SCHOOL VISIT INFORMATION

Scheduled Weekly School Visits: Please refer to the ETEP Two School Experience Schedule in this Field Guide for details regarding the dates and objectives for the school visits. On school visit days, teacher candidates are to dress professionally, arrive at their designated schools no later than 30 minutes before the start of classes, and sign in at the front office. Teacher candidates should remain at the school and under the supervision of a designated staff member for the duration of the school day. In addition, teacher candidates should remain at the school until at least 30 minutes after the pupils are dismissed to assist practicum school staff with tasks as needed.

Missed School Visits: Attendance is mandatory during school visits and teacher candidates, as junior members of a school staff, are accountable for their attendance. If a teacher candidate is required to miss a school visit due to illness or emergency, he/she must immediately notify the School Experience Coordinator (by phone or email). The practicum school must also be notified immediately. The teacher candidate can do this either by phoning the school office (or the attendance line if the office is closed) or by emailing the mentor teacher (and cc-ing the principal and office secretary).

Personal communication during school visits: Cell phones, personal email or other social networking tools (e.g. Facebook) 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.

Concerns during School Visits: If concerns or questions arise during the weekly school visits and/or prior to the commencement of the practicum, it is important that the mentor teacher, in consultation with the school administrator, immediately communicate, in writing (email is acceptable), the specific concerns to the School Experience Coordinator. If a teacher candidate is experiencing difficulties during the school visits and/or prior to the start of practicum, he/she should make an appointment with the School Experience Coordinator to discuss the concerns or questions as soon as possible. NOTE: The faculty advisors will not become directly involved until the Practicum Introduction Week.

PRE-PRACTICUM PREPARATION

Introduction: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, it is assumed that, given the wide variation of practicum contexts, 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 ETEP Year Two practicum is as follows:

Practicum Week / % Teaching load ** / Instructional time◊ per week:
Week One
(Jan. 13 - 17) / Practicum Introduction
(Teach up to 30%) / Up to 8 hours/week (approximately)
Week Two
(Jan. 20 - 24) / Teach up to 60% / Up to 15 hours/week (approximately)
Week Three to Seven
(Jan. 27 –
Feb. 28) / Teach 80% / Approximately 20 hours/week
Week Eight
(Mar. 3- 7) / Conclude Teaching / As required to complete teaching tasks and transition teaching load back to sponsor teacher (usually about 10-15 hours/week)

◊ Instructional time: This primarily refers to core teaching time (approx. 25 hours/week) during which the prescribed curriculum is the focus of study. However, it can also include directing and facilitating class routines, procedures and transitions. Class outings and day trips can also constitute instructional time if there are clearly defined learning objectives (skills, community building, experiential learning etc.). Whenever possible, the teacher candidate should teach each day, but the instructional time does not have to be equally distributed throughout the week.

** Teaching load: Some teacher candidates may wish to teach at 100% 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 Four to Seven of the practicum if the following conditions are met: 1. The teacher candidate must teach at the prescribed teaching load for Weeks 1-3 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% 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.

PRE-PRACTICUM PREPARATION, cont’d

KEY TASKS

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:

  1. Class Profile: In collaboration with your mentor teacher, develop a summary of some of the key learning descriptors for the students in your practicum class. A template for this profile can be found in Appendix 1 of this Field Guide. An electronic copy will also be made available when school visits begin.

Guidelines for developing a class profile:

  1. Meet with your mentor teacher and obtain a copy of your class list (including students’ first/last names, date of birth (DOB), and pertinent medical information. At this meeting, also discuss plans/ideas for distributing a questionnaire and/or interviewing the students during the fall visits.

(Target date: Oct. 7, School Visit 1)

  1. Teach a mini-lesson that includes distributing a questionnaire to your students. (Make sure the questions provide you with information about students’ interests/special skills, family/home life, preferred ways to learn, friendships). Note: For younger children (e.g. K/1) you might need to develop a simpler questionnaire (1 or 2 questions) and arrange a follow-up interview with each student.

(Target date: Oct. 21, School Visit 2)

  1. If possible, interview each student (approx. 6-8 students per school visit)

(Target dates: Oct. 21, 28 & Nov. 4, School Visits 2, 3, 4)

  1. Summarize questionnaire, interview, observation and work sample information on the Class Profile Template
  2. Submit one copy of your Class Profile with your Practicum Instructional Plan (PIP).
  1. 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 Practicum Instructional Plans (PIPs) are available from the School Experience Coordinator.
    Teacher candidates: the method for constructing your PIP is as follows:
  2. Create an overview of your practicum timeline:Make 9 copies of your mentor teacher’s timetable - one page for each week of the practicum. Label each page: Introduction Week, Week One, Week Two etc. and note the teaching load for each week (30%-60%-80%-80%-80%-80%-80%-50%)
  3. Look at the school calendar and note any important dates on the relevant days/weeks of your overview (e.g. staff meetings, early dismissals, Pro D days, special assemblies etc..)
  4. Which subjects should you teach? Ideally, the core of your teaching assignment will consist of taking on one or two key subject areas (e.g. math, LA, science, socials etc.) at the beginning of the practicum. For example: teach the lessons for one subject in Week 1 (and teach this subject for the whole 8 weeks), then add another subject or a mini-unit in Week 2 (and teach that for a number of weeks) and build your teaching load from there. This will allow you to develop/implement a complete unit in at least one or two subjects. However, 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 and there is a great deal of variation across teachers, grade levels and schools.
  5. For each week during practicum, discuss with your mentor teacher the subjects/classes you will be teaching. As you decide on the subjects/classes, circle or highlight thesetimes on each weekly schedule.
  6. What should you know about the subjects you will teach? You will need to know the specific PLO(s) that your mentor teacher expects you to teach. The PLO(s) define the focus of the teaching/learning. You cannot start planning a unit overview until you have this information. Your mentor teacher should also provide some resources for you to ‘adopt and adapt’ as you develop your unit overviews.
  7. Talk about Term 2 report cards: Discuss your role in developing the Term 2 report cards for your class. What assessment data will you provide? 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 parent/teacher interviews and/or student-led conferences?
  8. ‘Special’ short term assignments should be considered only after your core teaching load has been established.
  9. Complete a Practicum Instructional Plan (PIP) 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 PIP Summary template is included in Appendix 1 of this Field Guide and an electronic copy will be made available to you.
  10. Remember: you are under no obligation to carry a teaching load that goes beyond the recommended guidelines.
  11. Please make 3 copies of your completed PIP for: yourself, your mentor teacher, and your faculty advisor.
  12. Submit one copy of your PIP to the School Experience Coordinator by the due date specified on the School Experience Schedule. The School Experience Coordinator will review your PIP and then forward that copy to your faculty advisor.
  1. Unit Overview and Lesson Plan Development: Appropriate instructional planning (e.g. unit overview development and lesson 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 unit overviews and lessons 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 for the student to begin the practicum.

a)Unit Overview Preparation: Guidelines for ETEP Year Two

REQUIRED preparation: to be completed by the Practicum Introduction Week and reviewed prior to/during the pre-practicum triad meeting

  1. Unit overviews for all units (approx. 2-3 pages each, for each subject you will teach)

See the Unit Overview Guidelines (below).

NOTE: The number and length of the unit overviews to be prepared will vary by grade level, subject area and duration of unit.

  1. Introductory lesson plans for the units that will be taught at the beginning of practicum.(usually 1-2 lesson plans, see lesson plan expectations below)

Unit Overview Guidelines:

i.Detailed, ‘ready-to-go’ unit overviews should be developed for all units/themes/projects that will be taught in the first five weeks of practicum.

ii.Outlines of unit overviews should be developed for all units/themes/projects that will be started in the final three weeks of practicum.

iii.Elements to include in each unit overview:

  • General Information: Subject area(s), Topic/theme, Grade(s), and Number/length of lessons
  • IRP References: Curriculum Organizer, Sub-organizer
  • Broad Objective or Big Idea/Theme for the unit
  • Targeted Prescribed Learning Outcomes (PLO’s)
  • Basic lesson information: Specific Learning Outcomes (SLO’s), learning activities/teaching strategies, resources, assessment/evaluation methods, other considerations (adaptations, modifications, extensions etc.)

iv.Outlines of all routines to be taught during practicum should be developed prior to the triad meeting.

Lesson Plan Guidelines:

Teacher candidates are required to develop lesson plans for every lesson they teach. These plans are required for a number of reasons but two main 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 lesson plan include:

  • Time references: date/time allotment, unit/lesson #,
  • Learning focus: targeted PLO(s) and SLO(s)for the lesson
  • Preparation Notes: Materials/Resources, Make/Get
  • Lesson Sequence- Beginning (Introduction/Connections), Middle (Process/Develop/Practice), and End (Transform/Personalize/Review/Closure)
  • Assessment: formative and/or summative assessment strategies
  • Other considerations: differentiation, extensions/adaptations
  • Room for a post-lesson reflection

Lesson Plan to Day Book Transition:

Degree of Lesson Plan Detail: A continuum

In the judgment of the mentor teacher and faculty advisor, as the teacher candidatedemonstrates competence and confidence in lesson planning, it is reasonable to guide the teacher candidate in creating more abridged plans while still including all of the key lesson elements in the plans.

  • Phase One: detailed lesson plan – 2-3 pages, all key elements included as well as scripted instructions & questions, details re: key transitions
  • Phase Two: lesson summary- 1-2 pages, all key elements briefly noted and possibly one scripted segment such as key questions or instructions as needed
  • Phase Three: lesson outline- 1 page, all key elements in bullet points
  • Phase Four: 2-page daybook (ETEP 2 only): using a template that includes the key elements but formatted for a full day overview. (Note: A lesson summary or outline may still be required or preferred for some subjects.)

Please refer to the sample lesson plans included in Appendix 1 of this Field Guide for more information on the differences between the four phases of lesson plans.

Possible* progression of lesson planning in the ETEP 2 practicum:

  • Week 1 (30%): All teacher candidates will complete lesson summaries for all lessons (Phase Two).
  • Week 2 (60%): All teacher candidates will complete lesson summaries for all lessons (Phase Two) or, with the approval of the mentor and faculty advisor, teacher candidate can begin to use lesson outlines (Phase Three) for some/all subjects .
  • Week 3 -8 (80%): With approval of the faculty advisor and mentor teacher, teacher candidate may begin to use a two-page day book format (Phase Four) for all/most of the lesson planning. Teacher candidates may benefit from developing lesson outlines or summaries for a particular subject.

*NOTE: This progression is included in the Field Guide to accommodate the learning needs of teacher candidates who demonstrate a readiness for more abridged planning. It should be noted that some ETEP 2 teacher candidates benefit from planning lessons (Phase Two or Three) for all/most of their 8-week practicum.