Course Contents

First classroom placement (6 weeks) Week # Topics/themes 1 Introduction to the school and classroom context. • Complete school-based assignments, which provide you with an opportunity to get to know the school, its resources, the rules, and procedures expected of you. • Complete classroom observations, which will provide you with an opportunity to learn about: ¡ The classroom environment, placement of materials, arrangement of work spaces, and traffic patterns. ¡ Classroom interactions, e.g. whole-class teaching and teacher-to-student-, student-to-student-, and student-to-teacher-initiated interactions. • Assist the Cooperating Teacher as requested with any tasks such as: ¡ Small administrative tasks ¡ Helping individual children or small groups of children. • Meet with the Cooperating Teacher to discuss how he or she plans for instruction, expectations, and the like. • Reflect on your learning this week. First classroom placement (6 weeks) Week # Topics/themes 2 Week 2: Becoming more involved in the classroom. • Complete school-based assignments, which will provide you with tools to learn more about: ¡ Your Cooperating Teacher and his or her educational philosophy ¡ A small group of children or an individual child. • Complete classroom observations: ¡ Small group engagement ¡ Individual child engagement • Assist the Cooperating Teacher as requested: ¡ Work with children who need extra help. ¡ Work with a small group of children to carry out the Cooperating Teacher’s plans. ¡ Meet with the Cooperating Teacher to discuss plans for teaching. • Reflect on your learning this week. 3 Week 3: Taking an active role in co-planning and co-teaching sections of a lesson alongside your Cooperating Teacher. • Complete school-based assignments. ¡ Learn about how your Cooperating Teacher manages their classroom. ¡ Learn more about community (parents and other community members) involvement in the school. • Complete classroom observations. ¡ Observe your Cooperating Teacher with the aim to rewrite the lesson plan, adding ideas of your own. ¡ Use one of the additional observation tools to understand how your Cooperating Teacher engages with the children. • Assist the Cooperating Teacher as requested. ¡ Continue with all the previous tasks in the classroom. ¡ Work with your Cooperating Teacher to co-plan a few lessons. ¡ Take over routines such as taking children for recess, taking the register, or reading a story to the class. ¡ Co-teach a few sections of classes with your Cooperating Teacher. • Reflect on your learning this week. 1 ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN EDUCATION/B.ED. (HONS) ELEMENTARY 14 First classroom placement (6 weeks) Week # Topics/themes 4 Week 4: Assuming responsibility for co-planning and co-teaching as many classes as you can. • Complete school-based assignments. ¡ Learn more about the co-curricular activities available at your school, and specifically those that the children in your classroom do. • Complete classroom observations. ¡ Use an additional observation tool to learn how your Cooperating Teacher manages the classroom through movement. ¡ Use an observation tool to learn how to keep track of student engagement by focusing on their on- and off-task behaviour. • Assist the Cooperating Teacher as requested: ¡ Continue with all the previous tasks in the classroom. ¡ Co-teach a few lessons with your Cooperating Teacher. ¡ Work with children who need extra help. ¡ Meet with the Cooperating Teacher to discuss plans for teaching whole lessons next week. • Reflect on your learning this week 5 Week 5: Assuming responsibility for planning, teaching and assessing in at least one subject. • Complete school-based assignments. ¡ Complete any school-based assignments that might be outstanding ¡ Use this time to start to file all assignments from the seminar and the school experience in your Developmental Portfolio, using your Notes for Self-Assessment to indicate how you believe you are meeting the NPSTP. • Complete classroom observations. ¡ Use the additional observation tools to observe how involved children are in the classroom in terms of their verbal engagement. ¡ Develop your own observation tool to collect data on how engaged children are. • Assist the Cooperating Teacher as requested. ¡ Plan and teach lesson in at least one subject area this week. ¡ Continue the activities listed above, taking over responsibility for planning, teaching, and assessing for one subject area. • Reflect on your learning this week. 1 15 COURSE SYLLABUS: The Developmental Practicum First classroom placement (6 weeks) Week # Topics/themes 6 Week 6: Assuming responsibility for planning, teaching, and any additional responsibilities as negotiated with the Cooperating Teacher and College/ University Practicum Supervisor. • Complete school-based assignments. ¡ Continue to make notes about how you are meeting the NPSTP on your Note Sheet. • Complete classroom observations. ¡ If you are challenged by any particular aspect of teaching this week, complete an additional observation, using the same tool, to learn more about teaching and learning. • Assist the Cooperating Teacher as requested. ¡ Plan and teach lessons in at least two subject areas this week. ¡ Continue the activities listed above, taking over responsibility for planning and teaching. • Reflect on your learning this week. 1 ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN EDUCATION/B.ED. (HONS) ELEMENTARY 16 Second classroom placement (6 weeks) Topics/themes Student Teachers repeat the program of the first six weeks but in a different grade and school. Note that while the assignments are the same, if you are at a different school, the school-based assignments will provide you with in-depth knowledge of the inner workings of that school. The practicum seminar The seminar runs parallel to your experience at school. However, students may expect to discuss issues such as: • Practical issues of teaching and learning in their field placements • Language learning • Different perspectives on how to organize and manage a classroom • Planning units of instruction • Content-specific instruction • Selecting and using assessments of learning • How to use standards for elementary school teaching practice • Identifying the hidden curriculum in the classroom • Creating classroom environments that recognize the physical, emotional, affective, social, and intellectual needs of children • Non-instructional roles of the teacher • Working with parents and community

Course Synopsis

The Practicum consists of two important parts: a. A school placement in an elementary school; b. A seminar that meets regularly. a. School Placement: The practicum experience in Semester 4 should provide elementary grade student teachers with a practicum placement in an elementary classroom This teaching practice builds on experience in semester 3 when student teachers worked with children at two different grade levels. As in semester 3, the practicum should provide student teachers with carefully sequenced and supervised experiences, with student teachers gradually assuming responsibility for teaching several subjects with the whole class, starting with one subject in week 3, and picking up an additional class in week 4, and an additional class in week 5. So for the last two weeks you should assume full responsibility for at least 3 classes During the practicum, student students are expected to critically select and use appropriate materials, resources (including persons in the community) and technology, and to have experiences with classroom management and a variety of evaluation techniques (including authentic assessment).3 Collaboration with other Student Teachers and professionals in the school setting should be encouraged in order to develop team building skills and utilization of all resources to enhance children's learning. Ideally, groups of three or four student teachers should be placed in each school. Avoid having too many student teachers in one school and more than one student teacher per class (unless they are doing an activity or assignment that requires them to work together). Opportunities for peer coaching as well as coaching by the cooperating teacher and college/university supervisor should be provided. Student teachers should be encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to interact with parents and to develop skills for communicating with parents under the guidance of the cooperating teacher. b. The Seminar: As in semester 3, a weekly seminar will accompany the practicum to help student teachers link the content of the pre-service program content to practice. The seminar should provide an opportunity to clarify and revise their teaching goals and their beliefs about a wide range of educational issues. Although the seminar should be related to and build upon classroom observation and teaching experiences, it should be focused on inducting student teachers into professional practice. Habits of thinking that provide the foundation for continued growth as a teacher are as important as strategies for solving immediate classroom issues and problems. The seminar should also provide a forum for student teachers to share and resolve problems or challenges they are experiencing during their practice. Student teachers will be asked to complete several types of assignments. Most, but not all, of these assignments will be directly linked in some way to classroom experiences. For example: • Present an analysis of own or a peer’s teaching; • Conduct an observation focused on specific classroom practices or an individual child; • Try out a particular method and reflect on its success in achieving its purpose; • An interview with of a teacher and a child. All of the assigned tasks should be flexible enough to allow for adaptation to a wide variety of classrooms.

Course Learning Outcomes

Student Teachers will be able to: • reflect on and learn from connecting theory and their teaching practice • collaborate with peers, Cooperating Teacher, other school staff, and the College/University Supervisor, establishing professional relationships • invite, accept, and utilize formative feedback from the Cooperating Teaching, peers, and the College/University Supervisor in a non-defensive manner • produce plans for teaching and learning that reflect the use of appropriate instructional methods and strategies to meet the needs of all students within the context of the practicum classroom • utilize appropriate instruments or techniques for informally and formally assessing children’s learning and children’s learning needs • recognize the cognitive and affective needs of children, and establish learning environments and use activities appropriate to meeting those needs