Pre-Clinical Field Experiences
The Teacher Education Program requires that each candidate seeking teacher certification complete supervised pre-clinical field experiences. The professional education course sequence provides all candidates with field hours during Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies EIS 201 Human Growth and Development and EIS 302 Multicultural and Social Foundations of Education. Additional practical experiences are provided in EIS 303 and 304, Field Work I and II.
Several
of the initial teacher certification programs have field experiences specific
to the major, such as Agriculture 330, physical 
Education 461, and Elementary
Education 371 and 470. Most of these field experiences occur in surrounding
schools. At the main campus, these include schools in Macomb and in the
towns and villages within forty miles of Macomb. The Elementary Education
program at the Quad Cities campus in Moline generally utilizes the schools
in the larger communities that comprise the Quad City metropolitan area.
Western's field experiences are developmental in nature, beginning with guided classroom observation, then moving to individual student and small group tutoring, and finally, to whole group instruction. Our candidates are engaged in the life of the school, interacting with students, parents, and school professionals. They are actively involved in planning, teaching, assessing learning activities, and in the multitude of other events that frame the school day.
Descriptions of Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies Field Experiences
Course |
Description |
201 |
Observations focus on physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive growth, and classroom environment. |
302 |
Observations of, and interviews with, students, teachers, and administrators. Includes options for service learning. Includes an experience in a diverse setting. |
303/304 |
Experience
as instructional aide including small group lesson planning, instruction,
and assessment. Journaling and reflective papers are required. |