Iowa Admin. Code r. 281-79.14

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 10, November 13, 2024

Rule 281-79.14 - Teacher preparation clinical practice standard

The unit and its school partners shall provide field experiences and student teaching opportunities that assist candidates in becoming successful teachers in accordance with the following provisions.

(1) The unit ensures that clinical experiences occurring in all locations are in high-quality instructional programs for PK-12 students in a state-approved school or educational facility and are well-sequenced, supervised by appropriately qualified personnel, monitored by the unit and integrated into the unit standards. These expectations are shared with teacher candidates, college/university supervisors and cooperating teachers.

(2) Cooperating teachers and college/university supervisors share responsibility for evaluating the teacher candidates' achievement of unit standards. Clinical experiences are structured to have multiple performance"based assessments at key points within the program.

(3) Teacher candidates experience clinical practices in multiple settings that include diverse groups and diverse learning needs.

(4) Teacher candidates admitted to a teacher preparation program must complete a minimum of 80 hours of pre-student teaching field experiences, with at least 10 hours occurring prior to acceptance into the program.

(5) Pre-student teaching field experiences support learning in context and include all of the following:

a. High-quality instructional programs for students in a state-approved school or educational facility.

b. Opportunities for teacher candidates to observe and be observed by others and to engage in discussion and reflection on clinical practice, planning, instruction and assessment.

(6) The unit is responsible for ensuring that the student teaching experience for initial licensure:

a. Includes a full-time experience for a minimum of 14 weeks in duration during the teacher candidate's final year of the teacher preparation program.

b. Takes place in the classroom of a cooperating teacher who is appropriately licensed in the subject area and grade-level endorsement for which the teacher candidate is being prepared.

c. Includes prescribed minimum expectations and responsibilities, including ethical behavior, for the teacher candidate.

d. Involves the teacher candidate in communication and interaction with parents or guardians of students in the teacher candidate's classroom.

e. Requires the teacher candidate to become knowledgeable about the Iowa teaching standards and to experience a mock evaluation, which shall not be used as an assessment tool by the unit, performed by the cooperating teacher or a person who holds an Iowa evaluator license.

f. Requires collaborative involvement of the teacher candidate, cooperating teacher and college/university supervisor in candidate growth. This collaborative involvement includes biweekly supervisor observations with feedback.

g. Requires the teacher candidate to bear primary responsibility for planning, instruction and assessment within the classroom for a minimum of two weeks (ten school days).

h. Includes a written evaluation procedure, after which the completed evaluation form is included in the teacher candidate's permanent record.

(7) The unit annually offers one or more workshops for cooperating teachers to define the objectives of the student teaching experience, review the responsibilities of the cooperating teacher and provide the cooperating teacher other information and assistance the unit deems necessary. The duration of the workshop will be equivalent to one day.

(8) The institution enters into a written contract with the cooperating school or district providing clinical experiences, including field experiences and student teaching.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 281-79.14

ARC 8053B, IAB 8/26/09, effective 9/30/09; ARC 1117C, IAB 10/16/2013, effective 11/20/2013

Amended by IAB December 10, 2014/Volume XXXVII, Number 12, effective 1/14/2015

Amended by IAB December 16, 2020/Volume XLIII, Number 13, effective 1/20/2021

Adopted by IAB June 12, 2024/Volume XLVI, Number 26, effective 7/17/2024