Examining the Use of Hybrid Field Experiences in a Child Development Course

• In Event: Designing Hybrid Field-Based Experiences: Insights From Faculty in One Urban Teacher Education Program

Abstract

Objectives
The purpose of this presentation is to discuss a model for integrating hybrid field experiences into a graduate child development course in order to make more explicit the links between developmental theory and its classroom applications. A secondary focus of this work will be a discussion of how online field experiences can be developed in response to limited opportunities for rich in-person field observational experiences.

Theoretical Framework
While the incorporation of clinically rich field experiences has been viewed as the gold standard for providing preservice teachers with opportunities to gain greater knowledge of students, in some instances these field experiences are fragmented, short in duration, and subject to constraints imposed by the school site (Wilson, Floden, & Ferrini-Mundy, 2002). In an effort to address this deficiency in a graduate child development course, a hybrid field experience model was employed whose purpose was to provide preservice teachers with opportunities to examine key concepts within the field of child development through guided classroom observations.

Data Sources and Methodology

As a result of changes in the testing schedule of a host school, 27 preservice teachers enrolled in a graduate child development course were unable to complete a required field observation. In an effort to address this deficiency, they were then required to participate in a hybrid field experience conducted using video clips of classroom instruction which were selected because they illustrated key concepts within the field of child development. In preparation for their participation in the online component, the preservice teachers were also required to complete a short online module describing how to conduct low-inference observations. Short video clips were then provided to them in order for them to complete a field-based assignment requiring them to identify an issue (either negative or positive) they observed in a classroom and to propose a strategy for addressing the problem or a strategy for extending the positive outcome to other children.

In an effort to determine the impact of the hybrid field experience model, field observation assignments of preservice teachers enrolled in the hybrid version of the course were compared with those of preservice teachers (n=24) enrolled in the traditional version of the course (where they were given no specific preparation for conducting in-class observations). An analysis was then conducted comparing the performance of both groups.

Significance of the Findings

As was anticipated, preliminary findings indicate that preservice teachers who participated in the online field experiences demonstrated greater proficiency in conducting low inference classroom observations. Additionally these students were also more proficient at connecting their observations to specific developmental theories and providing strategies that were both more clearly informed by the theories and directly related to the issue they identified as being of interest to address. The findings suggest that targeted virtual field experiences designed to identify specific constructs within the field of child development may serve to compliment traditional field experiences particularly when such opportunities for traditional observation or the quality of such opportunities may be inadequate.

Author

• Gess LeBlanc, Hunter College - CUNY