The purpose of this study was to develop a new field experience program, an
implementation plan for it, and evaluation instruments to be used to select
cooperating schools, which will be used as a part of the new curriculum from
2002.
Up to now the field experience program has been criticized in that the duration
of student teaching is not enough, that too many student teachers are assigned in
cooperating schools which prevents their optimum learning, that the program itself
is not well prepared, that the evaluation of the programs and cooperating schools
has not been conducted properly, and so forth.
Based on the recent research studies, the status quo of field experiences in and
out of Korea, the need assessment of students, teachers and professors, a field
experience program to raise reflective teachers was developed, and an instrument
that can be used to select and evaluate cooperating schools was designed.
The new field experience program consists of observation practicum,
participation practicum which is subject matter practicum with focus on mainly
enrichment subject matters, and student teaching. In observation practicum
students observe students, classes, schools, local communities, and home-indirectly
with the ultimate goal of education in mind. In subject matter practicum students
are encouraged to have hands-on experience in collecting, analyzing and sharing
data in their enrichment areas. The student teaching program which is the pivotal consists of supervisory conference, inquiry, seminar, teaching and journals. The
content of the student teaching program is comprehensive and becomes the basis
of other field experiences. For example, in observation practicum observation
focuses can be used. And action research and ethnographic studies can also be
conducted in a simplified way.
However good a program is, if its spirit is not properly understood and
implemented in the context where it is used, the goal of the program cannot be
achieved. In this vein continuous effort to improve the program based on the
feedback from the practice is required.