Practicum: Guidelines & Key Tasks

Practicum Introduction Week (January 27 – 31) - General Guidelines

Teacher candidates will begin working full-time in their practicum schools. During instructional time, teacher candidates should be an active co-teacher in the practicum classroom- becoming familiar with the daily routines and procedures, working with individual or small groups of students, co-teaching lessons and, later in the week, assuming a lead teacher role during classes. During their preparation and other non-instructional time, teacher candidates should focus on finalizing their unit overviews and introductory lesson plans in consultation with their mentor teachers and faculty advisor.

Note: Instructional time should not be used for preparation.

Teacher Candidates: to ensure that your preparation days are profitable please do this:

Meet with your sponsor teacher prior to the preparation days to discuss/clarify the following:

·  Which non-instructional blocks of time during the Introduction Week can you use as prep times?

·  What is your mentor teacher planning to teach during the Introduction Week? How can you assist/co-teach during this time? Are there any opportunities to work with small groups? Co-teach the lesson/part of the lesson? Take on some routine elements during the class (e.g. attendance, homework check etc.)?

·  Can you begin one of your units during the Introduction Week?

·  If you haven’t already done so, discuss where in the school/classroom you can set up a work space. You should have a designated spot in the classroom that will be your ‘desk’ for the duration of the practicum.

Triad Meetings (Usually scheduled during the Practicum Introduction Week)

Sample Agenda for the Triad Meeting:

a.  Teacher Candidate:

·  Review the working plans of your unit overview(s)

·  Be prepared to discuss your preliminary management plans for the first week of practicum. In particular: how you plan on communicating & following through on your behavior expectations, what you are planning to do in your introductory lessons for your Week One unit

  1. Mentor Teacher:

·  Provide more feedback for the working plans/unit overviews as required

·  Provide input/guidance re: plans for Week One

  1. Faculty Advisor:

·  Provide more feedback for the working plans/unit overviews as required

·  Give the mentor teacher copies of all relevant forms: observation forms, midterm/final reports, notices etc.

·  Discuss/clarify the key dates in the practicum

·  Discuss/clarify key elements/processes of the practicum: mentor teacher observations, scheduling faculty advisor’s visits, lesson plan expectations, guidelines for teacher candidate absence, practicum evaluation process, teacher candidate and mentor teacher reflections etc.

  1. Together:

·  Discuss needs/preferences for communication and working together throughout the next twelve weeks

During practicum: Guidelines

1.  Arrival/departure: Arrive at school approximately 1 hour before classes begin and remain at the school at least one hour after dismissal.

2.  End of Day Expectations/Best Practice: Ensure that your planning for the next day is complete. Do not leave the school until your lessons for the next day are planned and all preparation work (e.g. photocopying, gathering supplies etc.) are completed.

3.  Personal communication: Cell phones, personal email or other social networking tools (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) should not be used by teacher candidates during instructional time. As with any other place of work, visits from family and friends must be limited to urgent business or emergency matters only and preferably during non-instructional time (before or after school, lunch). If family members or friends need to contact the teacher candidate, they can do so by phoning the school office and leaving a message.

4.  Concerns during practicum: If concerns arise during practicum, it is important that the mentor teacher, in consultation with the school administrator, immediately communicate the specific concerns in writing (email is acceptable) to the faculty advisor and/or the School Experience Coordinator. If a teacher candidate is experiencing difficulties during the practicum, he/she should discuss his/her concerns or questions with a practicum mentor (faculty advisor, mentor teacher, school administrator) as soon as possible.

5.  Missing school days: If a teacher candidate needs to be absent from practicum due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g. illness), he/she is expected to prepare for the absence as if preparing for a substitute teacher/TOC:

·  Inform mentor teacher ASAP

·  Inform faculty advisor ASAP

·  By 8:00am on each day of absence- teacher candidate must provide the mentor teacher with an informative day plan outlining lessons to be taught, teacher/student resources required etc.

·  The mentor teacher may alter the day plan as required.

·  If a teacher candidate is away for more than 3 days, he/she will need to make up the missed days at the end of practicum (during the Practicum Transition Week).

If a teacher candidate needs to be absent for longer than 3 days, please refer to the section entitled, ‘Practicum Interruption’, in this Field Guide.

During practicum: Key tasks

1.  Ongoing Assessment and Mentoring: Providing timely, constructive feedback, suggestions, encouragement and resources are important responsibilities of both the mentor teacher and the faculty advisor throughout the practicum. Formal observations with written feedback, guidance, and conferencing should be conducted regularly by the mentor teacher (usually a minimum of 2-3 times /week) and the faculty advisor (a minimum of one visit/week). Observations forms are provided by the university. Informal feedback, guidance, modeling, reflection and discussion should be ongoing throughout the practicum.

2.  Reflective Journals: During practicum, teacher candidates should reflect on their practice on a daily basis. The daily reflections are both a personal matter and an important part of the feedback cycle during practicum. Therefore, the process for developing and sharing reflections during practicum must be collaboratively determined by the faculty advisor and the teacher candidate.

Practicum Evaluation

Grading for the practicum is on a Pass/Fail basis. There are a number of components to the evaluation process for the practicum:

  1. Pre-practicum Triad Meetings: Prior to the start of practicum, the teacher candidate, mentor teacher(s), and faculty advisor meet to review expectations and plans for the practicum. A review of the teacher candidate’s preparation and planning is an important part of the Triad meeting. A teacher candidate whose preparation and planning is deemed satisfactory will be permitted to begin the practicum.
  2. Ongoing Daily/Weekly Observations and Feedback: The mentor teacher will regularly observe lessons and provide both verbal and written feedback regarding preparation, lesson implementation and follow-up/assessment. In addition, the faculty advisor will schedule weekly visits to observe lessons, provide feedback (oral/written), and conference with the teacher candidate and/or the mentor teacher(s). Observation, feedback (written and oral), and conferencing should continue throughout the practicum.
  3. Midterm Practicum Report and Triad Meeting (ETEP Year Two and STEP only): A Midterm Practicum Report, written collaboratively by the mentor teacher(s), faculty advisor, and teacher candidate, is discussed at the Midterm Triad Meeting. The primary goal of the Midterm Report is to identify the teacher candidate’s strengths and highlight areas for further growth that can serve as a Professional Development Plan for the remainder of the practicum. If problems are identified, then a copy of the Midterm Report must be submitted to the School Experience Coordinator immediately following the Midterm Triad Meeting.
  4. Notification of Concern (when required): If significant and/or persistent concerns arise at any point during the practicum, the Notification of Concern procedure is followed. (See section entitled: Notification of Concern Procedure)
  5. Final Practicum Evaluation and Triad Meeting: This report is completed jointly by the faculty advisor and mentor teacher(s) with input from the teacher candidate. The Final Evaluation should build on the assessment information outlined in the Midterm Report and, because of ongoing observation, feedback and conferencing throughout the practicum, there should be no surprises in the Final Evaluation. Following the Final Triad Meeting, the original copy of the signed report is retained by the teacher candidate and copies are given to the faculty advisor and mentor teacher(s). A copy of the Final Practicum Evaluation should be forwarded by the faculty advisor to the Faculty of Education Office within one week following the practicum. The Final Practicum Evaluation is not a letter of reference although school districts request the report when teacher candidates apply for positions. Faculty advisors and mentor teachers may write letters of reference in addition to the Final Practicum Evaluation, but they are not required to do so.

Notification of Concern Procedure

The following steps should be taken as soon as possible if serious issues arise regarding a teacher candidate’s progress at any time during the practicum:

·  The faculty advisor, in consultation with the mentor teacher(s) and/or the school administrative officer(s), notifies the School Experience Coordinator, in writing, using a Notification of Concern Form. The written statement should clearly define the teacher candidate’s shortcomings and should also outline an Action Plan for remediation that includes timelines, target dates, and objectives. In some cases a practicum extension might be included as part of the Action Plan.

·  The Notification of Concern and Action Plan should be reviewed and discussed with the teacher candidate. The teacher candidate, faculty advisor, and mentor teacher(s) should all receive a signed copy.

·  The Action Plan, including the required supports, should be implemented immediately and the teacher candidate should demonstrate improvement promptly. Generally a period of 5-7 school days is given for the teacher candidate teacher to demonstrate satisfactory progress with regard to the Action Plan goals.

·  At the review date if, in the judgment of the faculty advisor, mentor teacher(s) and/or the school administrator, the teacher candidate is making satisfactory progress, the teacher candidate teacher will continue in the assigned practicum school.

·  If withdrawal from the practicum is necessary the faculty advisor and School Experience Coordinator will collaborate with the mentor teacher(s) and school administrator to develop an exit strategy. In addition, the teacher candidate will meet with the School Experience Coordinator and the Academic Advisor for Education to complete the withdrawal process and develop a transition plan.

·  The teacher candidate may appeal the withdrawal notification, in writing, to the Director of Undergraduate Programs.

·  Additional appeal is possible through the institution-wide Review of Assigned Standing Process.

Practicum Conclusion

Finishing well: Teacher candidates, here are some things to think about as you complete your practicum:

1.  Discuss with your mentor teacher how to transition subjects/routines back to ‘normal’... aim for the smoothest transition possible for your mentor teacher!

2.  Make sure all of your marking/record keeping/student work is up to date and ready to hand over to your mentor teacher.

3.  If you aren’t teaching very much on the final days, stay involved with your class as an assistant teacher. Don’t use instructional time as your personal prep/finish up- (or, worse) ‘kick back and relax’ time. You’ve probably discovered by now that there’s always lots of work to be done in a school day!

4.  Return all school property (resources, books etc.) to the mentor teacher, library etc. before you leave the last day.

5.  Take all your belongings home on the last day as well. (Your mother and your grandmother told me to tell you that!)

6.  On the last day of practicum: thank the principal, office staff, custodians and, of course, the mentor teacher(s) and students. You might want to take a picture of you with your class(es). Many teacher candidates give a card and/or a small gift or flowers to their mentor teacher(s). That is always appreciated. If you are with a group of teacher candidates, you might want to make a sign or bake a cake to put in the staff room.

Practicum Reflections

  1. Teacher Candidates: The final requirement for EDUC 428/429 is the practicum reflection. You will be emailed a template midway through your practicum so you can complete it electronically. You are encouraged to share feedback on how the field experience component of the teacher education program can be improved or augmented for your future colleagues. Thank you for sharing your insights! Please refer to the School Experience Schedule for the due date.
  1. Mentor teachers: Because mentor teachers play a vital role in the practicum experience, any feedback or insights they can provide regarding the practicum timeline, mentoring and evaluating teacher candidates, or their needs as a mentor teacher would be invaluable as we try to refine the School Experience Program and ensure that it is a rewarding experience for all involved. To this end, mentor teachers are invited to complete a Mentor Teacher Practicum Reflection. An electronic version of the reflection form will be emailed to mentor teachers after the midpoint of the practicum. The reflection forms can be returned to the School Experience Coordinator via email, conventional mail or by the faculty advisor.