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)
Artifact: Structured Field Experience (ITEC 7430)
Reflection:
I chose the structured field experience that I completed for ITEC 7430 in Spring 2013 as the artifact to demonstrate my mastery of Standard 6.3. This project, which I completed for the class entitled Internet Tools in the Classroom, allowed me to merge areas of my professional and academic career in a way that allowed me to see my true potential for success. Through this field experience, I learned that even the best-laid plans have the potential to fail if one does not pay as much attention to the details during delivery as was paid during planning. I had spent much time with the other teachers on my team in designing this project to encourage creative and original thought that delved into the deeper meanings of an ancient play about even more ancient times and applied these lessons to a modern-day scenario. However, as the project progressed, I saw that I had underestimated the ability of my 21st Century Learners to apply practical understanding of technology. At the time, my perception was that the project did not go as smoothly as I had hoped and had led to frustration on the part of several students.
However, when I delivered a survey to students at the end of the year and asked them to choose their favorite unit of study and their favorite summative assignment, a vast majority of students chose the unit focused on The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. When I questioned them further, they explained that they had never really understood why it was important to read Shakespeare or how it could be applicable to their real lives. This project and field experience, which required them to do exactly that, allowed them to find that explanation and application for themselves.
This field experience allowed me the opportunity to demonstrate my mastery of Standard 6.3, which states that candidates “engage in appropriate field experiences to synthesize and apply the content and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions identified in these standards.” This field experience required the interwoven application of technology tools, content standards, and technology standards. In addition, it demanded that I apply the skills needed to use the tools, the knowledge to explain the standards, and attitude that all students could be successful at completing the project.
Since completing this field experience last year, I have had the opportunity to work with other teachers who chose to implement this project in their class. Through collaboration with them, I was able to reflect upon what was successful and what needed changing throughout the process of students completing the assignment. As a result, I was not only able to help my former students see the usefulness of “old dead guys,” but I was also able to bring a technology-rich project that required students to evaluate and apply their knowledge of literature to a teacher who had previously preferred to assess students only through the use the multiple-choice tests.
I chose the structured field experience that I completed for ITEC 7430 in Spring 2013 as the artifact to demonstrate my mastery of Standard 6.3. This project, which I completed for the class entitled Internet Tools in the Classroom, allowed me to merge areas of my professional and academic career in a way that allowed me to see my true potential for success. Through this field experience, I learned that even the best-laid plans have the potential to fail if one does not pay as much attention to the details during delivery as was paid during planning. I had spent much time with the other teachers on my team in designing this project to encourage creative and original thought that delved into the deeper meanings of an ancient play about even more ancient times and applied these lessons to a modern-day scenario. However, as the project progressed, I saw that I had underestimated the ability of my 21st Century Learners to apply practical understanding of technology. At the time, my perception was that the project did not go as smoothly as I had hoped and had led to frustration on the part of several students.
However, when I delivered a survey to students at the end of the year and asked them to choose their favorite unit of study and their favorite summative assignment, a vast majority of students chose the unit focused on The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. When I questioned them further, they explained that they had never really understood why it was important to read Shakespeare or how it could be applicable to their real lives. This project and field experience, which required them to do exactly that, allowed them to find that explanation and application for themselves.
This field experience allowed me the opportunity to demonstrate my mastery of Standard 6.3, which states that candidates “engage in appropriate field experiences to synthesize and apply the content and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions identified in these standards.” This field experience required the interwoven application of technology tools, content standards, and technology standards. In addition, it demanded that I apply the skills needed to use the tools, the knowledge to explain the standards, and attitude that all students could be successful at completing the project.
Since completing this field experience last year, I have had the opportunity to work with other teachers who chose to implement this project in their class. Through collaboration with them, I was able to reflect upon what was successful and what needed changing throughout the process of students completing the assignment. As a result, I was not only able to help my former students see the usefulness of “old dead guys,” but I was also able to bring a technology-rich project that required students to evaluate and apply their knowledge of literature to a teacher who had previously preferred to assess students only through the use the multiple-choice tests.
