Education Practicum Placements

Umpqua Community College will be teaching its ED 100 Introduction to Education class this fall beginning on Tuesday, September 29. It is often the first course students take to explore whether or not becoming a teacher is the best choice for them. This fall, I anticipate at least 20 students, more than I have had in a long while. This is great news, but also a bit challenging.

One of the requirements of the course is for the student to work alongside an experienced educator for 60 hours during the term. That averages to be approximately 6 hours per week.

In our current virtual/hybrid instructional environment, practicum experiences necessarily will look different than in the past. While students are not required to do any kind of direct instruction, the practicum student would be asked to do the following:

1. Sit in on an virtual classroom session teachers are holding to observe instruction and interaction with students.

3. If there are small group help sessions, the practicum student could play a tutoring role for students needing support. This is not required, but possible.

2. Connect with the teacher at convenient times for both parties (virtually or f2f using appropriate precautions) to discuss lessons and any questions the student may have.

We will meet as a class through CANVAS every Tuesday for 50 minutes. I use this time to focus on a particular educational topic, have students share what they are experiencing and listen to their reflections and questions. Each week, they are asked to consider a particular element of the classroom environment and write a paper based on readings, observations and personal experiences. These topics are likely to be the basis of questions students ask of their supervising teachers.

For now, I am asking whether you are willing to host a practicum student this fall. I am currently in the process of contacting all of my students to find out grade levels they are most interested in and if appropriate, subject areas or specialties. I will be working in the next couple of weeks to make any needed matches.

Please fill out this google form to let me know your status. https://forms.gle/hZ3mDPjFXoSv6dSr6

Thank you for your support of our pre-service teachers. They will be our great teachers of the future!

Gwen Soderberg-Chase

UCC Associate Professor - Education

541-784-8622

gwen.soderberg-chase@umpqua.edu