What are your responsibilities to the B.Ed. teacher candidates (TC's), to the program, to your Associate Schools, to your Associate Teachers (AT's), to the School Liaisons (SL's)? How can you meet your responsibilities?

Your Responsibilities to the B.Ed. Candidates (TCs)

1. Ensuring they are in an appropriate Practicum placement in their school. Each TC in I/S will spend 13 weeks in a secondary school placement. This is broken down into three practicum blocks. The first is for four weeks in October 2006. The second is for five weeks in November-December 2006. The third is for four weeks in February-March 2007. Usually TC’s are initially placed in their “first teachable”.  Working with one or more host teachers, the TC will obtain first hand teaching experience in a variety of grades and courses in this subject area.  Our program requires that all I/S candidates (except TC’s in the diploma Technology program) complete a minimum placement of three (3) weeks in each of the two I/S teachables . Teacher candidates must, for certification purposes, have an “evaluated” placement in both teachables. In some schools, TC's will spend the entire fall round in the same subject discipline and must then ensure that they spend the winter/spring Practicum in the other subject discipline. Candidates in the Outdoor and Experiential Education (OEE) program must teach both of their subjects in the two fall practicum blocks as they are engaged in other activities in the third block and will not be returning to the same school. Part of your job is to negotiate these appropriate placements with teachers, candidates, and school liaisons. Tact and positive thinking are required here! Contacting School Liaisons and Associate Teachers early in September to confirm placements is an important element in the success of the program.
   Ideally, it would be preferable if TC’s could have a parallel experience teaching both subject disciplines throughout the fall practicum. This may or may not be possible, depending on what classes are available in the host school. If TC’s do manage to achieve a minimum assessed (successfully) in both subjects in the fall practicum, then they may request, via the Practicum office (not guaranteed), a placement in grade 7/8 for the spring practicum.
2. Ensuring that each TC receives appropriate feedback on their teaching and school-based activities. This feedback comes from you during and after visits to their classrooms and in response to what they tell you about their activities before and after your visits. It also comes in the form of regular discussion with their Associate Teacher and formative and summative assessment from the Associate Teacher, using the forms provided by Queens as well as any informal arrangement developed by the TC and AT.
3. You may want to set up frameworks for the meetings that will take place:
   1. weekly school-group
      meetings of TCs to discuss and debrief their experiences, using the list of questions provided;
   2. less frequent meetings between Faculty Liaisons and each TC;
   3. daily/weekly meetings between TC’s and AT’s;
   4. meetings involving all school-group candidates and Faculty Liaisons.
   Ensure that all your TC’s have our list of In-School Weekly Discussion Questions to guide their work during their weekly meetings, and that you arrange a way for them to communicate with you about their meetings each week. Ideally the list of discussion questions should be shared with Associate Teachers, so that they are kept informed about the weekly meetings. Course web site is easiest for this.
4. Ensuring that each Practicum placement runs as smoothly as possible. You can help do this by providing appropriate information to TC's, AT's and School Liaisons. Experience has shown that it is most helpful if the same messages are heard at the same time by as many people involved as possible.
5. Providing your TC's with information about your proposed visits to their school--dates, times, duration, purposes, possible group meetings, how they should prepare, etc. NB If possible, although not required, it would be a “bonus” if you were able to join the TC’s, on occasion, during their weekly meetings.
6. Providing each TC with information about reaching you at all times--email, phone, fax, so that they can contact you concerning problems or questions in their placement. If for some reason you will be away, then please arrange for a colleague to be the “point person” for you while away – please let your TC’s and SL know who this person is and how to get in touch.
7. Providing as much support as needed, so that each TC reaches their potential and has appropriately successful experiences in all facets of their school placement.
8. Developing a way for each school group in your PROF 191 section to communicate with you and possibly with each other group, during their time away from the Faculty. Suggestion: a designated reporter from each school group each week to describe progress and discussion from school group meetings. Please ask Education Computer Services for information on electronic options to provide an "online home" for sharing resources and for discussion--a WebCT space, a Knowledge Forum database, a course email list (listserv).
9. Providing possible questions, issues for discussion, and exploration during weekly 3-hour meetings of each school group. You may wish to suggest that TCs work with their School Liaisons to set up p.d. sessions offered by teachers in the school.

Your Responsibilities to the B.Ed./Dip.Ed. Program

1. You are the face behind the documents and phone calls. You are the person connecting Queen’s Faculty of Education with the schools. You are likely the only representative from Queen's who will visit your Associate School.
2. You need to inform all members of the learning community--School Liaison (SL), Associate Teacher (AT), Teacher Candidate (TC)-about this enterprise so that they understand the needs and opportunities of the extended Practicum . For most practicing teachers, this is not the way their own teacher education was conducted, so you may have to do some explaining and clarifying. Some AT's have, in past years, questioned the 3-hours per week meeting time of TC's, based on their school groups. You need to remind AT's that this is an essential part of our program and not negotiable: each group of TC's in each school must be provided with 3 hours of uninterrupted meeting time each week of the Fall Practicum.
3. You need to encourage participation by Associate Teachers by describing the positive elements of the program: we can never have too many AT's in any school.

Your Responsibilities to Associate Teachers (ATs)

1. You need to ensure that each AT has the appropriate information about their TC’s placement: the Practicum Handbook, as well as assessment forms, Queen’s expectations about the Practicum, remuneration procedures and dates for your visits. You may want to talk with each AT about our Practicum Assessment Form and the implications of our rating system (O, P, A, N) for our candidates.
2. You need to provide AT’s with appropriate information about the Action Research or Library Research projects as well as the ethical considerations that accompany the Action Research assignment.
3. You need to provide each AT with information about reaching you at any time – email, phone, fax numbers. You also need to make clear that AT’s may contact you with problems or questions at any time.
4. You need to be prepared to deal appropriately, following Queen’s policy, with any candidate in difficulty during a Practicum.1
   Practicum Handbook .
5. When an occasion arises, introduce Associate Teachers to the Prof 19 website, so that they can see what the course expectations are, what the weekly meetings are about, and the wealth of teaching resources they might access through this website.
6. You need to be able to provide positive reasons for each AT and school to continue accepting Queen’s candidates: flowers and candy are not a silly idea! Positive, friendly, appreciative diplomacy is needed in all contacts with your Associate Schools.

Your Responsibilities to the School Liaisons (SLs)

1. You need to communicate frequently, either in late spring, August or early September, concerning the upcoming Fall Practicum so that SL’s can match candidates with appropriate AT’s.
2. You need to continue ongoing communication concerning assessment forms, Practicum Handbook, classroom placements, assignments,  concerns, problems. You need to be sure that SL’s have the information they need to contact you

Your Responsibilities to the Associate Schools

1. You need to do what you can to ensure that even after individuals have left the school, it will continue its positive relationship with Queen's Faculty of Education. Without placements in appropriate Associate Schools, our candidates cannot meet the requirements of the Ontario College of Teachers – good relationships make our program work.
2. You need to ensure that our TC’s are prepared to work and learn successfully in their schools. See Preparing for the Practicum .