How many days per week will a Year One TC be in the classroom?
- Teacher Candidates will attend placement at the host school for one day per week during the fall and winter academic semesters.
What will a Year One TC do while in placement?
- The first year of the new 2-year program will focus on the development of professional understandings and relationships within the school community. This is NOT an observation placement. Teacher Candidates will have responsibility for participating actively for the whole school day, undertaking a range of experiences such as working with small groups and/or individual students, deconstructing their understandings of teaching and learning with a focus on links between theory and practice, facilitating classroom transitions, co-planning and co-teaching with the mentor teacher, and engaging in lesson study. Schools are encouraged to welcome a cohort of Teacher Candidates who will also have the opportunity to experience different school settings (divisions, non-classroom, rotary, ELL, special education, etc.) throughout the year.
Will there be a block?
- There will not be a teaching block in the first year, nor will there be a requirement to independently teach and plan during the one-day-per-week placement. The focus will be on inquiry, active engagement, co-planning and co-teaching.
What are the specific learning outcomes for Year One Teacher Candidates?
In the fall semester, Teacher Candidates will focus their attention on Orientation to the Profession in Community.
TCs will:
- Actively engage in the work of the school and classroom to understand the role of all stakeholders in creating and sustaining an engaging, inclusive, safe and equitable learning environment.
- Demonstrate a professional manner in keeping with the Ontario College of Teachers Standards of Practice and Ethical Standards of Practice (https://www.oct.ca/public/professional-standards);
- Develop professional relationships with students, teachers, other teacher candidates, school staff, parents and others;
- Actively engage 100% of the day in the work of the school to support student learning; and
- Reflect on how the school structure (physical environment, committees, extra-curricular activities, etc.) impacts student learning.
In the winter semester, Teacher Candidates will focus their attention on Learners.
TCs will:
- Reflect critically on the links between theory and practice in Ontario schools;
- Investigate learning from a micro-level perspective in support of small group and/or individual student learning;
- Observe the impact of Ontario Ministry of Education policy and/or documentation on learners and on the school’s learning environment (e.g. Safe Schools Act (2000), First Nation, Métis and Inuit Education Framework (2007), Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario Schools (2010), Supporting Minds: An Educator’s Guide to Promoting Students’ Mental Health and Well-being (2013), and others); and
- Observe and reflect on the impact of strategies and resources on learners (teacher talk, text books, technology, manipulatives, transitions, success criteria, timing, planning, assessment, etc.).
At the end of Year One, having immersed themselves in the work of the school each week, and having developed strong professional relationships and understandings, Teacher Candidates will be well prepared to take on independent planning and teaching in the fall semester of Year Two. In Year Two, Teacher Candidates will attend placement 2 days a week in the fall semester followed by a 2-week block. In the winter semester they will attend for one day per week for 6 weeks followed by a 6-week block. The exit requirements are detailed in the Practicum Evaluation Protocol.
What documentation will be required for successful completion of the practicum?
- Year One TCs will be responsible for conferencing with the Mentor Teacher to present a portfolio of documented evidence to demonstrate their achievement of the learning objectives for the fall and winter semesters. At the end of each semester, the Mentor Teacher will submit to the Faculty a brief written comment on the documentation presented by the Teacher Candidate. Additional evaluation of TC Orientation to the Profession in Community and TC understanding of Learners will be embedded in coursework that is closely linked to the practicum experience.
Why is it important to focus on inquiry, active engagement, co-planning and co-teaching in Year One?
- The opportunity to engage with learning in multiple ways leads the learner to inquire, deconstruct, analyse, implement, reflect upon, revise and wrestle with new understandings in meaningful ways. Active engagement and co-planning/co-teaching allow the TC to make sense of the foundational theories of learning in a collaborative mentoring environment.
