EDL 684 - Middle Grades Field Experience/Practicum II (3)

This course continues bridging the learning from the Foundations of Educational Leadership course, the first field experience, and the middle grades school site. Students will use experiences from the first practicum as a foundation for building further expertise for creating with others a community of learners. Using educational research and the literature base to help inform their actions, students’ school experiences will focus on programmatic problem solving including developing and implementing support programs for faculty and staff, and curricular issues; recommending adjustments to communication and public relations plans; designing a meeting that focuses on appropriate group process skills and strategies; and/or developing a process for reviewing the school’s discipline plan. Students will also develop the skills to work with competing priorities and values and to manage conflict in a rapidly changing environment as it relates to curriculum, school improvement, discipline, public relations, and group process at their school sites. In addition, students begin visiting schools in varied settings. Students must obtain leave time for at least two full days to spend in schools other than their own. The class sessions will provide an opportunity for processing the field experiences of the students and promoting new problem-solving techniques and decision-making strategies. Students will develop new skills in performance appraisal, interview techniques, collaborative staff development activities, promoting activities outside the classroom, and closing of school activities. Students will also develop a plan for their summer internship.