Fieldwork

COURSE FIELDWORK 

Most courses in the ECE sequence require that students complete fieldwork hours.  There are three formats that these fieldwork hours can occur: co-seminar, individual and assigned.   

ECE 110: 15 hours of fieldwork in a co-seminar.  When you register for ECE 110, you register for a 4-hour lecture that runs the entire semester and at the same time, for a 2-hour fieldwork co-seminar that runs the first eight weeks of the semester.  Student must pass the fieldwork seminar in order to pass the course.

ECE209/211: 30 hours of fieldwork in a co-seminar.  When you register for ECE 209 or 211, you register for a 4-hour lecture and at the same time, for a 2-hour fieldwork co-seminar that runs the entire semester.  Student must pass the fieldwork seminar in order to pass the course.

ECE 210: 30 hours of individual fieldwork.  When you register for ECE 210, you register for a 4-hour lecture.  In addition, as part of the course work, you are required to individually participate in 30 hours of instructor-approved ECE-related community events.  Note: for this course, direct classroom observation is NOT considered approved fieldwork.  You will be required to provide a ticket/brochure/screen shot or other piece of evidence of your fieldwork attendance; your gathered evidence will be used by your instructor to verify hours marked on your fieldwork timesheet. Student must complete 30 hours of individual fieldwork in order to pass the course.

ECE 308/311: 60 hours of assigned fieldwork. When you register for ECE 308 or 311, you register for a 2-hour campus based seminar and 4 hours of “Agency”.  Agency is the registrar’s designation for assigned fieldwork hours.  Your instructor will assign you to a specific school or center to complete your 60 hours of fieldwork.  You will be required to keep a timesheet as evidence of your fieldwork attendance and to have your cooperating teacher and instructor sign off on it.  Students must complete 60 hours of assigned fieldwork in order to pass the course. 

ECE 409/411: 90 hours of assigned fieldwork. When you register for ECE 409 or 411, you register for a 2-hour campus based seminar and 6 hours of “Agency”.  Agency is the registrar’s designation for assigned fieldwork hours.  Your instructor will assign you to a specific school or center to complete your 90 hours of fieldwork.  You will be required to keep a timesheet as evidence of your fieldwork attendance and to have your cooperating teacher and instructor sign off on it.  Students must complete 90 hours of assigned fieldwork in order to pass the course. 

ECE 410: 30 hours of individual fieldwork.  When you register for ECE 410, you register for a 4-hour lecture.  In addition, as part of the course work, you are required to individually participate in 30 hours of individual fieldwork of classroom observation of children with exceptionalities.  This 30 hours is in addition to ECE 409/411 assigned field hours.  You will be required to keep a timesheet as evidence of your fieldwork attendance and have your cooperating teacher and instructor sign off on it.  Students must complete 30 hours of individual fieldwork in order to pass the course. 

Important notes for 300-level and 400-level Assigned Fieldwork Courses:

  1. The first day of class for ECE 308/311 and ECE 409/409 will be the day/time listed for your seminar (even if you have an Agency day/time that meets prior). So, for example, if your Agency meets Monday at 9am and your Seminar meets Monday at 3pm, on the first day of class you would come at 3pm to the room assigned for your seminar.  Your instructor will tell you when and where to start your Agency hours after the first seminar meeting.
  • In order to work with young children in the 300 and 400- level fieldwork classes, student will need a medical form filled out by a doctor to document that they are in good health and able to work with children. It must show the results of a TB test that the student has had within one year.  The TB results must either be negative or if positive, proof of a non-active chest x-ray must be provided.  The required medical form is available in the Teacher Education main office (S616) and must be completed before students begin fieldwork in their 300-level fieldwork course.
  • If non-compliance of professional behavioral standards occurs at an assigned field site, the individual instructor in conjunction with cooperating teacher and the department chair, may IMMEDIATELY remove the student from the assigned placement.  Such removal is NON-NEGOTIONABLE for the protection of the children.  Upon removal, placement of the student in a new field site is NOT guaranteed.   Depending on the severity of the incident, additional disciplinary action may be taken.

FIELDWORK GUIDELINES

The following guidelines outline specific professional behavior that is expected of all students during fieldwork.  Non-compliance with any of the following general guidelines can result in disciplinary action being taken:

  1. AT NO TIME SHOULD STUDENTS BE ALONE and UNSUPERVISED WITH A CHILD OR CHILDREN. 
  2. Students must always have BMCC IDs visible/available.
  3. Students must dress appropriately for an early childhood setting in clean, non-ripped and modest clothing.  This means: no super tight/short clothing, no plunging necklines, no large areas of skin where pants and shirts fail to meet and no underwear showing.  Some schools have rules against wearing jeans or open-toed shoes or sneakers.  Students MUST follow any specific rules regarding dress that schools may have.  If you are unsure what is appropriate, dress up for your first time and then follow the cooperating teacher’s advice.
  4. Students must be groomed appropriately for an early childhood setting.  Students working in Infant/Toddler settings may be required to have short and/or non-polished nails.
  5. Students are NOT allowed to bring weapons, including pocket knives, into any school areas.
  6. Swearing or abusive language is never allowed (this includes the in the classroom, hallways AND in front of the school area). 
  7. Students are NOT allowed to talk or text on cell phones in the classroom or school.
  8. Students are NOT allowed to bring visitors to the classroom or school area.
  9. Students are NOT allowed to eat or drink in the classroom (unless specifically directed to by the classroom teacher).
  10. The focus of the fieldwork is the children.  Students should not be chatting at length about non-classroom related topics with other staff or volunteers.
  11. Students are NOT allowed to discuss specific children with anyone other than the classroom teachers.  Because fieldwork is a learning experience, you are allowed to discuss what happens at your fieldwork placement with your instructor and other members of your class.  However, you MUST take great care to protect the identity of specific children and their families; you can use a made-up name or use initials to protect children’s identity.
  12. Students should have minimal contact with parents/families (greetings are fine).  AT NO TIME should students discuss any of the children in the classroom or school, even with their own parents or family.  If a parent/family member asks a question, he/she should be directed to speak to the classroom teacher.
  13. Students are NOT allowed to give any type of gifts (ie. food, stickers, small stuffed animals, etc.) to any child or children in the classroom.  
  14. Only classroom teachers are responsible for disciplining children.  Report any incidents to the classroom teacher.
  15. Students should be responsive to the children and teachers but maintain enough emotional distance to be seen as a professional.  Interactions with the children should always be positive and respectful.
  16. Students are required to keep ACCURATE track of earned fieldwork hours.  Any student found to not be truthful regarding fieldwork hours will not receive credit for such hours, resulting in failure of the course and additional disciplinary action.

Specific to 300-level and 400-level assigned Fieldwork:

In addition to the guidelines stated above, all 300-level and 400-level student are also bound by the following guidelines:

  1. All assigned fieldwork courses meet on the first SEMINAR scheduled day and time.  If the first scheduled day/time is seminar, then report to the room listed on the schedule.  If the first scheduled day/time is Agency, then wait and show up to the seminar on the day/time/room listed on the schedule.
  2. AT NO TIME SHOULD STUDENTS BE ALONE and UNSUPERVISED WITH A CHILD OR CHILDREN. EVER!  It is a violation of NYC Department of Health & Human Services regulations for BMCC students to be alone with children in an educational setting.   If a teacher or staff member asks a student to be alone with a child/children, the student needs to politely and respectfully refuse. (“I’m sorry.  My professor said I am not allowed to be left alone with a child/children.  I cannot do what you are asking because it could jeopardize my standing in my course at BMCC.”).  If this request becomes a frequent occurrence or the student encounters any difficulty, notify the instructor immediately about the situation.  Students may be with children in the bathroom to wash their hands but the classroom teachers are responsible for helping children with toileting issues. This is for everyone’s protection.Non-compliance with this rule will result in immediate removal from the assigned field placement and additional disciplinary action.
  3. Students are required to have a completed medical form with valid TB test (TB tests are good for one year).  Medical forms are available in the Teacher Education office (S616) or from the instructor.  Students should keep the original medical form and bring a copy on the first day of fieldwork (instructors may also collect copies).   Certain schools may have additional required paperwork or orientation requirements; these will be explained to students by the instructor. 
  4. Students at assigned field placements have scheduled hours.  Although this is an un-paid internship, students are expected to treat their assigned placement like a job.  Students CANNOT change hours/days, miss days or show up late regularly.  The assigned placement is set by the instructor; ANY changes need to be approved by the instructor (regardless of what may be worked out with the staff at the field site).  
  5. Students MUST be at their field placements ON TIME, EVERY DAY they are scheduled.  If a student will be late or absent, they MUST call and report this to their field placement.  Instructors may have additional requirements for reporting lateness/absences. 
  6. If students miss a day at the field site for any reason, including school closings and vacations, the students MUST make up the hours and document them accurately on their timesheet.  With permission, students can come early and leave late or go to the field site on a day they are not schedule (at the convenience of cooperating teacher).  Students will not pass their class unless they complete the required fieldwork hours (300-level = 60 hours; 400-level = 90 hours). ALL missed field hours MUST be made up.
  7. There are many tasks that need to be done daily and the cooperating teacher may ask the student for help (assisting with clean-up, help setting up for a meal, setting up for an activity, etc.).  Give it!  But, students should be doing regular classroom tasks that involve the daily schedule and child interaction.  Students should not be running errands outside the classroom or doing things the classroom teachers would not be doing themselves. 
  8. As part of their course work, students may be engaged in capturing and analyzing video of children in teaching situations.  Students MUST ensure confidentiality and privacy for the protection of young children with any captured image.  This includes:
  9. Following any rules in place for video capture at the specific field site or additional rules determined by the instructor
  10. Only capturing children with photo/video permission consent
  11. Capturing sides of face/back of head as much as possible
  12. Students are allowed to view/use captured video at BMCC during classtime ONLY.  AT NO time is video from the field site allowed to be downloaded, copied, saved or transferred to any devise other than that provided by your instructor or without instructor permission.  Captured video should NEVER be posted anywhere on the Internet.  

Any student found to be using captured video inappropriately will be considered as endangering children.  This will result in IMMEDIATE dismissal from the BMCC ECE Program and referral to the Department of Student Life for a disciplinary review.

  • Student should report any incidents or issues at their field placements to their instructors immediately.  Any concerns students have with their field placements or their relationship with the cooperating teacher(s) should be discussed with the instructor in a confidential area (do not discuss concerns with other staff or classmates).  Student should not wait until the end of the semester to correct a problem or misunderstanding.