Early Childhood Internship PK3

Course Description

Prerequisite: Permission of the Program Director. This courses is identified as an Internship experience at SMC. To meet the requirements for this course, the student will be placed, supervised, and evaluated under the direction of a college staff member to ensure a meaningful internship experience. This course is designed to support teacher candidates as they begin to apprentice in PK-3 classrooms, taking increasing responsibility for instructional design, delivery, and student assessment. The course is designed to engage teacher candidates in further developing awareness of PK-3 classroom culture, as well as PK-3 planning and teaching in the four core content areas (English, Language Arts, science, mathematics, and social studies). It is specifically designed to assist teacher candidates in five areas: 1) developing their abilities to shape relationships with PK-3 children, build classroom community and promote equity; 2) growing in their ability to plan for and teach the four core subjects in grades PK-3; 3) learning to plan instruction that integrates the allied disciplines (integrated creative arts, health, nutrition, physical education, social justice, and technology) into the four core subjects; 4) learning to integrate selected Michigan Core Teaching Practices into their planning and teaching; 5) learning to engage thoughtful self-observation and reflection at the conclusion of each lesson, with an eye to improving their practice for future teaching. This course meets Michigan Department of Education (MDE) Clinical Experience Requirements in the category of student contact hours for the PK-3 band. This course requires a minimum of 200 hours of field experience. This course aligns with MDE PK-3 standards for teacher preparation and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Professional Standards, Competencies ECE I and II. This is an internship and, therefore, requires a final grade of C or better. [Semesters Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer]