The Practicum in Teacher Education
The initial teacher education options include a range of double degree opportunities to train as an early childhood, junior primary, primary, middle school or secondary teacher.
One of the many innovative approaches used in the teacher training program is the incorporation of content into a series of integrated topics rather than the traditional series of segregated topics in which the student is left to make the links between areas of content.
Teaching Experience is an important component of the Bachelor of Education combined degree program. Teaching is a professional discipline and pre-service student teachers need the opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to become effective practitioners.
The two components of the Teaching Experience program are School Experience and Teaching practicum.
Over the four years of the Bachelor of Education degree, students will be placed in a school for a School Experience of 10 days per semester linked to an education topic in their second year, followed by a Teaching Practicum block of 4 weeks in their third year and a Teaching Practicum block of 6 weeks plus 10 days in their fourth year.
Graduate Entry students will complete the teaching experience placements over a period of two years.
Pre-service student teachers are allocated to government, Catholic and Independent schools/centres for periods of Professional Practice.
All placements of pre-service teachers in schools are made by officers of the Teaching Experience Centre, School of Education and on no account are pre-service student teachers permitted to directly approach schools/centres to arrange their own placements.
The school experience is critical
for the development of the knowledge, skills, competencies and
attitudes that are needed for a successful beginning to teaching.
Some of
this importance and meaning is shown in the following student
reflections.
"I had the most rewarding eight weeks on my practicum. My cooperating
teacher was extremely supportive in allowing me to experiment. Over
the time, I gained confidence in all aspects of teaching. I feel
that I am now able to be a teacher in my own right".
"The practicum provided me with excellent experience, because
it enabled me to practise a diverse range of teaching and learning
styles. It included group work, individual work, whole-class discussion,
outdoor activities, a visit from the local astronomical society,
technology and computing lessons, problem-solving, tasks involving
critical thinking, science experiments, drama, comprehension activities,
creative tasks, and a large enquiry-based component".
"It was incredibly heartening to see how the pupils began with
reluctance but gradually transformed until they were bubbling with
enthusiasm for the topic".
On the level of a personal reflection about developing as a teacher: "In the future I need to strive to achieve more of a personal
distance from the events in the classroom".
Teacher education students undertake three separate teaching
experience blocks that increase in the amount of time spent
in schools and
also in the complexity of the roles and responsibilities expected.
The structure of the degree, therefore, provides the opportunity
to develop knowledge and skills progressively. It also enables
students
to achieve success and personal satisfaction at each stage
of their professional development. We recognise the special
demands
placed
on students undertaking the practicum and have undertaken research
to better understand the sources of stress and the support
they need to achieve their goals.
The link between theory and practice is central to all aspects
of the courses. The practicum is an important ways in which
practice is provided for students. However, a special feature
of the courses
is the way in which topics allow for reflections on the practice
as well as preparation for the practicum. These features of
our programs provide opportunities for strengthening the link
between
theory and practice.
