Child kicking a ball while a student teacher looks on

One major component of our curriculum is for physical education teacher candidates to obtain field experience in physical education settings

About

A student’s field experience will vary on a case by case basis. Students are placed into a physical education teacher education environment at a surrounding school district to the University and assigned to a teacher of that district that will oversee their learning and field experience. Students observe/partake in the class activities, then discuss their observations with their classmates during regular class times.

Students must partake in five separate field experiences that prepare them for a career in the field. For your first field experience (PEP 441), students are required to clock 15 hours. For PEP 442 and 444, students will need to clock 30 hours of field experience.

Please Note: Students should leave at least two, three hour blocks of free time available weekly in your schedule for their field experience (commute time should be built into your free time). Depending on the field experience, the window of time you need to leave open will differ.

  • PEP 441: Any 3 hour block within a standard work week
  • PEP 442: Early morning to early afternoon
  • PEP 444: Late morning to late afternoon

Eligibility

  • To be eligible for a seat in Spring PEP 441, students must meet all program requirements by the end of fall semester (winter session does not count).
  • To be eligible for a seat in Fall PEP 441, students must meet all program requirements by the end of Summer session.

Teacher candidates in PEP 441, PEP 442 and PEP 444, assume responsibility for their own transportation. Teacher candidates in the teacher certification major must have transportation available to participate in a variety of field-based experiences.

Teacher candidates without transportation will need to postpone methods classes until they have access to appropriate transportation.

Field Experience Application Process

Students must submit a new application each semester when applying for a field experience through the PE Field Experience Office even though an application may have been submitted for a previous semester. The Coordinator of Field Experience will email links to the on-line application forms for PEP 441 (Instructional Planning and Strategies in PE), PEP 444 (Elementary Methods), and PEP 442 (Secondary Methods) to all students at mid-semester for the following semester’s field experiences.

Students may not secure their own field experience placement or contact any districts. This contact may be misinterpreted as attempting to make a self-placement. It is our general policy not to place candidates in the district where they attended school or where immediate family members are working or attending school. Students will receive their field experience placement for their respective methods course (PEP 441, PEP 444, or PEP 442) via e-mail at the beginning of each semester.

Requirements for Field Experience

At least one field experience or student teaching placement must meet each of the following requirements:

  • A high-needs school (at least 50% of students receive free/reduced lunch/breakfast)
  • Children with special needs
  • Children who are not native speakers of English.

These New York State requirements for teacher certification are likely to be met in multiple field experiences and/or student teaching placements; the Field Experience Office will track this information. The special needs requirement will be met on campus when enrolled in PEP 445 Adapted Physical Education. Most Instructional Planning in Physical Education candidates will be placed in the Rochester City School District which will fulfill the high-needs requirement.

For Further Information Regarding Field Experiences and Applications

Please contact the PETE Coordinator of Field Experience, Ms. Janet Peluso-Militello, at jpeluso@brockport.edu, (585)395-5369