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Clinical Practice at Seaver College

  • Teacher Candidates
  • Teacher Candidate in the Classroom
  • Teacher Candidate Reading to Children

In Seaver's Teacher Preparation Program, courses are intentionally aligned with clinical practice in classrooms so that teacher candidates can experience both the theoretical and practical components of teaching and learning while also gaining valuable experience.

Clinical Placements

Throughout the Teacher Preparation Program (TPP), teacher candidates have the opportunity to work in five different classrooms, completing approximately 750 hours of clinical practice. In these placements, candidates build relationships with Mentor Teachers (MTs) and students, participate in a variety of learning communities, strengthen classroom management skills, build content-specific knowledge, and create and implement lesson plans. The director of clinical practice is responsible for securing clinical placements that will strengthen candidates' development as educators throughout their learning-to-teach journey. Teacher candidates may request placements in certain schools; however, the final decision is made by the TPP faculty.

The Commission on Teacher Credentialing program standards state that teacher candidates must complete their clinical practice in schools that have "curriculum that is aligned with California's adopted content standards and frameworks" (TPE 3) and that reflect the diversity of California in terms of race and ethnicity of students, family income levels, languages spoken by students, and inclusiveness of students with disabilities. Visit the Clinical Practice Requirements page to learn more. 

University Field Supervisors

In Clinical Experience 2 and Clinical Experience 3, a University Field Supervisor (UFS) will observe teacher candidates in their classroom six times. The role of the UFS is to support the teacher candidate and provide quality feedback to enhance teaching skills, strengthen classroom management, and enrich content-specific pedagogy. During each visit, the UFS will observe a formal lesson, debrief the lesson with the candidate, and complete a formal online evaluation. Visit the University Field Supervisor page to learn more about our field supervisors.