technology-rich environment and get ideas they can bring back to their classrooms. Rather than planning a professional development training, teachers would attend the classes of other teachers in order to improve their own practices. It is a model that our team would like to implement in the future. If I were to do something differently, I would have asked more questions of Duluth’s technology leadership team. There is definitely a culture of collaboration and trust among teachers at Duluth, and I wonder what the leadership team does to encourage/support this collaboration.
The work that went into creating this artifact has impacted school improvement since we brought home a new strategy for conducting professional development in a way that infuses technology, pedagogy, and content. The impact of this learning can be assessed by trying the strategy at our school and surveying teachers to see the extent to which they learned something new by visiting another classroom.