What should student teachers have field instructors observe?
The answer depends on various considerations. We stress that field instruction is more about development and reflection than evaluation. Student teachers are encouraged to have field instructors observe “risky” teaching to gain additional perspective on the challenge of powerful social studies teaching. Another good reason to schedule visits is to examine instructional practice that involves targeted competencies (such as classroom management, leading discussions, small group work, etc.). At a minimum, field instructors are interested in seeing the student teacher’s own instructional and curricular decision-making at some point during the semester.
