Practicum, Student Teaching, and Field Placements

Whether you're looking to begin or advance your career—MCC is a great place to begin your future.

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MCC offers students various opportunities to gain classroom experience leading to educator certification and licensure.  These opportunities are in the form of either a practicum (also known as student teaching) or a field placement.  

Field placements are one-credit courses that are taken along with their three-credit co-requisite courses.  Field placement are intended to provide opportunity to observe in real-world settings the concepts learned during their accompanying course. Please note that these experiences are not the same as "Service Learning", which may be required by other courses you may take at MCC.  Field placements typically consists of 22 hours, while a practicum typically consists of completing 150 hours.

A practicum is a supervised classroom experience which serves as a capstone for a degree or certificate program.  The practicum is accompanied by a required seminar for additional credit. 

The practicum is a unique opportunity for you to apply the knowledge and skills you've acquired throughout your coursework in a practical, real-world setting. It serves as a bridge between the theoretical concepts you've learned in class and the practical application of those concepts in professional settings.  During the practicum, you will have the chance to work with children, design and implement developmentally appropriate curriculum, collaborate with other professionals, and gain hands-on experience. This experience is invaluable as it allows you to see how the different pieces of knowledge you've acquired fit together and are used in practical scenarios. You will likely encounter challenges and problem-solving opportunities that will require you to draw upon the knowledge and skills from multiple courses.  By utilizing the knowledge from your previous courses in the practicum, you will be able to demonstrate competency in the areas that are evaluated as part of the practicum. This practical application will not only solidify your learning but also enhance your transfer application, employability, and readiness for future professional opportunities.

Because of the highly individualized nature of the practicum courses, the Education Department has developed an application process to ensure that students are enrolled in the practicum that best aligns with their goals. To request permission to register for a Supervised Practicum and Seminar course (EDU 109 or EDU 251), please use the link below to fill out an application. Permission is not required to enroll in field placements.

Please click on each of the courses below to learn more about the opportunities MCC offers:



Have questions?  We have answers . . .

To learn more about any of MCC's practicum or field placement opportunities, please see the Practicum & Field Placement FAQs page or reach out to to Professor Michelle Dobrin, Education Department Chair, at dobrinm@middlesex.mass.edu.



If you believe you are ready to enroll in a Supervised Practicum and Seminar course, please use the link below to fill out an application and request permission.


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Please note:
 In order for a student to be eligible to participate in an academic, community or clinical program that involves potential unsupervised contact with children, the disabled, the elderly, or other vulnerable populations, the student may be required to undergo a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check and/or a Sex Offender Registry Information (SORI). Most school sites require that teacher candidates clear all background checks before being allowed on the premises. Practicum placement sites may additionally require fingerprint checks at the site's discretion. The background check process can sometimes take several weeks to complete; students are strongly encouraged to begin this process as early as possible. All background checks are the responsibility, and at discretion of the school site. Middlesex Community College does not participate in this process in any capacity.

  
 


Last Modified: 11/11/23