Field Experience

What is field experience?

Field experiences involve activities completed outside of the college
classroom which correlates to and supplements the content being taught in
that course.  Field experience includes (but is not limited to)  observation in
a classroom setting, tutoring students, reading to students, interviewing
teachers or working with special needs children in a supervised setting. 
Field experience concludes with the final Internship (student teaching)
which is completed during the student’s final semester of their program of
study.

Various method of gathering information from the field experience

1. Literature sources

This involves the collection of data from already published text

available in the public domain. Literature sources can include:

textbooks, government or private companies’ reports, newspapers,

magazines, online published papers and articles.

This method of data collection is referred to as secondary data

collection. In comparison to primary data collection, tt is

inexpensive and not time consuming.

2. Surveys

Survey is another method of gathering information for research

purposes. Information are gathered through questionnaire, mostly

based on individual or group experiences regarding a particular

phenomenon.

3. Interviews

Interview is a qualitative method of data collection whose results are

based on intensive engagement with respondents about a particular

study. Usually, interviews are used in order to collect in-depth

responses from the professionals being interviewed.

4. Observations

Observation method of information gathering is used by monitoring

participants in a specific situation or environment at a given time

and day. Basically, researchers observe the behaviour of the

surrounding environments or people that are being studied. This

type of study can be contriolled, natural or participant.

5. Documents and records

This is the process of examining existing documents and records of

an organisation for tracking changes over a period of time. Records

can be tracked by examining call logs, email logs, databases,

minutes of meetings, staff reports, information logs, etc.

6. Experiments

Experiemental research is a research method where the causal

relationship between two variables are being examined. One of the

variables can be manipulated, and the other is measured. These two

variables are classified as dependent and independent variables.

7. Document reviews
8. Interviews
9. Focus groups
10. Observation or testing.
Difference between field experience
and other selected methods of
teaching
In field experience, which occurs from your first semester up until your final
semester of student teaching, students practice planning, teaching and
evaluating children/youth with disabilities in the appropriate classroom setting.
Students spend a minimum of 10-15 hours per week, over 11 consecutive
weeks in a semester in their field experience classroom. 

Student teaching is conducted in the final semester of the program. Students are

required to demonstrate their ability to plan, teach, and evaluate children/youth
with disabilities at an advanced level. Students are required to spend a
minimum of 250 hours per week over a minimum of 11 consecutive weeks in
their student teaching classroom during the final semester of the program.

Various methods of reporting field experience

 Direct Observation

In this method, the data is collected via an observational method or subjects in a natural
environment. In this method, the behavior or outcome of situation is not interfered in any way
by the researcher. The advantage of direct observation is that it offers contextual data
on people management, situations, interactions and the surroundings. This method of field
research is widely used in a public setting or environment but not in a private environment as
it raises an ethical dilemma.

 Participant Observation
In this method of field research, the researcher is deeply involved in the research process, not
just purely as an observer, but also as a participant. This method too is conducted in a natural
environment but the only difference is the researcher gets involved in the discussions and can
mould the direction of the discussions. In this method, researchers live in a comfortable
environment with the participants of the research design, to make them comfortable and open
up to in-depth discussions.

 Ethnography

Ethnography is an expanded observation of social research and social perspective and

the cultural values of an  entire social setting. In ethnography, entire communities are
observed objectively. For example,  if a researcher would like to understand how an
Amazon tribe lives their life and operates, he/she may chose to observe them or live
amongst them and silently observe their day-to-day behavior. 

 Qualitative Interviews

Qualitative interviews are close-ended questions that are asked directly to the research

subjects. The qualitative interviews could be either informal and conversational, semi-
structured, standardized and open-ended or a mix of all the above three. This provides
a wealth of data to the researcher that they can sort through. This also helps collect
relational data. This method of field research can use a mix of one-on-one
interviews, focus groups and text analysis.

 Case Study

A case study research is an in-depth analysis of a person, situation or event. This method may
look difficult to operate, however, it is one of the simplest ways of conducting research as it
involves a deep dive and thorough understanding the data collection methods and inferring
the data.

Various segments of field experience report

Introduction
The introduction explains the rationale or objectives—the reason why the writing project is
being carried out. The reader needs to know why the event is significant. In the sample field
report, a brief background was cited including an overview of the program. This section is
significantly similar to the introductory part of most writing assignments, including the
research paper which discusses the whys and whats of the research topic.

Body
In the body of the field report can be found the highlights of the event including who were
involved, what and why the events happened. In the sample field report, note how this section
discusses such noteworthy details as the age disparity of the participants, the strategies used to
address the age-disparity issue, the presence of other student-volunteers, and the culminating
activity where the participants showcased their talents.

conclusion
conclusion is necessary to piece together the report. In the sample field report, note how the
event has led to the writer’s realization of life-changing less
Two types of field experience report are:
I. empirical
II. Positioning paper report
Difference between empirical and positioning paper report
A position paper presents an arguable opinion about an issue. The goal of a position paper is to
convince the audience that your opinion is valid and worth listening to. Ideas that you are
considering need to be carefully examined in choosing a topic, developing your argument, and
organizing your paper. It is very important to ensure that you are addressing all sides of the issue
and presenting it in a manner that is easy for your audience to understand. Your job is to take one
side of the argument and persuade your audience that you have well-founded knowledge of the
topic being presented. It is important to support your argument with evidence to ensure the
validity of your claims, as well as to address the counterclaims to show that you are well informed
about both sides.

While empirical is based on observed and measured phenomena and derives knowledge from actual
experience rather than from theory or belief. 
Ideal referencing pattern of field experience

1. Define the Objective of Your Field Report. ... 

2. Construct a Theoretical Framework. ... 
3. Record Study Observations and Analysis. ... 
4. Include Photo Evidence of Observed Items. ... 
5. Record Overall Assessment and Recommendations. ... 
6. Validate the Observations with a Signature.

Advantages and disadvantages of field experience report

Real World Learning

As teachers, a field trip is one of the best tools that we can use to provide
every student with real-world experiences. Whether that's a trip to the local
grocery store, waterfront park, a library, a museum, a theater, a community
garden or a restaurant, each experience that a student participates in
contributes to their understanding of the world. 

When students leave the classroom, they see the connections between what
is happening at school and in the ‘real-world’. They begin to see that what
they learn within the walls of the classroom can help them solve the
problems they see in the world around them and can have a direct impact on
who they become as people.

Access

Students are able to access tools and environments that are not available at
school. Our communities are rich learning laboratories. Field trips make it
possible to take students to see an underwater ecosystem at an aquarium,
participate in citizen science in a river, use high powered microscopes, see
and touch historical artifacts in person and present on a public stage among
hundreds of other things. Each experience solidifies learning and supports
important academic concepts. 

Socio-emotional Growth

Students who go on field trips become more empathetic and tolerant.

A study conducted by the University of Arkansas found that students that
participate in a field trip to an art museum show increased empathy,
tolerance and critical thinking skills. Studying art gives students a chance to
think about a topic or theme from a different perspective. 

Academic Impact

Field based learning increases test scores. A recent study by Emilyn Ruble
Whitesell showed that middle school students who participate in science
field trips through the Urban Advantage program score better on the state
science test. Field trips and hands on learning make concepts more
memorable. Just think back to what you learned in school, the field trips you
took, and what you learned on them are still some of the clearest concepts.
disadvantages

The reasons that actual fieldwork is difficult are fairly obvious:

 Fieldwork is logistically challenging. It’s hard to fit into a typical class period, or even a
double lab period. To go off site requires permission slips, busing, and figuring out how to deal with
behavior outside the normal classroom setting.
 It costs money. Field trip budgets have been slashed, and weren’t even very common at
the secondary level before budget cuts.
 Many teachers have only limited experience doing field science themselves. Earth
science has more teachers teaching out of field than any other science discipline, and fieldwork is
not a component of many Earth, biology, or environmental science teacher certification programs.
It is intimidating to lead fieldwork if you haven’t been through it yourself.
 Fieldwork poses safety and behavior concerns different from those in the
classroom. Falling off a cliff has different consequences than falling off a chair.
 Teaching in the field employs a different set of skills than teaching in the
classroom. The logistics of moving groups of students from place to place and focusing their
attention on the goals of the fieldwork takes careful planning, especially if multiple classes are
involved.