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Music Education at Penn State

The 80 Hour Work Experience Requirement

Future teachers must be familiar with the characteristics of learners from various cultural, social, and ethnic backgrounds. Therefore, through volunteer or paid experiences in education settings such as day care centers, public and private school classrooms, summer camps, and other youth groups, prospective teachers must interact with the learners they plan to teach. This promotes an understanding of teaching-learning processes and contributes to sound decision-making about academic and career goals, and helps prepare educators for their work with diverse learners. Documentation of these activities contributes to a professional portfolio valued by future learners.

Music Education Requirements

  1. You must provide evidence to demonstrate that you interacted with children in learning environments for at least 80 hours of total contact time to fulfill the requirement. These experiences can take place in a variety of settings. An individual experience must include a minimum of three (3) hours of contact time in one particular setting to be eligible for review.
  2. Experiences completed from one year prior to graduation from high school and beyond will be eligible for review. All experiences must be documented prior to formal application to the music education program
  3. The work experience requirement must be fulfilled through a minimum of two (2) different settings.
  4. A minimum of 20 hours of experiences must be in a music education setting.
  5. A minimum of 40 hours of experiences must be with children who differ from your cultural, socio-economic, or racial/ethnic background. Experiences with special learners are strongly recommended.

    6. Music Education Recommendations

  6. It is strongly recommended that experiences should include interaction with children of different age groups. Interaction with special learners is also strongly recommended.
  7. It is recommended that you ask your supervisor to complete his/her section of the application as soon as possible. This is your responsibility, and this task can be more difficult after an experience has concluded.

Education Work Experience Documentation Forms may be downloaded, and are available from Lisa Stamm in the Music Education Office (233A Music Building I), from the College of Education Certification Office (228 Chambers Building).

Once you and your supervisor complete the form, it should be submitted to Lisa Stamm in the Music Education Office (233A Music Building I), where an itemized log of your work experience hours will be maintained. In addition, be sure to keep a detailed personal record of your work experiences. A music education faculty member will evaluate the validity of each documented experience. You will be notified by mail (home address) at the conclusion of the semester during which you submitted the form regarding your progress toward the fulfillment of the work experience requirement.

If you have questions, contact Lisa Stamm (814-865-1052) (lkm3@psu.edu).