|
Work practice guide, full-time study
Introduction
The work practice is central in Practical-Pedagogical Education. Through the work practice, which is to take place in authentic work situations, the students are to be trained in teaching pupils. The students will be supervised by advisors with relevant vocational training and work experience.
To reach the objectives of the work practice, it is crucial that all parties of the teacher education cooperate. This work practice guide is hopefully helpful so that students, advisors, head-masters at the practice schools, and subject teachers at IPLU, get the information needed to collaborate successfully.
The work practice guide gives an introduction to the objectives, content and organization intended for the work practice experience. In addition, the guide contains suggestions regarding how advice might be given, as well as how students’ teaching qualities are to be assessed.
This is an extensive guide, but it is crucial that all parties study the different chapters thoroughly, and operate in accordance with the given guidelines. The aim is that all students complete the work practice, which is a good preparation for the teaching profession.
What is the work practice training’s objective?
The work practice is to provide the students with training and skills needed for teaching and other teacher-related work, as well as create basis for personal development and development of the school organization in general.
Together with pedagogy and theory for specific subject matter areas/profession didactics, the work practice will contribute in educating reflected teachers with practical skills.
The premise to reach the objective is that theory and practice are equal parts of the study. The theory part of this study is practice oriented. This means that the teachers of pedagogy and didactics focus on practical teaching, the students’ work practice experiences and findings during the practice. During work practice, the student is to be trained in authentic work situations under the guidance of persons with relevant vocational training and work experience. The advisor is to help the student connect work practice problems with pedagogy and didactics.
One of the starting points for school-related work and teaching is the tension between ideals and reality. The distance between the objectives and the everyday life at school is present on all levels in the educational system. It is, therefore, necessary to educate teachers who are interested both in personal development, and to work actively for the school to reach its objectives. It is crucial that their work practices do not make the students discard theory and condemn practice. They have to learn how to live with unfinished business, and simultaneously know that it is the process that is important. In order to inspire the students to make improvements and try new paths, the theory and advice sessions must enlighten, analyze and reflect upon the work practice.
How is the work practice organized?
Volume
There are 14 weeks of work practice. The students are to work under advice during this period. The work load each week for the student teacher is to match the work load of a professional teacher. The students are to spend their working hours doing work practice or working on texts intended for the work portfolio or the presentation portfolio. Early on, the advisor and the student have to come to an agreement about the student’s participation in planning and meetings. Normally, the number of lessons taught by a student teacher each week is 8-10. This concerns students who have both one and two subjects that they are to teach. For students working pairs, the number would be 8-12.
Advisors and practice teachers
There will be internal advisors at the individual school. The IPLU has permanently employed advisors as practice teachers in some of the schools. As a compensation for their role as advisors, they have less teaching hours than regular teachers. Usually, however, the IPLU uses advisors who are hired by the hour each semester. (The term "practice teacher" is used for both alternatives.)
In order to become a practice teacher one has to have completed vocational training, pedagogical training, or another teacher’s training, in addition to several years of teaching experience. Teachers who have additional education as pedagogical advisors are prioritized. The head-master has the decision as to the practice teachers paid by the hour. IPLU has permanently employed advisors in some of the schools in Tromsø, and here the IPLU and the school’s management will cooperate to find suitable practice teachers. In addition to advising candidates, the permanently employed practice teachers are also responsible for organizing a meeting with the practice teachers before the work practice starts – or at least, as early in the first week of the practice period as possible. They will here provide information about the practice period and the assignments that are to be done under guidance. The practice teachers are also responsible for providing the students with information about the school in general. This orientation is to be done in the beginning of the practice period. The school’s administration will often participate in bringing this information forward. At the end of each practice period, the permanently employed practice teachers are responsible for the examination meetings which take place at school.
IPLU advisors
Each student is to have at least one (1) advisor’s visit from IPLU each semester. For students teaching two subjects, it is crucial that during the second semester, the student get an advisor’s visit connected to the second subject. If the practice teacher, or the IPLU, finds it necessary, more visits can be made. The representative from IPLU will operate together with the student’s local practice teacher. The external advisor from IPLU will observe one teaching session (hearing), and participate in the advice session both before and after the teaching session (advice session). If necessary, the local practice teacher must make sure that he/she is released from other obligations both prior and post hearing, so that he/she can participate in the advice session, and eventually in deciding the examination results.
Pair practice
The majority of the students teach two subjects, and consequently have two practice teachers. The work practice can be done individually or in pairs. Pair-practice means that two students with the same/similar backgrounds cooperate during the work practice. The students may also have a schedule where the students jointly teach some of the lessons, while others are taught individually. Pair-practice provides the students with an opportunity to develop their cooperation skills as teachers, something that is very useful considering current school objectives.
To the largest extent, all students are to experience pair-practice at some point during the study. As an experiment, we try to secure all students with a pair-practice in at least one of the two semesters. Pair-practice should primarily be done during the first semester, but the combination of subjects and the number of positions made available for pairs, will force some students to do their pair-practice during the second semester. These same conditions are also decisive as to which students are going to do pair-practice together – a decision which ultimately has to be made by the work practice administration.
First period of work practice
At the beginning of the practice period, the practice teacher and the student will jointly make a plan for the period, which topics are to be covered and the planned progression of these. As far as possible, one should aim to follow the progression suggested in this guide (p 8), but local limitations have to be taken into account. Specific objectives have to be made regarding cooperation within the pair.
Normally the practice period starts with the student(s) "listening in on"/observing teaching done by the practice teacher. It is also important to write a log in connection to the text "The pupil and the learning environment." The observation part usually lasts for 1 or 2 weeks, and during this time the student is to get to know the class. The student(s) may also help solving tasks, or participate in group work. After this period, the student(s) will take over the teaching, totally or partly, and the practice teacher will do the observation. In the beginning, the practice teacher will be present in all lessons. After a while, the student(s) will do the teaching without the presence of the practice teacher. The practice teacher does, however, need to be available when the student teacher is alone in the classroom. The practice teacher has the legal responsibility for the pupils at all times, and also has responsibility for providing advice for the student teacher. If the practice teacher is not able to take responsibility, a substitute practice teacher needs to be appointed. The students are to be paid substitute’s salary if they teach without advice from practice teacher or substitute practice teacher. At the end of the practice period, the practice teacher needs to be present at a regular basis.
At the end of the first practice period, the student(s) and the practice teacher must do a summary and an evaluation of the completed work practice. It is important that the summary also includes the external advisor’s comments – as well as the pupils’ comments. According to the plan, student and teacher are also to formulate central bjectives for the second study part regarding the student’s development.
The work practice summary creates basis for planning the second work practice. This conversation is also an evaluation of the learning situation the student has been in, and simultaneously, the advisor will get feedback regarding his/her function as an advisor.
Second work practice period
The second work practice is also to be done under advice, even if it is reasonable to expect a more independent student teacher. During the first or second week, the student and the practice teacher are to decide on the progression for the work practice period. The planning needs to be based on the decided objectives made at the end of the previous practice period, and the progression needs to be in accordance with the objectives. As for the students doing pair-practice, they have to decide on objectives regarding their cooperation as a pair.
What is to be incorporated in the work practice training?
The five areas of competence in all teacher education also constitute the content of the work practice training: vocational, didactical, social, work ethical competence, and finally, competence regarding change and development. The two work practice periods are collectively going to include a progression, so that the challenges will be greater as the practice progresses. It is understandable that the student’s attention is focused on the practice teacher’s teaching assignments and advice (didactical competence) during the first work practice period. They will learn to master teaching and the social interaction that takes place in the classroom (social competence). It is important to put special emphasis on letting the students experience, and be advised about, how teaching is planned, implemented and assessed, as well as how a good environment for learning can be established. The students must learn some practical skills and methods that can be used handling everyday teaching, and the advice sessions must inspire to reflect upon these actions.
All students have a right to understand and profit from the education, and it is important that the students are seen, and get to try out the principle of adapted training, both during the planning and implementation phases. Through this process they will find that communication and cooperation with pupils and others are crucial. Both individual and pair-practice students should cooperate with the advisor in terms teaching, and participating in the subject section meetings, as well as team meetings. At primary and lower secondary levels, the student teacher should also participate on parent-teacher meetings.
Also during the second work practice period will the work practice training focus on the before-mentioned competence areas. The students are, simultaneously, to get to know the school’s “internal life” and the school’s relationship with the local community. Introduction to, and advice about, the role of the teacher and work ethics are to be focused more on during this period (work ethical competence). Good examples and advice, which provide the students with inspiration to develop personally and engage in developmental work, are to be central in the work practice training (competence regarding change and development) as well. The work practice periods are too short for the students to engage in regular development-oriented work.
Through discussions, it is important that the advisors contribute in making students used to discussing teaching problems, and contemplating how to develop and improve teaching. Even if the last two competence areas are dealt with during the theory sessions in the first semester, it is in this final semester that the areas are studied thoroughly. Theory and practice are mutually supporting.
Work practice training is given under advice, which means that the training incorporates both the students’ experiences and the advice they receive. These elements are usually connected, since it is natural that the topics discussed during the advisory conversation revolve around students planning and implementing teaching. Sometimes it is natural to bring up other topics that might be relevant in connection to a teacher’s regular working day. The students might not have experiences connected to all the assessment areas, which makes is very important that these areas are addressed and discussed during the advice sessions. The objective of the work practice training is that the students are to have as much experience with an ordinary teacher’s working day as possible, through active participation and guidance.
How to give and receive advice?
The advisory process
In Practical-Pedagogical Education, the student is to receive advice during his/her work practice. This means that the students are to have relevant teaching experience, at the same time as they are given advice connected to these experiences by internal and external advisors. During work practice training, the student enters a process where he/she is to master, through personal experiences and dialogue with the practice teacher, the most important parts of the teaching profession. It is an aim that the student formulates his/her personal vision of teaching and learning; the student is to be conscious of his/her "practice theory".
The practice teacher’s task is to encourage the student to be independent and courageous enough to find his/her own personal style as a teacher. Simultaneously, the teacher must help the students to understand the limitations put on teaching (the number of lessons on the timetable, curriculum/syllabus, study book, quality of the pupils, etc.) The practice teacher must attempt to show the student which consequences choices concerning material, work methods, and assessment forms will have on teaching and learning.
It is important that the practice teacher and the student get familiar with each other in the beginning of the practice period. They should clarify what expectations they have to each other. The practice teacher should clarify the process of guidance, and get to know about the student’s personal needs, goals and wishes. It is especially important that pairs, early on, take their time to discuss the challenges this work-form might present. Questions relating to loyalty should be particularly addressed: What shall, should, or can we inform each other about?
There are no conclusive answers to these questions; the answers are dependent upon the particular context, and one has to judge each situation. The practice teacher(s) and the two students should clarify and state premises for how these questions are to be handled. New challenges will occur during the process, and it is important that these are discussed continuously throughout the work practice period.
During both individual and pair-practice, it is important that the practice teacher(s) addresses questions connected to the obligation of confidentiality. It is IPLU’s duty to guide the students as to the obligation of confidentiality that they are to honour, and present a document regarding this obligation which the students are to sign. The students are given a short introduction to the confidentiality problem before the first practice period, but it is important that this is further addressed and discussed when in practice.
Basis for guidance – a starting point for planning and giving advice
To secure that the theory part and the work practice part of the study stay interlinked, the basis for guidance will be crucial. The basis for guidance is a templet for planning teaching, and is to be used by respectively students and practice teachers. This document contains pedagogical/didactical concepts that the students have been made familiar with during the theory part. Now they are to use these concepts in their work practice.
When IPLU comes to visit, the basis for guidance document for the teaching session in question has to be sent to the external advisor beforehand. The document must contain the student’s intentions regarding his/her teaching, since the implementation is to be discussed in connection to what was actually planned. In other words, the document is to be basis for the advice session. The usage of this document provides practice in planning, and shows how students relate to the various didactical categories, and the connection between these categories.
It is time-consuming to compile the document in accordance with the templet, and the students should not be asked to do this too often, apart from the hearings. The purpose with these documents is that the students are to be familiar with such an extensive plan, in order to let them experience what it is like to think about their own teaching so thoroughly and systematically. In addition, it is demanded that the students present an outline for the teaching, which is to include parts of the templet.
Advice – step by step
Initial advice session
The student presents the basis for guidance to the practice teacher. The initial advice session should be given considerable time before the teaching begins, so that the practice teacher has the opportunity to discuss the draft with the student. This allows the practice teacher to ask questions and give commentaries beforehand, based on personal knowledge and experience. This way the advice session is given a cooperative character, and is less characterized by control. It is easier for the advisor to assess the student’s teaching if he/she knows the student’s plans and intentions. Based on this, the student decides on his/her final choice of objectives and approach, and writes a final plan. The criteria for guidance and assessment are, therefore, “visible” for both parties before the teaching is implemented and the evaluation has started. The student is welcome to formulate what he/she wants to be observed during the teaching session. When the IPLU advisor comes to visit (hearing), the basis for guidance is sent to the IPLU advisor in good time prior to the hearing, so that it is possible for the student to incorporate eventual feedback into the plan.
The initial advice session has a central place in the work practice training, because the advisor during this phase is allowed to participate in the student’s thoughts regarding learning and teaching. Through relevant questions, the student must:
- clarify (What do you want to do/Why?)
- argument (Why do you want to do it like this?)
- predict (Is it reasonable to think that you are to achieve the things you have planned for?)
Thus, the initial advice might contribute to clarify the student’s practice theories to both the student and the advisor respectively.
Implementation
The student implements the plan with the necessary adjustments. The practice teacher observes and takes notes based on the plan.
Evaluation
After the teaching session, the practice teacher and the student discuss the implementation of the plan:
- Did things happen according to plan? (Did we reach the goals, why not?)
- What could have been done differently?
- What would the plan look like now that we have experience with it?
- What have we learned that can be significant to later teaching situations?
The student’s and the practice teacher’s respective knowledge, experiences, and perceptions are important contributions to the assessment. It is important to stress that the criteria for the conversation and the assessment are based on the student’s final plan, which means that this is not the practice teacher’s criteria. Hopefully, the student will, therefore, not find the criticism unjust.
The assessment conversation
During the assessment conversation one can discuss elements that have not been addressed directly during the initial advice session or the evaluation of the teaching plan. The student is to be given the opportunity to make statements as to how he/she perceived the advice session, so that the practice teacher can have feedback as to his/her guidance. One can stop, look back at the advice process, and through conversation reach agreement as to what needs to be done to make the work practice training better. The objective for this guidance strategy – which largely relies on the initial advice session – is to get the students to think systematically about own teaching and formulate a personal practice theory, so that the teaching can improve gradually.
Pair-practice advice
Experiences surrounding pair-practice are largely positive. The practice teachers have experienced that the advice sessions are enriched, as far as they include more associations and good ideas. Experience also shows that the students become each other’s advisors, and are forced to verbalize, and give reasons for, their choices to their fellow students. The students have given feedback stating that they feel more secure when they can support each other, as well.
To provide advice for students in pair-practice is not quantitatively different from advising individual students. The strategy is the same, but this form of practice also embodies challenges. It is important that the students cooperate with the planning if they are to experience teaching as something including. Even if the implementation phase is individual, the students must cooperate on the planning. If the students alternate on teaching the same class, or if they sometimes teach alone or supplement each other, it is especially crucial that they do the planning together.
Individual advice has to be given even if the students work in pairs. Pair-practice does not mean that they are to teach together at all times. Where it is natural, students have to embark on individual teaching, even if it is during a pair-practice. If the other student observes while the first student teaches, both of them should be present at the evaluation. When the student is in charge of the teaching single-handedly, it is natural and right that the student receives individual advice.
There might be situations where conversations with the individual student are called for. This might be situations connected to teaching, or the relationship between student-student or student-practice teacher. Therefore, individual advice sessions should be scheduled, so that these can be used when needed.
How are the students to be assessed in practical teaching skills?
Practical teaching skills are assessed as pass/fail both after the first and the second work practice period. The first period needs to be passed in order for the student to be able to proceed with the studies, and the second period needs to be passed in order for the student to be eligible for final examination.
General guidelines for the assessment process in both periods:
- Connect the guidance and assessment of the student to the points in the form called "Assessment areas in work practice, to assist the student, local supervisor and the representative(s) from IPLU". The form contains concretizations and elaborations of the competence areas as stated in IPLU’s study plan for Practical-Pedagogical Education.
- An immediate message should be given to the student and IPLU if there is any chances for the student failing his/her work practice.
Specific guidelines for assessment – first work practice period:
- The assessment must be connected to the various competence areas and made in a concrete manner. In the first work practice period special emphasis is put on the student’s potential for further development as to practical teaching skills.
- This semester, the practice teacher(s) and the representative(s) from IPLU assess the student’s practical teaching skills to pass/fail after the final hearing. If the IPLU is not notified at least one week after the work practice is finished, the preliminary assessment will be regarded as final. If the student has more than one practice teacher, it is a wish that all teachers participate in the evaluation.
- If there should be any discrepancy between the preliminary and final assessment, the IPLU will initiate a separate evaluation meeting.
- Within one week after the work practice has finished, the completed evaluation form from IPLU has to be returned. The form creates an important fundament for the basis group leaders’ conversations with the students, where the students’ development objectives for the next work practice period are to be stated, etc.
Specific guidelines for assessment – second work practice period:
- A commission consisting of the student’s practice teacher(s), the school’s head-master and the representative(s) from IPLU assess the student’s practical teaching skills as pass/fail.
- Schools in Tromsø municipality are to hold a final examination meeting within two weeks after the work practice period has been completed. The regular practice teachers have the responsibility to summon and lead the meeting. Schools outside Tromsø municipality are to hold this meeting in connection to the IPLU’s final visit. The representative(s) from IPLU will be responsible for arranging the meeting.
|
