STEP: Practicum Preparation: Guidelines

Required Preparation for Practicum
When teacher candidate/mentor teacher matches are finalized, teacher candidates are expected to collaborate with their mentor teacher(s) and together determine the teacher candidate’s practicum teaching load and other responsibilities in accordance with the parameters outlined in this section of the Field Guide. While these parameters and guidelines are intended to help clarify the practicum preparation process, given the wide variation of practicum contexts, it is assumed that the specific details regarding planning and preparation will be negotiated by the teacher candidate and the mentor teacher as they work collaboratively together.

General parameters

Progression/Composition of Teaching Load during Practicum:

The required teaching load and composition of teaching responsibilities for the STEP practicum is as follows:

Practicum Week / % Teaching load ** / Instructional time◊ per week:
Weeks 1 & 2
Jan 30 – Feb 3
Feb 6 - 10 / Co-teaching with mentor teachers / Observe mentor teacher and co-teach: take responsibility for specific aspects of the class/es (e.g. warm up, lab, quiz, readings, homework, and attendance) but do not take full responsibility for a whole class.
Weeks 3 & 4
Feb 13* - 17
Feb 20 - 24 / Teach up to 50% / Take responsibility for most of a class (or classes) including teaching the lessons, management, marking etc., but not more than 50% of a teacher’s load (normally 4/8 or 2/4 blocks)
Week 5
Feb 27 – Mar 3 / Teach up to 80% / Transition to taking responsibility for 75-80% of a teacher’s load (normally 6/8 or 3/4 blocks)
Weeks 6- 11
Mar 6 – Apr 28 / Teach 80% / Take responsibility for75-80% of a teacher’s load (6/8 or 3/4 block)
Week 12
May 1- 5 / Conclude Teaching / Begin teaching load reduction- complete units, transition teaching load from teacher candidate to sponsor teacher, continue supporting classroom learning, co-teach, complete all assessment and record-keeping

** Teaching load: Some teacher candidates may wish to teach at a 100% teaching load during their practicum. This option may be granted for a defined period of time (e.g. a few days, one or two weeks) during Weeks Five to Eleven of the practicum if the following conditions are met: 1. The teacher candidate must teach at the prescribed teaching load for Weeks 1-4 of the practicum and fully meet expectations for competence in planning for learning, instructional delivery, assessment and classroom management during that time; 2. At the Mid-term Triad, the faculty advisor and mentor teacher agree that the teacher candidate is ready to assume additional teaching responsibilities; 3. The teacher candidate is not feeling pressured or coerced into taking on additional teaching responsibilities; and 4. The timeframe and other parameters for 100% teaching load are approved by the School Experience Coordinator.

Extra-curricular Responsibilities during Practicum

The primary focus of the practicum is developing teaching competence in the classroom and extra-curricular responsibilities are not a required component of the practicum. However, during practicum teacher candidates are full-time members of the school staff and, therefore, are strongly encouraged to become involved in the larger school community and take on either lead or support roles in some of the extra-curricular programs or events at their practicum schools. Extra-curricular responsibilities do not constitute part of the prescribed teaching load.

Practicum Preparation: Key Tasks and Guidelines

There are several tasks that must be completed by teacher candidates, in collaboration with their mentor teachers, in order to be sufficiently prepared to begin practicum. These tasks are:

Key tasks for practicum preparation

Key task / Due by
Pre-assignment: Professional Resume & Cover Letter / July 7. 2016
Full Week Overview / November 18, 2016
Practicum Instruction Plan (PIP)
See instructions below / December 6, 2016
Working drafts for all units (taught/started prior to Spring Break) and preliminary plans (for units taught/started after Spring Break)
See guidelines below / Initial unit overview: December 15th, 2016 (EDUC 426 pre- assignment)
All pre-Spring Break overviews: January 20, 2017
Lesson plans for introductory lessons
See guidelines below / Prior to the pre-practicum triad meeting (January 23 - 27)
Daily lesson planning, student assessment and reporting
See guidelines below / Throughout practicum

Instructions for developing your Practicum Instructional Plan (PIP): In collaboration with the mentor teacher, each teacher candidate is required to develop a working plan of his/her teaching responsibilities during practicum. The suggested school visit dates to work on this are outlined in the School Experience Schedule. Sample PIPs are included in Appendix 1 of this Field Guide. A template will be provided.

Teacher candidates: the method for constructing a PIP is as follows. Your PIP is a professional document and should be typewritten (not handwritten) and include sufficient details so as to be understood by another educator.

  1. Begin to develop your month-at-a-glance:
  2. Print off a copy of your school’s bell schedule(s)- or make a note of it on your summary sheet.
  3. Using the template provided, make a notations in the ‘Notes’ column of each week as follows: note the week # of practicum (e.g. Prep. Week, Week One, Week Two etc.). In addition, note the teaching load for each week (Intro, 50%, 80%, Conclusion).
  4. Look at the school calendar and note the Day (Block Rotation/Schedule) and any FYI’s (any important dates on the relevant days/weeks of your practicum plan such as staff meetings, early dismissals, Pro D days, special assemblies etc..)
  5. Determine the subjects/grades you will teach: In collaboration with your mentor teachers, determine the subjects/grades you will teach following the progression for teaching load outlined in the General Parameters. Work with your mentor teachers to ensure that there is an appropriate mix of new preparations and repeat lessons within teaching loads. During Practicum Introduction, you should be co-teaching the classes you will end up taking over in Weeks 3&4. By the beginning of Week 4, you should be teaching 4/8 or 2/4 blocks. By Week 5, you should be increasing your teaching load to 6/8 or 3/4 blocks and should remain at that % teaching load until around the end of Week 11. Ideally, at least 50% of your teaching load during Weeks 5-11 should be in the area of your specialization ‘major’. You may only teach in the area of your secondary specialization(s). Every mentor teacher approaches assigning teacher candidates’ duties slightly differently… so be flexible- but also be willing to suggest subject(s) and/or topics you’d be interested in teaching. Your teaching load and the subjects you teach must complement the class program established by your mentor teacher.
  6. Map your teaching responsibilities on your monthly calendars: Note the classes/subjects you will be teaching on each day of each month.
  7. What else should you know about the subjects you will teach? You will need to know the learning goals your mentor teachers expect you to teach. The learning goals help to define the focus of the teaching/learning… You cannot start planning your learning sequences (units, projects, themes etc.) until you have this information. Your mentor teachers should also provide some resources for you to ‘adopt and adapt’ as you develop your unit overviews.
  8. Talk about report cards: Discuss your role in developing the term report cards for your classes. What assessment data will you provide? When is this submitted? Which subjects will you be ‘in charge’ of reporting? Who will write the reports? When are the reports written? What will your role be during student conferences? Add any key report card dates to your monthly calendars.
  9. Extracurricular activities: If known, these should be added to your monthly calendar (practices, games, tournaments, meetings, special events etc.)
  10. Complete a Practicum Instructional Plan Summary (cover sheet) that will provide your faculty advisor and mentor teacher with a snapshot of ‘where you are at’ with regard to preparation. The template for the PIP cover sheet will be provided and should be adapted to reflect your teaching load, number of classes/units you’re teaching etc.
  11. Remember: you are under no obligation to carry a teaching load that goes beyond the recommended guidelines.
  12. Please ensure that both you and your mentor teacher have a copy of your PIP.
  13. Submit one typewritten, hard copy of your PIP to the School Experience Coordinator by the due date specified in the School Experience Schedule. The School Experience Coordinator will review your PIP and then forward that copy to your faculty advisor.

Expectations for Learning Sequence Overview and Learning Plan Development: Appropriate instructional planning is ultimately the responsibility of the teacher candidate and is carried out in consultation and collaboration with the mentor teacher(s) and, closer to the practicum start date, with the faculty advisor as well.

Prior to the pre-practicum triad meetings, working plans of the required learning sequences (units, projects, themes) and daily learning plans must be submitted to the mentor teacher(s) and the faculty advisor for review. The schedule and method for reviewing unit overviews and lesson planning will be determined collaboratively by the teacher candidate, mentor teacher and faculty advisor. Teacher candidate preparation must be complete in order to begin the practicum.

  1. REQUIRED PREPARATION: to be completed prior to the Practicum Introduction Week and reviewed prior to/during the Pre-practicum Triad Meeting
  2. Working plans/ overviewsfor all learning sequences (units, projects, themes etc.)to be taught (or started) in Weeks 1-6AND preliminary outlines of units to be taught in Weeks 7-12. Unit overviews are approx. 3-4 pages each and preliminary outlines are 1-2 pages in length. NOTE: The number and length of the unit overviews to be prepared will vary by grade level, subject area and duration of unit. Sample unit overviews can be found in Appendix 1 of this Field Guide.
  3. Introductory learning plans for units to be started during the Practicum Introduction phase (usually 1-2 learning plans, see learning plan expectations below)
  4. Each draft overview should be sufficiently detailed and understandable for your mentor teacher and faculty advisor

Key elements for your learning sequences ( units, projects, themes etc.):

  • General Information: Subject area(s), Topic/theme, Grade(s), and Number/length of lessons
  • Broad Objective or Big Idea/Theme for unit/project/theme
  • Curricular References: Learning Standards (content and curricular competency), Core Competencies
  • Attempt to integrate/honor/acknowledge Aboriginal perspectives, knowledge, ways of knowing
  • Basic learning experience information: Learning Focus, Teaching/Learning Tasks, Evidence of Student Learning, Resources, and accessibility considerations

See the recommended learning sequence template, exemplar and rubric in Appendix 1 of this Field Guide for more information. An electronic version of the template is posted on the School Experience webpage.

Guidelines for instructional planning during practicum: Teacher candidates are required to develop learning plans for every class they teach. These plans must be sufficiently detailed so another educator can understand/follow them. Instructional plans are required for a number of reasons but two fundamental purposes are:

  1. The plans require the teacher candidate to ‘make his/her thinking visible’ and consider all aspects of the lesson development.
  2. The plans provide a helpful starting point for discussion, collaboration and feedback between the teacher candidate and the mentor teacher and/or the faculty advisor.

‘Key elements’ of a detailed learning plan include:

  • Time references: date/time allotment,
  • Learning focus: Big idea to be explored, Intended learning
  • Preparation Notes: Materials/Resources, Make/Get
  • Learning Sequence- Connecting, Processing, Transforming/Personalizing
  • Evidence of Student Learning: formative and/or summative assessment strategies
  • Other considerations: logistics, configurations, accessibility
  • A post-lesson reflection

Please refer to the recommended learning plan template and sample in Appendix 3 of the ETEP 2 Field Guide for more information. An electronic version of the template is posted on the School Experience webpage.

Lesson Plan to Day Book Transition:

In the judgment of the mentor teacher and faculty advisor, as the teacher candidate demonstrates both competence and confidence in instructional planning, it is reasonable to guide the teacher candidate in creating more abridged plans while still including all of the key elements in the plans. As the teacher candidate’s teaching load increases (around Week 4 or 5), it is also reasonable for teacher candidates who have demonstrated reasonable competence in instructional planning and preparation to shift to a daybook format for planning. Even in this abridged planning format, all key elements must be evident in the plans. Please refer to a recommended template in Appendix 1 of this Field Guide. An electronic version of the template is posted on the School Experience webpage.

While this progression accommodates the learning needs of teacher candidates who demonstrate a readiness for more abridged planning, it should be noted that some STEP teacher candidates benefit from developing more detailed instructional plans for all/most of their 12-week practicum and/or in specific subject areas.

DURING PRACTICUM: KEY TASKS & GUIDELINES

Practicum Introduction Week - 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 mentor 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:

  1. Teacher Candidate:
  • Review the working plans of your learning sequences (units, projects themes)
  • Be prepared to discuss your preliminary management plans for the first week of practicum. In particular: how you plan on communicating & following through on expectations for behavior etc., what you are planning to do in your introductory lessons in Week One?
  • Mentor Teacher:
  • Provide more feedback for the draft instructional plans as required
  • Provide input/guidance re: plans for Week One
  • Faculty Advisor:
  • Provide more feedback for the draft instructional plans 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.
  • 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 learning plans for the next day are finished 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(s) and school administrator ASAP
  • Inform faculty advisor ASAP
  • By 8:00am on each day of absence- teacher candidate must provide the mentor teacher(s) with an informative day plan outlining lessons to be taught, teacher/student resources required etc.
  • The mentor teacher(s) may alter the day plan as required.
  • If a teacher candidate is away for more than 3 days, he/she will be required 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.