Clinical Field Experience B: Collaborating with Mentor and the Community
Assessment Description
Support in the classroom is not enough for families who have children with disabilities. Assisting families and caregivers in finding support outside the classroom is a necessity for a child to flourish and reach his or her fullest potential.
Allocate 2 hours in the field to support this field experience.
Collaborate with your mentor teacher to identify student and family supports offered within your school and community for individuals with disabilities regarding academic, transitional, and/or vocational skills.
Specifically, discuss the following items as you research these supports with your mentor:
Who oversees the support: the school or an outside agency? What services do they support?
Are the services free, or do families need to pay for these services?
How are community resources shared with families? Are supports discussed in the beginning of the school year, at conferences, in IEPs, or elsewhere?
Did the mentor teacher create his or her own newsletter/brochure, or utilize the school, district, or community made resources?
Discuss the importance of continuing the support for students and families or caregivers outside of the classroom. What are the benefits and challenges associated with receiving supports outside of the school day?
Discuss if there are limited resources in certain areas, and if so, how has the mentor teacher or school addressed those identified limitations.
Use any remaining field experience hours to assist the mentor teacher in providing instruction and support to the class.
Compose a 500-750 word summary based on your discussion with your mentor regarding student, family, school, and community supports available. Reflect on how you will use this information in your future professional practice.
APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.
This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.
Document the locations and hours you spend in the field on your Clinical Field Experience Verification Form.
Submit the Clinical Field Experience Verification Form to the LMS in the last topic. Directions for submitting can be found on the College of Education site in the Student Success Center.
Clinical Field Experience B: Collaborating with My Mentor and the Community
Student Name
University
Course
Professor Name
Date
Clinical Field Experience B: Collaborating with My Mentor and the Community
Clinical field experience B is a learning experience in which students apply their knowledge and skills in a real-world clinical setting, often working with community organizations or healthcare professionals to address health or social issues. It involves collaboration with the community and allows students to work with diverse populations. During my clinical field experience B, I spent two hours collaborating with my instructor to understand learner and family assistance provided within my institution and society for people with special needs concerning transitional, academic, and vocational training.
First, we discussed who oversees the support for these individuals. We found that the school handles the support in some cases, while in other cases, an outside agency is responsible. For example, a school might have a special education department that supports students with disabilities. At the same time, in other cases, an outside agency such as a community organization might provide the support (Awsumb et al., 2020). Additionally, the supported services can vary but often include tutoring, counseling, and vocational training.
We also looked at whether the unpaid services are paid for or are an act of kindness. In some cases, we found out that the services are free to families, while there may be a fee in others. In either case, we discussed the importance of making sure that families are aware of the available resources and how they can access them. Financial assistance may be available to families to help cover the cost of the services. For example, a school or community organization might have a funding initiative to help families pay for services not covered by insurance.
Next, we talked about how families share community resources. It was evident that in some cases, the school or district has its newsletter or brochure highlighting the available resources, while in other cases, the community has created its own resources. These resources might include information ...