The Bachelor of Education program builds on the faculty’s belief that where there is education, there is also powerful transformation. We strive to provide passionate, creative people with an inspiring environment in which they can cultivate their interests, gain the tools they need to motivate students and engage communities, actively contribute to the evolution of education, and become powerful catalysts for change. The program is infused with strong principles including equity, diversity, collaboration, interdisciplinary, sustainability and social justice.
Overview of the program
The program is structured around four broad themes:
- Orientation to the profession in community
- Learners
- Classroom and Curriculum
- Schooling, Society and Research
The B.Ed. is designed to be a place where theory and practice are deeply linked. Foundations and methods courses, school and community speak to one another through practicum experiences that value critical analysis, engagement, collaborative conversations, focused participant observation, advancement of skills and knowledge, and immersion in an environment that respects a shared process of growth and development.
What does this mean in practice?
The goal of the school-based practicum program is to move towards competence in planning, facilitating and assessing student learning and the development of professional practice in the host classroom as per the exit requirements in the Practicum Evaluation Protocol. This competence is developed over two years in the program.
First Year Teacher Candidates should be co-planning and co-teaching with their Mentors, with a gradual responsibility to independent practice. For specific EDPR2000 Learning Outcomes, see EDPR2000 Learning Outcomes.
The practicum experience in EDPR2000 (YEAR ONE) will facilitate a broadening of teacher candidates’ understandings of the role of the community, the profession, teachers, learners and schools in creating and sustaining an engaging, inclusive, safe and equitable learning environment.
Second Year Teacher Candidates should begin independent lesson planning and implementation in preparation for upcoming teaching blocks. For specific EDPR3000 and EDPR4000 (Year Two) Exit Requirements, please see EDPR3000 and EDPR4000 Exit Requirements.
EDPR3000/4000 (YEAR TWO) will facilitate teacher candidates’ introduction to the complex dimensions of learning, and the interrelationship between learner, teacher and curriculum.
EDPR2000 will focus on the development of professional understandings and relationships within the school and the community.
Year One Teacher Candidates will:
- Actively engage in practicum, undertaking a range of experiences.
- Work with small groups and/or individual students to access the curriculum.
- Deconstruct their understandings of teaching and learning with a focus on links between theory and practice and school and community.
- Facilitate classroom transitions (e.g., from lesson topic to topic, from other locations in school, from break times etc.).
- Co-plan and co-teach with the mentor teacher.
- Exposure to and experience in lesson planning and implementation, including assessment.
- Gradual release of responsibility to independent practice.
Building on strong professional relationships and understandings from Year One, in Year Two, Teacher Candidates will be well prepared to take on independent planning and teaching (EDPR3000 and EDPR4000).
Practicum Program
All Teacher Candidates (TC) take part in a non-credit (Pass/Fail) practicum program consisting of the following:
- An orientation to practicum prior to the first day of placement.
- Online EClass access to resources and communication with Practicum Facilitators (PF) and peers.
- Monthly meetings and school-based check-ins with the Practicum Facilitator.
- Preparation of a Professional Portfolio.
- Participation in a school practicum, in accordance with program calendars.
Successful completion of all components of each level of the practicum program is a prerequisite for continuing on to the subsequent level and, ultimately, convocation with a Bachelor of Education degree.
Practicum Placement
A school practicum in the Faculty of Education is the experience of working collaboratively with a mentor teacher that is supported by coursework and partnerships. The curriculum for all pre-service programs of the Faculty of Education is linked to the learning in the practicum experiences.
Host Schools and Mentor Teachers are essential partners in this process who support our practicum program by:
- demonstrating commitment to equity, social justice, and environmental sustainability.
- focusing on learning and growth for all participants.
- modelling collaborative and inclusive learning environments.
- creating a positive climate conducive to risk-taking and support.
- developing and supporting innovative practices for teaching and learning.
- integrating teacher education with the daily life of the school or organization
- recognizing the value of shared inquiry.
Mentor Teachers are experienced program leaders. Mentor teachers are Ontario certified teachers working in an instructional setting in schools or other situations that use the Ontario curriculum or in situations approved by the Ontario College of Teachers (www.oct.on.ca).
School placements are arranged by the faculty in collaboration with local boards of education. Teacher Candidates are not permitted to self-select or independently arrange placements. Teacher Candidates living within the geographic boundaries of our local boards of education can anticipate a travel time to their host school a minimum of 90 minutes. Teacher Candidates living beyond these boundaries must add their additional commute time to the minimum 90-minute travel time.
Availability of school-based practicum placements in specific boards (see York U zone-map) is subject to board approval and availability of Mentor Teachers in the following boards only.
Toronto District School Board
Toronto Catholic District School Board
Peel District School Board
Dufferin Peel District School Board
York Region District School Board
York Catholic District School Board
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory at all practicum placement days and practicum meetings. Teacher Candidates are expected to be in their host classrooms as scheduled on the faculty program calendar.
TCs are expected to treat attendance in their practicum as they would if they were an Ontario Certified Teacher. This means reporting any absence from practicum (in writing via professional email) to the Mentor Teacher AND the Practicum Facilitator on the evening before, or prior to, the start of the school day.
All missed practicum days must be made up. Make up days for excused absences (e.g., illness, religious observance, inclement weather etc.) should be scheduled in collaboration with Site Coordinator/Mentor Teacher and/or Practicum Facilitator.
For Teacher Candidates in a practicum with a balanced school-year schedule, a slight modification in practicum schedule may be required and will be navigated through your Practicum Facilitator and Mentor Teacher.
If a Teacher Candidate becomes ill during the block, the Practicum Facilitator should be notified as soon as possible. If illness prevents the Teacher Candidate from completing the block, the Practicum may be deferred.
Monthly Practicum Meetings are mandatory and absences will be reported to the Practicum Office.
Unsatisfactory Practicum Performance
It is the objective of the Faculty of Education to facilitate the success of every Teacher Candidate. If a Teacher Candidate or Mentor has concerns, an attempt should be made to resolve the issue collaboratively. The next step is to involve the Site Coordinator. If the issue is not resolved, the TC or Site Coordinator is advised to consult the Practicum Facilitator to mediate outstanding issues. A TC will be removed or may request removal from a placement only after all efforts to come to a resolution have been exhausted.
Adherence to Standards of Practice and School-Board Requirements
Teacher Candidates in the Faculty of Education are expected to demonstrate that they are fully aware of, and are meeting, The Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession and the Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession as established by the Ontario College of Teachers. http://www.oct.ca/public/professional-standards
It is the responsibility of the TC, under the guidance of the Mentor Teacher to ensure awareness of and adherence to all organization or school policy regarding health, safety, code of conduct and use of social media. All TCs are directed to the Ontario College of Teachers Professional Advisories http://www.oct.ca/resources/categories/professional-advisories
Any accidents or workplace injuries that occur must be reported to the school and the faculty in compliance with Board and Faculty procedures.
It is understood that Mentor Teachers retain responsibility for the students in the host classroom at all times. Teacher Candidates will not take on the responsibility of Ontario Certified Teachers .
- In the case where the mentor teacher is away for a day, it is understood the school will place a supervisor or occasional teacher to oversee the practicum. If this is not done, the TC should “report” the matter to the Practicum Facilitator, Site Coordinator, or School Principal immediately. At no time are TCs to accept responsibility for students in the absence of an Ontario Certified Teacher.
- Should the Mentor step out of the classroom for short periods of time, the Mentor Teacher retains responsibility for the students in the classroom.
- TCs are expected to accompany Mentor Teachers during additional duties. Such additional duties, which may include yard, hall, lunch monitoring or supervision of off-site activities such as field trips, must be carried out in the company of a Ontario Certified Teacher.
Issues or concerns regarding responsibility in the practicum should be discussed with the Practicum Facilitator.
University Supports for Students with Special Needs
Students of York University (including Teacher Candidates) with learning, physical, sensory, mental or mental health disabilities may access support through Student Accessibility Services (SAS) York Student Accessibility Services.
Accommodations are granted only through SAS. TCs are advised to contact SAS at the earliest possible time to ensure accommodations are in place for the fall term.
Blocks
Blocks are Professional Learning Experiences (PLEs), which facilitate teaching over sustained periods (2 weeks in the fall term of Year Two and 4 weeks in the winter term of Year Two). In preparation for the block, TCs will accept increasingly greater responsibility for independent planning and teaching throughout the fall and winter terms. While there is no requirement for a TC to teach 100% of the day, every day, during the 2-week or 5-week Professional Learning Experience, it is understood that TCs will need significant teaching time to facilitate the development and demonstration of their skills.
During the fall term, Year TWO TCs should begin to plan and teach independently for specific periods of the day. The length of daily independent teaching time should be differentiated to match the TC's level of comfort and growing ability. Year TWO TCs should NOT wait until their block to begin independent planning and teaching.
The success of a practicum is not measured quantitatively by the percentage of the day taught; it is measured qualitatively against exiting requirements for Teacher Candidates as per the Practicum Evaluation Protocol.
Daily Preparation
All Teacher Candidates are responsible for arriving at the school prepared for the day's activities as arranged with the Mentor Teacher.
- TCs should be in or near their classroom a minimum of 15-minutes prior to the start of the school day.
- TCs should sign in at the main office or follow individual school protocol for indicating arrival.
- TCs should be prepared for the day's activities as arranged with the Mentor Teacher.
- TCs are responsible for comprehensive planning of lessons and submission of lesson plans to the MT for review and feedback at least 48 hours prior to the lesson or within a timeframe agreed upon in collaboration with the Mentor Teacher.
- TCs are responsible for gathering all materials, resources, and equipment needed for lessons with guidance from Mentor Teacher in advance of the day's teaching.
- Photocopying and the use of worksheets should be kept to a minimum and should be prepared in advance.
- TCs should endeavor to incorporate technology and remain current with innovative teaching technologies, where applicable
Mentor Teacher Responsibilities
Teacher Candidates and Mentor Teachers should find time during each teaching day to discuss the day's activities, lessons, and observations, in addition to suggestions, future planning and other topics and/or concerns. It is essential that candidates accept feedback in a professional manner and take action to adjust their practicum performance in response to the constructive criticism that is received.
Teacher Candidates should make themselves available before or after school for these discussions, if there's no time available during the teaching day.
- Mentor Teachers should use some Preparation periods to co-plan and/or confer with the Teacher Candidates.
- In the preparation periods, where the MT needs the time without the TC, a Teacher Candidate may also use this opportunity to remain with the students and observe/assist in the learning process or to observe in other classrooms to increase awareness of a wide range of teaching strategies and programs. Arrangements to observe should be planned in advance.
- During the block the TC are advised to use preparation time for observing, planning, preparing of materials, marking, and reflecting.
Field Trips and Excursions
Teacher Candidates may participate in daily or overnight field trips that are organized to support the program of their host classroom. Participation should align directly with board and school policies that govern excursions. Teacher Candidates must be directly supervised by their Mentor Teacher during a field trip. TCs who do not participate in the organized field trip will attend at the school and undertake “alternate duties” as arranged by the SC or Principal.
With the support of the Mentor Teacher, a TC may participate in school-wide field trips. The decision to allow a Teacher Candidate to participate in a school-wide excursion must be made well in advance of the date/time of the trip. If permission is given for the TC to participate, arrangements should be made for an appropriate staff member to supervise the TC during the excursion.
If an excursion occurs on a Teacher Candidate’s practicum day, the day is viewed as a regular teaching day and the practicum day does not need to be made up. This applies to field trips associated directly with the host classroom as well as school-wide field trips. If a Teacher Candidate participates in an excursion on a day that is not a regular practicum day, that day is to be viewed as a volunteer experience. This type of additional volunteer experience will not be included towards the total of required practicum days.
A York University Event Risk Management Form must be completed by all Teacher Candidates and submitted to the Practicum Facilitator prior to any field trip.
Professional Development Days
If a Professional Development Day occurs on a Teacher Candidate’s practicum day, the school is encouraged to involve the TC in the professional development program. If for some reason it is not appropriate for the TC to be involved in the PD program, then an alternate experience may be organized for the Teacher Candidate. This day is considered as a teaching day for purposes of attendance. TCs who do not participate in PD Days or alternate programming are required to make up the day.
Additional Days in the Classroom
Additional opportunities to work in the host classroom may be arranged with the permission of the MT. This additional time in the classroom is for personal growth purposes only and will not be counted as a placement day.
Involvement in the School
Teacher Candidates are encouraged to become involved in the life of the school beyond the classroom. Schools may invite the Teacher Candidates to participate in special school events throughout the school year. It is understood that Teacher Candidates have academic and personal and work obligations that may prevent participation in school-wide events that occur beyond regular school hours.
The Teaching Block (Year 2 TCs in EDPR3000 and EDPR4000)
Blocks cannot be changed to accommodate personal schedules or commitments. Unavoidable interruptions to the block, supported by medical or other documentation, will be resolved by the Practicum Facilitator in consultation with the Associate Director - Experiential Education. All missed days will be added to the end of the block.
All TCs must submit a long-range (or unit plan) before the first week of block, based on conversations with the MT, the learning needs of the students, and the curriculum. This should be sent to Mentor Teacher and Practicum Facilitator. The plan will be fine-tuned through discussion with and feedback from the Mentor Teacher.
Long-range (unit) planning to ensure continuity in the experiences planned for students is a fundamental requirement for the final teaching block. Block (unit) plans are understood to be living documents that will respond to the ongoing learning needs of students. A block plan should include:
- an overview of the block timetable (weekly)
- a summary of preliminary brainstorming (for each unit/subject)
- a summary of overall learning expectations
- overview of learning goals and success criteria
- an overview of the main culminating task(s) that will be used to evaluate the achievement of the expectations
- a summary of the sequence of lessons and two lesson plans leading to the culminating task (including reference to assessment/evaluation strategies; students learning opportunities, including differentiation; and resources).
- Other lessons will be added as the unit progresses.
Block plans (EDPR3000/4000) must be approved by the Mentor Teacher and/or the Practicum Facilitator before Teacher Candidates begins teaching from the plans. If the block plans fail to meet the expected standards, the start of the final block may be deferred until the plans are judged to be acceptable.
Timelines EDPR3000
EDPR3000
Late-October
- Practicum Facilitators introduce the exiting requirements for the program detailed in the Practicum Evaluation Protocol (PEP).
Late November
- TCs participate in a formal Observation Protocol with the Mentor Teacher prior to the block.
- For candidates at risk of failing the placement, the Mentor Teacher should provide ongoing opportunities for comprehensive, detailed and frank evaluation. TCs should receive explicit information regarding strengths and weaknesses of their teaching performance. A detailed action plan formulated by the Mentor Teacher in collaboration with the Teacher Candidate and the Practicum Facilitator will provide clear timelines and strategies to support the growth of the candidates in meeting the Exiting Requirements of the program.
December (End of Fall Term)
- MTs prepare a Practicum Summary Report and send it to the Practicum Facilitator for consultation and review prior to delivery to the TC.
Timelines EDPR4000
EDPR4000
Prior to March Break
- TCs and MTs complete a formal Observation Protocol.
- Practicum Facilitators and MTs work with TCs who may be at risk of failing the practicum to create or update an action plan.
- For candidates at risk of failing the placement, the Mentor Teacher should provide ongoing opportunities for comprehensive, detailed and frank evaluation. TCs should receive explicit information regarding strengths and weaknesses of their teaching performance. A detailed action plan formulated by the Practicum Facilitator in collaboration with the Teacher Candidate and the Mentor Teacher will provide clear timelines and strategies to support the growth of the candidates in meeting the Exiting Requirements of the program.
Early May (End of Winter Term)
- MTs prepare a Practicum Summary Report and send it to the Practicum Facilitator for consultation and review prior to delivery to the TC. We recommend that Mentor Teachers and Teacher Candidates confer on the Summary Report to discuss the exit requirements and the evidence presented in daily practice to support the final evaluation.
The Practicum Facilitator and the Mentor Teacher will confer regarding the recommendation for final standing in the practicum. The Practicum Facilitator has the final responsibility for determining that passing standards for the practicum program have been achieved.
Year 1 EDPR2000 Teacher Candidates- Documentation of Learning
The Teacher Candidate will maintain a portfolio of documented evidence demonstrating achievement of the specific learning outcomes for year one practicum. All portfolio submissions will be done electronically to ensure safe delivery to Practicum Facilitators and Mentor Teachers, and to provide TCs with valuable experience in working with online presentation formats. Evidence may include artifacts, narrative accounts, reflections or journals, photographs, testimonials, coursework from related courses, or other evidence to support the demonstration of achievement. Any examples or recordings of student work must be accompanied by appropriate permissions.
The Teacher Candidate will conference with the Mentor Teacher on an ongoing basis to keep the Mentor Teacher up to date on the progress of learning and collection of evidence, discussing areas of strength and issues or concerns to identify next steps.
At the end of the practicum experience, the Mentor Teacher will provide the TC with a Conferencing Report outlining the progress of the Teacher Candidate in demonstrating and documenting achievement of the learning outcomes for year one. The TC will be responsible for submitting the Conferencing Report to their Practicum Facilitator and maintaining their own copy.
EDPR3000/EDPR4000 Summary Reports
At the end of each block, Mentor Teachers will compose a Summary Report for all TCs. This summary report should reflect the candidate’s ability to meet the Exiting Requirements of the practicum from the Practicum Evaluation Protocol. Mentor Teacher will deliver a copy of the report to the TC and Practicum Facilitator and retain a copy.
