My focus has always been experiential education. Naturally I am intrigued when I hear about educational field experiences especially in the relm of education. I recently read an article I believe talks about the most valuable experience for any teacher. The author of this article spent two days as a high school student again. (This included doing classwork, test, and taking notes, etc.) If I was going to recreate this experience for students of mine I would have them be a student for one week. I would spread my students to many different schools so that they would be forced to interact with the high school students. I would also ask that they do any projects or homework that was assigned during the week they attended the high school. I would also ask them to keep a daily journal highlighting the things that frustrated, confused, or excited them, as well as their overall learning of information presented in each of their classes.

The article is posted below. I really did enjoy reading it. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/24/teacher-spends-two-days-as-a-student-and-is-shocked-at-what-she-learned/

Over the course of the 20th century mass education produced populations more literate, numerate and productive than any the world had seen before. But it did so, usually, in an impersonal manner, with regimented rows of children chanting their times-tables as Teacher tapped the blackboard with a cane. Schooling could never be tailored to each child, unless you employed lots of teachers.

As well as evidence from these schools, the effectiveness of particular bits of software has been studied. The Department of Education spent four years evaluating literacy programs; it concluded that Read 180, a program to help students who have fallen behind in reading, was good at combating adult illiteracy.

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21580136-new-technology-poised-disrupt-americas-schools-and-then-worlds-catching-last

You might be interested in reading into the work of Freire and critical pedagogy. The concepts of authentic learning (e.g., field placements) would relate to this well. A good place to start would be the Journal of Critical Pedagogy which provides open access to their articles:

http://www.freireproject.org/the-international-journal-of-critical-pedagogy/

My focus has always been experiential education. Naturally I am intrigued when I hear about educational field experiences especially in the relm of education. I recently read an article I believe talks about the most valuable experience for any teacher. The author of this article spent two days as a high school student again. (This included doing classwork, test, and taking notes, etc.) If I was going to recreate this experience for students of mine I would have them be a student for one week. I would spread my students to many different schools so that they would be forced to interact with the high school students. I would also ask that they do any projects or homework that was assigned during the week they attended the high school. I would also ask them to keep a daily journal highlighting the things that frustrated, confused, or excited them, as well as their overall learning of information presented in each of their classes.

The article is posted below. I really did enjoy reading it. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/24/teacher-spends-two-days-as-a-student-and-is-shocked-at-what-she-learned/

Edwards & Wilson (2014) argue for field experiences based on what they call "models of collaborative working" between Teacher Ed Majors and the teachers in the schools; see:

Edwards, Julie-Ann & Wilson, Paul (2014). Developing models of collaborative working. In Hyde, Rosalyn and Edwards, Julie-Ann (Eds.) Mentoring mathematics teachers: supporting and inspiring pre-service and newly qualified teachers. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/358885/

I have had the same question for much of my career...which I have spent as a dean of education. Now as a professor in my later years, I am publishing works that address the concept of "flipping the field experiences". In other words, if a teacher candidate spends 1 contact hour in a campus classroom in an educaiton course the related field experience to that 1 contact hour is 3 contact hours in a "real" classroom. If an entire secondary education program could do this the experiential or apprenticeship models would produce a more experienced, reflective, and collaborative teacher during their first three years. I have developed a Teaacher Education Field Experience Index that may lead to this conclusions based upon all New Mexico approved teacher education programs. We will see what data they provide says. Until, then I would be happy to converse some more. JHarmon

The concept of teaching high school in 2014 is dependent. This is to say what is the purpose of teaching?  What does it mean to be a teacher? What role does the teacher play in the social world? The reproducing of the status quo of both educational and societial inequities, and unequal power relationships?  Is teaching simply cognitive in nature or is the development of the human personhood also included?  Is the concept of teaching to rairfy current knowledge and social  hierarchies?   

Until these and many more critical questions can be answered the best field experiences are dependent  on what the concept of teaching high school is.

I would also add, if the concept of teaching is the reproduction of educational and social inequities it would appear teacher practicum of preservices teachers including field experience is just right!

Douglas  

I was surprised to read that your teacher education placements are not coordinated or directly related. Perhaps you could look at other University programmes in teacher education to see how they go about managing placements in ways that 'grow' the teacher. I agree with A S CohenMiller's suggestion to read about critical pedagogy so that at least when your students are in a placement they can have the eyes to 'see' what is good about the teaching or not so and understand what this means.