Reference no: EM131223685 , Length:

General Practicum Information

- Students should complete the Practicum Placement Form and Observation and Activity Log located in the Practicum/Field Experience Manual, including the names of the schools and grade levels where the practicum/field experiences took place and document the hours spent in the classrooms. Submit the forms to the course instructor along with your Benchmark Assignment.

- Spend 10 hours in two classrooms (20 total hours). Let your mentors know that you are working on understanding differentiated instructional and behavioral support strategies and techniques. Throughout the practicum/field experience, observe and interview your mentors as to best practices in these areas. Observations must be in a K-3 environment and one must be in a Title 1 school.

- It is recommended that these observations occur in the first 4 weeks of the course as the Topic 4 assignment is directly related to the observations. They will also inform the Benchmark Assignment.

Benchmark Assignment

Individual: Instructional and Behavioral Support of Students in an Early Childhood Classroom Benchmark Assignment and Rubric.

Using your practicum/field experience hours and in an essay of 1,000-1,250-words, identify, analyze, and critique the instructional and behavioral support strategies that affect the learning of a typical, an atypical, and a gifted student.

- Identify the developmental milestones of each student. Use research to support your identification. Describe how the mentor teachers differentiate their classroom instruction to meet the needs of these students.
o Be sure to provide specific examples of the differentiation strategies.
o Describe the classroom environment, including the diverse learners in the classroom, culture, gender, socioeconomic factors, etc.
- Explain what incentives and positive behavioral supports are in place within each classroom and how each student responds.
- Identify what ongoing assessments are used and which are necessary to mark progress for each student, including progress toward IEP goals for the student with a disability.

Use 3-5 scholarly resources.

Prepare the assignment according to the GCU guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.