Student practicum experience
Practicum students are assigned to teachers throughout the semester to participate, observe, and interact with Lab School children. Each practicum student will have the opportunity to practice assessing, planning, and implementing individualized activities with each child in order to meet individual needs.
In this way practicum students learn from exceptional teachers who are also skilled at providing constructive feedback and modeling. Practicum students experience continuity and primary care-giving models that are rarely used in other settings due to high staff turnover. Students develop effective skills in behavior management and guidance, and they directly relate course content to their interactions with the children.
Practicum students typically come from the following ISU programs:
- Early Childhood Education
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Other programs in the Human Development and Family Studies department
Practicum courses
To fulfill our mission of providing students, researchers, and practitioner’s opportunities to observe and work with young children, each semester the Laboratory School works within the Department to accommodate the following HDFS classes:
HDFS 102: This class is an introductory HDFS course and can range from 100 students to upwards of 400. The role the Lab School plays in this class is purely observational. HDFS 102 students take up to six weeks to come in and observe in the booth only.
HDFS 224 - Child Development Birth through 8 Years: This is an introductory course into the growth and development of young children. The Lab Schools role in this course is to provide students in this practicum observation time as they do not interact directly in the classroom.
HDFS 340 Assessment & Curricula Ages Birth through Two Years: This course focuses on assessment strategies for infants and toddlers. This class can have up to 30 students. The practicum student’s role is to interact directly with children. The Lab Schools role is to provide the student with a 3 hour block of time once a week. Practicum students who feel comfortable interacting with parents may initiate conversations.
HDFS 342 Guidance and Group Management in Early Childhood: This course focuses on teaching pre-service teachers guidance, prosocial development, and self-regulation in young children. The role the Lab School plays in this course is to accommodate HDFS 342 students for 50 minutes per week per practicum student. This class can have up to 60 students. The practicum student’s role is to observe and interact within the classroom and gain an understanding of guidance in children 2-5 years old. This course does not interact with Lab 1 (Infants and Toddlers). Again, students are asked NOT to initiate interaction with parents but parents are encouraged to introduce themselves in order to better know who is in their child’s classroom.
HDFS 343 Assessment and Programming Ages 3 through 6 Years: This course focuses on assessment strategies for preschool and kindergarten aged children. This class can have up to 30 students. The practicum student’s role is to interact directly with the children, assess child development, as well as plan and teach lessons. The role the Lab School plays in this course is to accommodate HDFS 343 students for a three hour block of time once a week.
HDFS 344 Programming for Children in Early Care and Education: This course is for Child Adult & Family Services majors and focuses on teaching practicum students to develop, implement, and evaluate learning environments in inclusive child care centers and family homes including those with special needs for children birth through age 8. This class can have up to 40 students. The role the Lab School plays in this course is to provide HDFS 344 students a 3-hour block one day a week. In this course, the student role is to learn about programming and working with teachers and children.