Concurrent: Field Experience
Teacher candidates complete 10 days of observation at the end of Year 1, 15 days of practice teaching at the end of Year 2 and 20 days at the end of Year 3. They then complete 61 days in Year 5 during which they follow the consecutive program model. In total, concurrent teachers obtain 106 days in the classroom!
Year I Field Experience
- consists of a two-week period in a variety of JK-8 classrooms
- is linked to the Introduction to Teaching course
- provides teacher candidates with periods of observation and interaction in the classroom
- allows teacher candidates to develop an appreciation of the school culture and the professional community of which they are a part
- allows teacher candidates to experience the foundational years of education prior to teaching at the Intermediate/Senior levels in subsequent placements
- provides teacher candidates an extended opportunity to be part of a school community
- allows the teacher candidates to learn and grow as teachers through experiencing the day-to-day realities of teaching in school settings, and reflect upon these experiences
Year II Field Experience
- consists of a three-week period in a secondary school setting
- is linked to the Field Experience course
- provides teacher candidates with periods of observation and interaction in science and mathematics classrooms
- allows teacher candidates to develop an appreciation of the school culture and the professional community of which they will be a part
- allows teacher candidates to experience the foundational years of education prior to teaching at the Intermediate/Senior levels in subsequent placements
- provides teacher candidates an extended opportunity to be part of a school community
- allows the teacher candidates to learn and grow as teachers through experiencing the day-to-day realities of teaching in school settings, and reflect upon these experiences
Year III Field Experience
- consists of 20 days of Field Experience in an Alternative Placement
- is linked to the Field Experience course
- the focus of this placement is on enrichment of educational perspective and expertise through a setting that is new to the Candidates
- provides teacher candidates with periods of interaction and observation in alternative placement settings
- allows teacher candidates to develop an appreciation of the alternative settings outside publicly funded school boards and to explore other career options
- allows teacher candidates to experience alternatives to publicly funded schools
- provides teacher candidates an extended opportunity to be part of a learning community
- allows the teacher candidates to learn and grow as teachers through experiencing the day-to-day realities of teaching/working in alternate settings, and reflect upon these experiences
Year 5
Throughout the course of the year teacher candidates will experience the realities of the teaching profession by completing three field experience sessions and spend a total of thirteen weeks in school.
Three placements take place during the year:
- one placement in a Grade 7 or 8 classroom (first placement)
- one placement in a Grade 9 - 12 classrom (second placement)
- one placement in a Grade 9 - 12 classroom OR if teacher candidates have met the Senior teaching requirements, they can request a Grade 7 or 8 placement
In this way, the placements will ensure that teacher candidates have experience within the whole spectrum of grades and teaching experience found within the Intermediate (Grades 7 - 10) and Senior (Grades 11 - 12) divisions. This arrangement of placements also ensures that the teacher candidate gets experience with at least ONE of their two teachable subjects. It cannot be guaranteed that teacher candidates get exposure to both teachable subjects due to availability of host teachers and school board/location choices.
