Professional Internship Developmental Curriculum Model and the Classroom Timeline

The Patton College of Education and the OHIO Center of Clinical Practice in Education recognizes that the needs of mentor teachers and their P-12 students vary greatly. We appreciate the expertise of our partners and the abundant guidance and support shown to our teacher candidates. 

For these reasons, we encourage mentor teachers to refer to the Developmental Curriculum Model when creating timelines for progression through the Professional Internship experience. With increased emphasis on the clinical model, the positive research supporting the benefits of co-teaching, and more opportunities for involvement in quantifiable experiences for our candidates, The Patton College of Education expects candidates to have a variety of competencies to become successful, effective educators. 

The following pages include suggestions for a progression through the Developmental Curriculum about the Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession. These pages provide examples of tasks that can be considered when developing a timeline for professional internships. Descriptions and examples of co-teaching strategies are also provided. Each mentor teacher has the autonomy to scaffold activities to best meet the needs of the P-12 students and the professional intern. 

The Ohio University clinical educators and the OHIO Center for Clinical Practice in Education uphold the mentor teachers’ right to create their own timelines for the release of responsibility based on the needs of their own students.

Clinical/Professional Internship Experience Ideas for Beginning Activities

Individual: 

Have the Intern:

• Gather/organize supplies needed for an assignment or project. 
• Assist a student in completing incomplete work for class. 
• Sit near a student to deliver a predetermined behavior support plan. 
• Listen to a student read aloud. 
• Read aloud with a student, small group, or large group. 
• Read with a student to conduct reading fluency probes. 
• Identify characteristics of students in the classroom before information is disclosed (siblings, IEPs, etc.) 
• Interview students and dictate answers on a scientific experiment or a class assignment. 
• Be a partner for students in the class. Provide one-on-one help during classroom activities. 
• Partner with a struggling student, participating as a fellow student. 
• Conduct math fact fluency practice.

Small Group 

Have the intern:

• Collect materials for a learning center. 
• Set up a learning center from given materials. Work in small groups to facilitate activities. 
• Escort students to and from places in the school(recess, nurse, guidance, rest room, etc.) 
• Use proximity of control as the mentor teacher explains directions or divides students into partners or small groups. 
• Work with a small group to brainstorm strategies used in a game situation. 
• Plan and facilitate a center activity. 
• Play on a team or coach a team. 
• Work in small groups to revise or proofread written assignments. 
• Participate with students in team-building challenges

Whole Class

Have the intern:

• Give a spelling pretest to a class. 
• Take attendance. 
• Take roll or lunch count. 
• Correct papers with clear right-wrong answers. 
• Enter grades into records. 
• File materials. 
• Evaluate homework assignments. 
• Design a cooperative game to practice or review subject content. 
• Ask the question of the day. 
• This could be content-related or basic trivia. 
• Run the technology during the lesson (PowerPoint, screen setting, writing on the whiteboard chalkboard, computers). 
• Sit on the carpet to listen to instructions by the mentor (teacher becomes part of the class to understand clarity in directions). 
• Assist with assessments. Assist the mentor teacher in “the opening” part at the beginning of the day. 
• Conduct a review of the content before the lesson. Sit or stand up in front of the class as opposed to sitting in the back of the room. 
• Students in the classroom see the intern as another teacher in the room and the intern gains experience being in front of the class. 
• Evaluate student work and provide immediate feedback to individuals. Record a lesson and watch the lesson. 
• Discuss the lesson, instructional technique, and behavior management. 
• Take over morning routines before the lesson starts. 
• Draw graphic organizers for the class. 
• Greet students at the door and initiate conversations to learn more about each student. 
• Observe a part of a lesson and teach that same mini-lesson to another class.
• Assist with a cooking lab or experiment and ask questions related to the project. 
• Design a game to enhance the learning of a skill. For example, if a student is struggling with colors or simple math problems the intern can design a matching game for the student to use to help with the recall of colors or math facts. 
• Take over a routine part of class instruction such as calendar time, and warm-up skills activities. 
• Conduct a vocabulary review.
• Be a scorekeeper for a game. 
• Record notes on a visual display as the mentor teacher instructs. 
• Tally student participation. Convert teacher-created materials to new technology. 
• Create a new learning center for the classroom. 
• Create a survey or interview to collect information about students’ habits, interests, and understandings. 
• Invite PreK-12students to ask questions about the intern and their background and interests.

Additional Activities:

• Include the intern in classroom discussions by having them sit on the carpet area or sit at a table during small group activities. 
• Discuss with the intern about resources available for planning lessons. 
• Have a pre-planning conference with the intern to discuss lesson planning. 
• Have a discussion with the intern about individual goals during the experience. 
• Have the intern evaluate how the experience is going and discuss ways to improve the rest of the experience. 
• Discuss ideas for a bulletin board display. Have the intern be in charge of designing and creating the display.