If you are not a certified teacher in the state of New York, you will complete two semesters of Supervised Fieldwork/Advisement (SFW/A), beginning in the fall and carrying through the spring. If you are already certified in New York State, you will be required to do one semester of SFW/A, including a weekly meeting with your conference group. This may be done in either fall or spring.

In either case, your advisor will visit you at your placement site once a month. On the days you are observed, it is expected that you will assume teacher responsibilities, e.g. working indivually with students, leading a class meeting, or teaching a lesson.

You advisor will also meet with you individually for one hour twice a month, and meet with you and (4-6) peers for two hours each week. If you are a student teacher, your advisor will also schedule periodic three-way meetings with you and your cooperating teacher.

To fulfill New York State requirements, candidates who are working teachers and assistant teachers during the academic year will be required to participate in an additional 3-credit experience during the summer following their Supervised Fieldwork/Advisement year.

Each supervisor will complete a performance checklist with you after the second fieldwork site visit. The checklist is designed to identify strengths and areas of concern. If necessary, an individual plan will be developed should overall performance not meet expectations at that point. Supervised Fieldwork is graded on a Pass/Fail basis. Students must receive a passing grade in Supervised Fieldwork/Advisement in order to continue in the program.

Student teachers and assistant teachers are expected to hone their teaching skills and abilities under the supervision of a certified cooperating teacher and a Bank Street College Advisor. Head teachers receive supervision from the Bank Street College Advisor and an on-site certified educator/supervisor.

Students completing a year of SFW/A will have placements totalling thirty weeks, beginning the first day of public school; students are encouraged to start even earlier, in order to participate in the "set up" of the classroom. Any days missed during the course of SFW/A must be made up.

Evaluation of Students in Supervised Fieldwork/Advisement
Advisees are expected, with their advisors, to consider their goals, their learning, their opportunities and their performance in the field at regular intervals with an eve towards evaluating progress and maximizing their experiences. Advisors will also ask members of the conference group, individually and as a group, to reflect on and evaluate their experiences in conference group.

In addition, an initial evaluation checklist during or shortly after the second observation will be completed by the advisor and reviewed with the student. This is designed to provide a baseline for identifying individual professional development goals. A written evaluation will also be completed at the mid-point and at the end of the fieldwork experience to document growth and define further performance objectives. Evaluations will include assessment of both fieldwork and conference group performance in terms of strengths, areas for concern, participation and progress. Evaluations will be reviewed with advisees. Advisees will be asked to sign the evaluation document. Their signature shows that they have read and discussed the evaluation, but does not indicate that they agree with the contents. Students are invited to attach any supplementary material they believe is relevant to the evaluation document.

Evaluation of Advisement by the Graduate Student
At the end of the year, graduate students will be expected to complete evaluations of the SFW/A process, including the conference group experience, much as they do for other Bank Street coursework. These are intended to invite feedback that will assist the advisor and the department in continuing to improve the quality of fieldwork, conference group and advisement experiences.