Center of Pedagogy

The Fieldwork Department coordinates all aspects of the culminating clinical field experiences that all students in the Teacher Education Program take. This includes overseeing the fieldwork application process, finding fieldwork placements for students, overseeing the mentor program for student teachers, monitoring student progress in the field, and coordinating communication between the student, school, cooperating teacher, mentors, and University faculty. Typically these fieldwork courses are taken in the final two semesters of a student's program as their culminating professional experiences in teacher education. For students in early childhood or elementary education certification programs, these courses are Clinical Experience I and Clinical Experience II. For students in programs leading to subject area certification, these courses are Fieldwork and Supervised Student Teaching. The Fieldwork Department also coordinates field experiences for students in the In-service Fieldwork program.

There is a separate application for fieldwork that students complete at the beginning of the semester prior to the one in which they plan to begin their fieldwork experiences. Students planning to begin fieldwork experiences (Fieldwork or Clinical Experience I) in the spring must turn in their application to the Fieldwork Department by October 1st. Students planning to begin fieldwork experiences in the fall must turn in their application by March 1st. The application packet is available one month prior to the due date online.
A key aspect of field experiences at Montclair State University is our partnership with local public school districts. The Center of Pedagogy works with school districts that partner in the Montclair State University Network for Educational Renewal and that share the Center's vision for the simultaneous renewal of teacher education and public school education. Due to the collaborative and time-sensitive work of the Fieldwork Department and MSUNER districts, students cannot seek their own placements and late applications cannot be accepted. For information about the MSUNER and its current member districts please click here.

For questions or further information on any of the services provided by the Fieldwork Department, please contact:

Jennifer Amabile, Program Specialist
Fieldwork Department
Montclair State University
University Hall, Suite 1180
(973)655-5246
amabilej@mail.montclair.edu

Scotta Van Dross
Fieldwork Department
Montclair State University
University Hall, Suite 1180
(973)655-7635
frycesc@mail.montclair.edu