Field Experiences
Graduate Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the placement process?
- Where are students placed?
- What are the prerequisites for a placement?
- When should I begin planning a placement?
- What are the resources available in the Field Experience Office?
- What is an intern?
- What are the benefits of an internship?
- Is it worth it?
- Can I find my own site?
- Can I get paid?
- If I have a job in a school or site that may be appropriate for my degree, can I use that for my placement?
- What are the criteria for a Supervising Practitioner teacher?
- What are the criteria for a Supervising Practitioner in the Birth to Three Program?
- How will I be supervised while I am in my practicum?
- If I have a learning disability or any type of disability, should I disclose this information to my site supervisor and/or cooperating practitioner?
- Should I call a site or teacher I am interested in doing a placement with?
1. What is the placement process?
The first step for all students is to make an appointment with the Field Experience Office by calling (617)879-2165 or emailing us at feo@wheelock.edu. You will not be eligible to visit any sites until you check with us.
It is most important to keep in close contact with the Field Experience Office at each step of your search. Please do not call sites on your own without notifying us. Sites can get overwhelmed with calls and visits. Our role is to support you in your search and to keep the process as streamlined and hassle free as possible.
2. Where are students placed?
Wheelock has a commitment to serving the Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline communities in which the College is located. Students are placed primarily in these urban communities, in schools, hospitals, and agencies with which the College has partnerships and longstanding relationships.
3. What are the prerequisites for a prepracticum ,practicum, internship or residency internship?
Graduate students must be accepted to Wheelock before they can apply for internships. Graduate students must be admitted into a graduate program at least one semester prior to the semester in which they wish to begin their field work. Graduate students must complete three prerequisite courses before beginning the internship in the fall.
Some sites may have individual requirements for students before they begin their field work. For example, students and interns teaching in the Cambridge Public School system must show proof of a negative TB test taken within 90 days of beginning placement. Graduate students in the Child Life program who are entering hospitals or community health programs may be required to show proof of negative TB, proof of physical, and immunization records before beginning placement. Additionally, some sites may require CORI ( Criminal Offense Record Inquiries) checks before a student may begin his or her placement.
For further information, please contact the Field Experience Office.
4. When should I begin planning a placement?
When you are accepted into the graduate program to which you have applied, please call the Field Experience Office at (617)879-2165 to set up an appointment.
5. What are the resources available in the Field Experience Office?
The Field Experience Office is responsible for the field-based experiences of all Wheelock students, both graduate and undergraduate with the exception of Social Work. Wheelock students complete practicum and clinical experiences in over 285 programs serving children and families throughout the metropolitan Boston area. In keeping with the vision of the College, we seek placements, which offer students opportunities to work in settings rich in diversity. The placements reflect the College's historic involvement in the community and emphasize the importance of dynamic integration of theoretical and practical knowledge.
The staff of the Field Experience Office works closely with faculty, supervisors and supervising practitioners to ensure that students have a broad range of field-based experiences while at the college. The staff of the Field Experience Office seeks to make a match that works to the mutual benefit of the student, supervising practitioner and children. We are happy to assist students in exploring placement options based on their course requirements, interests and professional goals. Our offices are located on the third floor of ACW.
6. What is an intern?
Interns are teachers-in-training whose opportunities for learning, whose formal and informal school-based responsibilities, and whose relationships with the school, the supervising practitioner, and the children they work with differ from those of student teachers. Interns typically spend an entire year in a single classroom learning to co-teach with a mentor teacher. They work towards sharing the classroom and teaching responsibilities with their mentors, including planning curriculum, implementing activities and lesson plans, assessing children's learning, and communicating with families.
7. What are the benefits of an internship?
- Experiencing a full school year in the same classroom
- Mentoring from an experienced teacher
- Seeing children's growth over a year in both content area and social /emotional development
- Becoming an integral part of the teaching team and school community
- Seeing the evolution of teaching practices over the course of a year
- Forming relationships with other interns for support, reflection, and shared learning experiences
- Establishing a classroom climate and culture
- Curriculum development and implementation over the course of a year
- Modifying the learning environment to meet children's and curricular needs
- Using assessment data to modify curriculum and instruction
- Communicating with families
- Deepening understanding of children's backgrounds (race, language, culture, gender, families, special needs) and using that knowledge to inform practice
8. Is it worth it ?
For a variety of reasons, Wheelock students have found that their internship experiences have been intense but "well worth it" because of the breadth and depth of their experiences in the classroom, in the school, and in the profession. Generally, students who have done internships feel more confident and better prepared to assume responsibility for their own classrooms, and to take on leadership roles in their new schools, the following year. While most interns earn a stipend, in the long run, it is the quality of the experiences rather than the amount of the stipend that matters most.
9. Can I find my own site?
Students are not permitted to make their own placements. All placements are made through the Field Experience Office.
10. Can I get paid?
Many of the graduate education programs have an internship component that is a year long paid practicum that follows the school year calendar from September through June. Students must apply for internships through the Field Experience Office in early spring of the semester prior to the fall internship they are seeking.
11. If I have a job in a school, can I use that for my placement?
When a student has a paid position in a care or education setting other than a Wheelock partnership site, the graduate school will considersupervising that student in that site. Such a student must complete a site approval application through the Field Experience Office. Graduate students who are employed either as teachers or paraprofessionals in child care or education settings may apply in writing to use their place of employment as their field experience. The placement must meet state certification requirements (age/grade level, inclusive population.) and the student must be allowed to fully participate in all teaching activities with the whole group of children. The state requires that supervising practitioners have Professional Licensure in the area in which the student is looking to be certified. An on site "supervising practitioner of record" must be identified in such cases where a student is teaching in their own classroom. Each student will be assigned a Wheelock supervisor who will visit and observe the classroom, and this places a geographic consideration on the placement and site.
12. What are the criteria for a supervising practitioner teacher?
If the student is an Assistant Teacher or Classroom Aide, a Certified Teacher must supervise him or her in that classroom. The teacher must have Professional Licensure in the area the student is looking to be certified.
If the student is the Teacher of Record, either the Principal or a designated Certified Teacher must supervise him or her. The on site supervisor observes the student and meets with him or her as well on a regular basis.
13. What are the criteria for a supervising practitioner in the Birth to Three Program?
Due to the specialization of this degree in preparing educators in infant and toddler development and early intervention programming, we are seeking site supervisors who have both training and experience in this area. The following guidelines should provide helpful information for determining potential site supervisors:
-
Master's degree in Early Intervention, with one year of full-time experience.
-
Master's degree in Early Childhood Special Education or Infant and Toddler Studies/Education with two years full-time experience in Early Intervention.
-
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Development or Special Education with three years full-time experience in Early Intervention.
14. How will I be supervised while I am in my practicum?
Students are supervised by a member of the Wheelock College Faculty who serves as the connecting link between the student's placement and the College. The Wheelock supervisor shares the responsibility for the student's professional development with supervising personnel at the site. Wheelock supervisors observe the student's work and provide ongoing feedback and suggestions. In addition, the Wheelock supervisor provides the student with another professional with whom to process events, sort out experiences and develop her/his own emerging interaction style and philosophy.
15. If I have a learning disability or any type of disability, should I disclose this information to my site supervisor and/or supervising practitioner?
This is a personal decision . You are not legally obligated to do so, but some people find that it is beneficial . It is recommended that students registered with the Office of Disability Services here at the college make an appointment with the Coordinator of Disability Services to discuss whether or not to disclose, how to disclose, and/or what information to disclose.
16. Should I call a site or teacher I am interested in doing a placement with?
Please do not call sites without notifying us. Placement sites can get overwhelmed with calls and visits. We urge you to keep in close contact with the Field Experience Office, and contact us with any questions at any time. Our role is to support you and keep the process as streamlined and hassle free as possible.
If you have any questions that should be a part of our Frequently Asked Questionssection, please let the Field Experience Office know and they will include them.
