Working with the Two or Three Day-a-Week Practicum Program

 

Here’s What! (…TC Learning at York)

Teacher Candidates in ED2 (Year 2) of the Practicum Program spend two-days-a-week n their host classrooms in the fall term (EDPR3000).  This model has many advantages for students in the host classroom and TCs. Among other things, it offers students in the host classroom and TCs time to get to know each other and to build strong professional relationships prior to their final block.

So What? (… Linking to Practice)

To successfully integrate Teacher Candidates smoothly & effectively into classroom routines and to address the reality of shifting school demands and complicated timetables, it is best to implement consistent plans that both Mentor Teachers and TCs can utilize during the term. A successful approach identifies particular routines early in the placement and assigns these to the Teacher Candidate for ongoing participation. When Teacher Candidates are given this responsibility, they have an opportunity to think ahead and establish patterns in working with students that facilitate learning for both Teacher Candidates and students in the host classroom. This approach can work at all levels and in all subject areas. Such routines establish a solid foundational relationship between TC and students that will facilitate additional planning and teaching responsibilities as TCs work toward their fall two-week block.

Now What? (…Suggestions for MT and TC Collaboration)

Our Mentor Teachers have kindly shared a few examples of how this works in their classrooms.

In the Primary and Junior divisions, a good starting place is often to involve the Teacher Candidate in the morning routines, such as calendar, story reading, current events, etc. This will help Teacher Candidates to establish themselves with the students. Teacher Candidates might support guided reading groups or facilitate extension or remedial activities for some students.

In the Junior division, TCs might plan a daily current events activity that supports classroom learning objectives for reading, writing, media and oral language.

Teacher Candidates might offer to bring personal expertise that will build on their strengths, personal interests and undergraduate studies. For example, a Teacher Candidate might work with the Mentor Teacher to co-plan a lesson each week with a focus on arts, sustainability, geography, or health and fitness, addressing appropriate grade level cross-curricular expectations in mathematics, language or science. Such lessons engage both Teacher Candidates and students in the host classroom in the learning process and often bring new perspectives to the Mentor Teacher, too.

In the Intermediate and Senior divisions, similar strategies work well. For example,

  • In Science class a Teacher Candidate could be asked to provide ongoing input on how a particular concept has implications for the environment. TCs might also be responsible for making links to real-life implementation of concepts studied in the classroom.  For example, how the properties of something in nature can be modified to commercial use (Velcro is simply a man-made burr).
  • In the French classroom, a Teacher Candidate may take responsibility for working with individual students or small groups to support vocabulary development, or prepare whole class lessons to share understandings of French cultural activities, political issues or traditions in the contemporary world.
  • In Business, a Teacher Candidate could participate in a weekly micro- teaching case study to reinforce the curriculum concepts and to support literacy skills development, such as reading for meaning or making informed arguments with individuals or small groups of students.
  • In Civics, Politics, Law or History, a Teacher Candidate might engage specific students in a weekly current events discussion that is relevant to the topic of study.The routine involved in these simple strategies reduces the need for last minute communication and planning. Identifying curricular strands and specific weekly activities allows for autonomy, and creativity on the part of the Teacher Candidate, without a requirement for independent teaching. Students in the host classroom will also appreciate knowing the routine that unfolds weekly and look forward to the Teacher Candidate’s time in the classroom.

No doubt, you have other great ideas that work well in supporting the two-day-a- week Practicum Program in the fall term of ED2 (Year 2). We hope you will share your ideas with your colleagues and with your York Practicum Facilitator.