Practicum Overview
What is the Practicum?
Practicum is an evaluated full-time experience in a classroom with an Associate Teacher. During practicum, Teacher Candidates (TC) will be involved in a wide-range of activities including observing the Associate Teacher, teaching the whole class, working with small groups of students, and working one-on-one with students. Associate Teachers assess the Teacher Candidate in all aspects of their practicum work: planning, teaching, assessment, classroom management, etc. During the practicum, TCs observe their Associate Teachers and gradually increase their teaching responsibilities. As part of the assessment and evaluation of the practicum, Associate Teachers complete a Summative Evaluation.
The MT Practicum Handbook and the information on this website provide many additional details about the MT practicum. For further inquiries or questions, please email mtpracticum@utoronto.ca.
Practicum Preparation Days
Practicum Preparation Days involve being in your placement classroom prior to the beginning of the 4-week practicum (or 6-week practicum in Year 2).
- In Year 1, Practicum Preparation Days provide TCs with the opportunity to observe their Associate Teacher and get to know the students and the program.
- In Year 2, Practicum Preparation Days provide TCs with the opportunity to engage in a variety of activities, including observation of the Associate Teacher, being involved with school-based initiatives, and extra-curricular clubs and activities.
Placement Process
Placements are arranged by MT Practicum Coordinators, Cohort Coordinators and Placement Offices in the MT partner boards. Practicum and Cohort Coordinators, and board Placement Offices are solely responsible for ALL aspects of the placement process, including identifying possible partner schools, contacting schools, speaking with school administrators and teachers, and arranging a placement for each TC. TCs must NOT have conversations with schools about being a partner with the MT program, as there are many factors which might inhibit the MT program from being able to follow up with a school (e.g., a school might be involved with another teacher education program, a school may be part of a board that employs a centralized placement process, or there may be other reasons related to internal or board-based protocol).
