Practicum Placements

Final-Year Concurrent Education and Consecutive Education teacher candidates must register for the practicum placements online.

The deadline for the 2013-2014 program was April 26, 2013 (late offers of admission can register on-line upon accepting the offer).

Practicum Registration and Placement Process

Teacher candidates are placed in the identified Associate Schools within the listed District School Boards only and are not allowed to arrange their own practicum. Candidates are normally placed in groups of 3 or more in each Associate School.

Some District School Boards take in a large geographic area and candidates should be aware that placements could be made in any of the Associate Schools within the District Board.  It is also the policy of some District School Boards to arrange placements on behalf of the Faculty. These placements may not always be convenient to a teacher candidate’s living arrangements or on public transportation (travel and accommodation is the responsibility of teacher candidates and in some cases could be significant).

Identifying Candidate Preferences

Teacher Candidates are asked to identify (in order of preference) four of the listed District School Boards and will normally be placed in one Associate School for all three practicum components (10 weeks of practicum). Candidates can be more specific about the area within the boards they have chosen (i.e., east, west, etc.) in the ‘Board Notes' field. This will not guarantee a placement in that area of the board. The Practicum Office does not take these areas into consideration for the Limestone District School Board.

Matching Process

When placing teacher candidates, many variables are taken into consideration, such as teacher candidate preferences, subject discipline availability in secondary schools, school preference for maximum allotment of candidates, maximum allotment of candidates per Faculty Liaison, etc.

The Practicum Office does their best to accommodate first choices however, there is no guarantee the practicum will be made in any of the four choices. Teacher Candidates will be contacted for additional input if no placement can be found in the initial four choices.

Candidates are asked to identify the secondary school in which they graduated (if in Ontario).

Candidates are asked to identify any schools within the four chosen boards, in which there may be a conflict of interest (i.e., school in which children attend, school in which a close relative teaches, school in which the candidate has been employed, etc.)

Intermediate-Senior Placements

Where possible, Intermediate-Senior candidates will be placed in their first teaching subject for Components 1 and 2 (fall term). Component 3 will normally be completed in the teaching subject not covered in Components 1 and 2. 

Primary-Junior Placements

Primary-Junior candidates are placed in one division (normally primary or junior) for Components 1 and 2 (fall term). Component 3 will be in a division not covered in Components 1 and 2. Primary-Junior candidates will get experience in two divisions. Primary-Junior candidates will not be placed for a full Component in a specialized classroom (e.g. French Immersion or Special Education). Candidates can complete a half-day in a specialized classroom, during the second Component.

Outdoor Education Candidate Placements

Candidates are normally placed in either both subjects (IS) or two divisions (PJ) in the fall term. Candidates will be placed with Ontario Certified Teachers in an Ontario Outdoor or Experiential Education setting for winter term practicum component.

Catholic School Placements

Some Catholic District School Boards require evidence of Catholic faith to request a practicum in their board (indicated on the list of District School Boards). If a Catholic District School Board is listed as a choice, it will be assumed the candidate is comfortable teaching in the Catholic school system. The Practicum Office will try to accommodate Catholic School Board first choice requests, but it is not guaranteed. Teacher Candidates who do not choose a Catholic District School Board, will not be placed in a Catholic school.

Additional Information

The information you give on this form must be as accurate as possible, with as much information that will help the Practicum Office as necessary. Please indicate in the space provided, if there are special needs of which the Practicum Office needs to be aware (single parent, medical condition, child-care responsibilities, married candidate, varsity athlete, applicable disability registered with Queen's Disability Services that may require accommodations for the practicum). Lack of a vehicle, care of pets, etc. do not fall under special circumstance.

Background Information

Be brief but informative. You are allotted 1500 characters including spaces, per question (anything more than 1500 characters will be cut off, possibly affecting the information you are trying to convey). It is important that you give more than one or two sentences in question 1 as principals and liaisons want to know about candidates they are accepting as guests in their schools. Choose your words carefully as placements have been won and lost based on the content of the background form. 

Primary-Junior candidates should list their major and minor concentrations (and not all university courses) for question #2 of the Background Form.

Technological Education candidates should select "Tech" from the drop-down menu in Subject 1, then select your subject area from the BBT drop-down menu.

Candidates with Special Needs

Accommodation for coursework is much different than accommodation for practicum. We encourage candidates to contact Queen's Disability Services.

Alternative Practicum

Teacher candidates do not register for the Alternative Practicum online. They are given more information when the program starts in the fall.

Follow-up Communications with the Practicum Office and Associate Schools

Information regarding the practicum placement will be sent by email mid-July to your @queensu.ca email account. You must activate your account prior to June 30 so you can receive this email.  Teacher Candidates will have their Queen's email address distributed to school administration and other persons directly involved in any of their practicum placements.

Online Registration Form

• Registration Form Template — Before registering online, download the PDF version of forms and gather all the information you will need for the on-line registration (do not send hard copies).
• On-line Registration Form — Note: you may receive a security alert. It is safe to ignore this alert and proceed with the registration process. For security reasons, once you begin registration on-line, you must finish it; you will not be able to return to the on-line forms later.

Each Teacher Candidate requires a Police Check that includes a “Vulnerable Sector Screening” in order to work with children in schools. This record must be verified for authenticity by the Faculty of Education, prior to starting a practicum in a school. Please read the following information very carefully!

Apply for a Police Check that includes a “Vulnerable Sector Screening”, through the Police Department in the city/town in which you are residing at the time of application. The "current/home" address on the application must be in the same jurisdiction as the Police Department to which you are applying. This must be started after May 1, 2013 so your Police Check will be no more than 6 months old prior to starting the first practicum component in October. 

You will be asked to mail or submit in person, the original of your Vulnerable Sector Police Record Check to the Practicum Office up to August 16. (Due to the importance of this document, it is recommended you send it in a method that can be tracked.) The Police Check will be verified, then returned to you in your last PROF 190/191 class in September. Those who are not able to submit their Police Check to the Practicum Office before August 16 will be asked to bring the original copy of the Police Check in September. You will be asked for it in your first PROF 190/191 class, and it will be returned to you in the same class during the last week in September.

Some Police Departments will require Queen's Faculty of Education to complete a "Consent to Disclosure of Personal Information" form as the agency requiring the Police Check. If your home Police Department requires this, please send the documentation (with your sections of the form completed) to the Education Registrar's Office with a self-addressed stamped envelope. The Education Registrar's Office will complete the sections of the form required of the Faculty and return the document to you.

Candidates applying for a Police Check through the Toronto Police Department (Postal Code begins with "M") need a signed “Consent to Disclosure of Personal Information” form as we are registered with them as an Agency of Record. Email the Practicum Office for this form. It must be printed on "legal sized" paper for the Toronto Police Department to accept it. The wait time for a Vulnerable Sector Screening through the Toronto Police Department is normally 10-14 weeks.

It is recommended that candidates who choose the Peel District School Board as one of their choices should get two original copies of the Vulnerable Sector Police Check. If you are placed in the Peel District School Board, they require your original Police Check submitted to the board and will not return it.

In some instances, a Teacher Candidate may be required to have fingerprints taken prior to having a Vulnerable Sector Screening processed. This is due to the gender and a date of birth or last name matching a person in the pardoned Sexual Offenders database. The fingerprinting process is needed in order to eliminate you as the person in the database. If you require fingerprinting please see the RCMP website for a list of the accredited companies that can submit fingerprints electronically in support of vulnerable sector checks. The electronic fingerprint submission will allow the process to be completed much quicker. Fingerprinting done through a Police Department can take up to 4 months to process.

If, within the last 5 years, you have resided in another country for more than one year, you must also get a Police Check that includes a Vulnerable Sector Screening from that country. If the out-of-country Police Check is documented in another language, you must then have it translated to English by an accredited translator.

Final-Year Concurrent Education and Consecutive Education teacher candidates are required to complete a 10-week practicum and a 3-week Alternative Practicum.

• for the practicum and class schedule, see Sessional Dates

The first two practicum components are 3 weeks each in the fall term. Where possible, Intermediate-Senior teacher candidates will be assigned in their first teaching subject to one associate teacher (or department) for both components. Primary-Junior candidates are assigned in care of the school principal or school liaison and will be assigned to one associate teacher for both fall-term components.

Note: Outdoor and Experiential Education candidates enrolled in the Outdoor and Experiential Education will need at least one class in their other subject (Intermediate-Senior) or time in another division (Primary-Junior) during the fall term. Outdoor Education candidates will not be returning in the winter term as they will be completing the third practicum component in an Ontario Outdoor Education setting.

The third practicum component is four-weeks in the winter term. It is normally within the same Associate School in their other subject (Intermediate-Senior) or another division (Primary-Junior).

The Alternative Practicum (3 weeks) offers an opportunity to explore an area of educational interest within a context that is different from that experienced during the three regular practicum components. Candidates are encouraged to complete placements outside of a school setting, and they can do an Alternative Practicum anywhere in the world as long as it is related to their FOCI course or elective if they are in FOCI P00.

A presentation on Preparing for the Practicum will be given by Dr. Peter Chin on October 2.   A PowerPoint of the presentation will be available on the website after the session.

The Practicum Office requires candidates to submit forms at various deadlines throughout the year. A unique password to access the on-line forms will be emailed to you. Keep the original of all assessments and provide copies to both the Practicum Office and Faculty Liaison.

Education Placement Agreement Form - each District School Board requires an Education Placement Agreement form for each candidate working in their schools. Because the Ministry of Education covers the cost of worker's compensation and private insurance coverage, the Ministry may use the information on the Education Placement Agreement form to verify claims. The Education Placement Agreement form will be given to you one the first day in your Practicum Package, to complete and submit to your instructor in your PROF 190/191 class September 12 or 13.

September 12, 2013 – Intermediate-Senior only. Education Placement Agreement Form and Police Check (for those who did not submit one prior to August 16) must be submitted to your PROF 191 instructor (in the envelope provided) for submission to the Practicum Office. All Intermediate-Senior candidates will have their original Police Check returned to them during the PROF 191 class on September 26 (with the exception of candidates placed in the Peel District School Board).

September 13, 2013 – Primary-Junior only. Education Placement Agreement Form and Police Check (for those who did not submit one prior to August 16) must be submitted to your PROF 190 instructor (in the envelope provided) for submission to the Practicum Office. All Primary-Junior candidates will have their original Police Check returned to them during the PROF 190 class on September 27 (with the exception of candidates placed in the Peel District School Board).

October 28, 2013 – Submit copy of Preliminary Summative Assessment dated October 7-25, 2013.

December 6, 2013 – Submit on-line completed Alternative Practicum Arrangement Form (to be updated) for placements in Ontario District School Boards indicating protocol of EDU see Board Protocol web site.

January 3, 2014 – Submit copy of Summative Assessment dated December 2-20, 2013.

January 10, 2014 – Submit on-line, completed Summary of Fall Practicum Form. This form will indicate with whom the candidate worked in the fall term and with whom the candidate will be working upon return to the Associate School in February. It is also used as a cross-reference for Honoraria purposes.

January 17, 2014 – Submit on-line, completed Alternative Practicum Arrangement form for placements in all other settings (including Ontario District School Board indicating protocol of SCH).

April 7, 2014 – Submit Summative Assessment dated February 10 – March 7, 2014 as well as completed Record of Alternative Practicum Experience form (Alternative Practicum).

Candidates interested in attending the Teachers' Overseas Recruiting Fair (TORF) in January will need to provide copies of assessments as part of the application process (make sure to keep the original copies with both signatures as the Practicum Office will not make copies from the files).