Students: Early Fields Placement

This site is intended for students in the following courses that have Early Field Experiences in the following Early Field Placement Courses

• Early Childhood - HDFS 431, 432, 433
• Elementary Education – EDUC 205, 210, 230, 259
• Secondary Education -
• AGED 480/680, 481/681
• EDUC 413/613, 419/619
• MUED 278, 279
• ENGL 295

Early Fields Placement Checklist

There are several important steps you must take to make sure your experience is as successful as possible. The checklist is divided into three key areas: Before the Visits Begin, During the Visits, and Before the Semester Ends.

Please check this page periodically as you progress through the semester. Make sure to read it carefully and complete all steps listed. Do not hesitate to contact our office with questions at any time.

Before the Visits Begin – Your field placement is linked to your class assignments. Failure to complete any of these steps could result in a delay which may affect your final grade.

Register for your Field Placement – The University of Delaware has created an online Field Placement System, or F.E.P.S., that you will utilize from now through student teaching. It is designed for you to record vital information for placements, let you create an electronic record of your experiences, and most importantly collect and store Teacher, Supervisor, and Faculty observations from methods and student teaching placements. You may find more detailed information about registering in F.E.P.S. on our F.E.P.S. page.

Professionalism Policy – Please be advised that as a teacher candidate you are governed by the University of Delaware Professionalism Policy for Professionals, or ‘Dispositions Policy.’ It is important that you become familiar with this policy as it will guide your conduct during your all of your field experiences. You may find more detailed information about the policy on our Dispositions page. NOTE – When you log into F.E.P.S. for the first time you will be asked to electronically acknowledge that you have read and understand the Dispositions Policy.

TB Clearance- By Delaware Law, you will be ineligible to be placed on a site until you provide documentation that you do not have TB. For more information visit our TB page. If you are not cleared then you may need to be tested by either Student Health or your personal physical.

Background Checks- All students enrolling in classes that require early field placements for the fall of 2013 or spring of 2014 are required to have a criminal background check. More detailed information about criminal background checks can be found on our criminal background check page.   Clearances for HDFS 220, 221, EDUC 205, KAAP 301, BHAN 145:  Sterling Background Clearance (currently being redesigned.  Will be available in November).  All other classes must have a full criminal background check use this link for information www.ocs.udel.edu/student-teaching/criminal-background-clearances/.

ID Badge- You are required to wear an approved Identification Badge at all times during any visit. This consists of a plastic badge holder which you can purchase from the UD Barnes and Noble bookstore, an appropriate lanyard, your UDIS, and a paper insert which Clinical Studies will provide in class. More information can be found on our Identification Badge page.

Log Sheet- Please use the links below to print out a log sheet to take to your site for each visit. It is important that you have an appropriate administrator sign the sheet to verify each. At the end of the semester you will create an Online Field Placement record of your experience. Your course instructor will then review your log sheet before electronically verifying your online record. The observation log sheet is not needed after that point.

Your assigned placement will be posted on the OCS website. Check to be sure you have an assignment. If your name is not listed, contact OCS immediately at clinicalstudies@udel.edu . Assignments have been made with the best effort to accommodate all needs and once posted are considered final.

Best of luck with your placement!