Field Placement Office

Information for Students

Field Placement

Certification requirements established by the New York State Education Department dictate that each teacher candidate complete 100 hours of fieldwork in classrooms prior to student teaching. At SUNY Cortland, students meet this requirement through fieldwork assignments associated with specific courses.

Course instructors coordinate the collection of Student Data Sheets the Field Placement Office uses to secure placements in appropriate classrooms. Placements are made in a variety of ways, including the Field Placement Fair and calls to individual school districts. Under no circumstances is a student to approach a principal of school administrator without prior approval from the Field Placement Office. The majority of placements are made by the end of the fifth week of public schools opening in the fall or the start of the college semester in the spring.

Course curricula indicate the assignments students are expected to complete in association with their fieldwork placements. General expectations for teacher candidates are included in the Pre-Student Teaching Handbook.

Students are required to obtain host teacher signatures to document their field experiences using the 100 Hour Log Sheet. Course instructors collect the log sheets from students and document the completion of the required hours and the associated criteria using the 100 Hour Tally Sheet provided to them by the Field Placement Office. Completed log sheets are kept in individual student’s folders. Completed tally sheets are submitted to the Field Placement Office. It is highly recommended that students retain copies of completed log sheets for their own records.

Fieldwork experiences provide the opportunity to acquire skills necessary to become successful during the student teaching experience as well as for teaching opportunities beyond graduation. To make the most of these experiences, please reference the Top Ten Helpful Hints for a Successful Field Placement.

Student Teaching

Students who plan on student teaching must apply through their departments, generally during the semester prior to their student teaching semester. All SUNY student teachers are required to have at least one student teaching placement in a high needs school. Additional requirements vary by major. Placement assignments are shared with students through their departments.

Every student will have a supervisor assigned to them by the college. This supervisor is hired by the student’s department and is the point person during the student teaching experience.

The potential locations for student teaching assignments vary by program and are influenced by the availability of area supervisors. All student teachers should be prepared to drive at least one hour to their student teaching sites.

Student teachers should familiarize themselves with the Student Teaching Handbook, including the expectations and forms. The college requests that student teachers provide online mid-quarter and final evaluations for each quarter they are student teaching.

Contact your supervisor with any questions about student teaching procedures.