Consecutive and Concurrent BEd Year Program
Practicum Placements
Under no circumstance are teacher candidates allowed to arrange their own practicum. Only Associate Schools within the listed District School Boards will be used. District school boards within our catchment area are asked to identify “Associate Schools” located in various communities within their boards. (District school boards that are working with Queen’s Faculty of Education are listed on the Practicum Registration Template as well as on the online Practicum Registration pages.) Some District School Boards take in a large geographic area so candidates should be aware that placements could be made in any of the Associate Schools within the district board. Teacher candidates are asked to identify (in order of preference) four district school boards within our catchment area where they could complete their practicum. There is an area on the form where candidates can be more specific about the area within the board(s) they have chosen (i.e. east, west, etc.) Based on both candidate and school information, the Practicum Office then tries to match candidates with schools identified as Associate Schools.
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. Normally, candidates will be placed in one Associate School for all three practicum blocks (12 weeks of extended practicum). Intermediate-Senior teacher candidates who may want to teach Grade 7 or 8 during the third practicum block, will be placed as a generalist and therefore be expected to teach all core subjects. A placement in grade 7 or 8 is not guaranteed.
The Faculty of Education is not at liberty to ask religious affiliation therefore, 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. Non Catholic teacher candidates have had successful placements in Catholic schools.
Information regarding the practicum placement will be mailed at the end of June. A letter outlining details of the practicum will be sent to the mailing address listed on the on-line registration. Be sure to use an address where you will be receiving mail at the end of June. Make note on the bottom of the arrangement form, any special circumstances that need to be taken into consideration.
Practicum Handbook 2008–2009: A Guide for Associate Teacher, Teacher Candidates, and Faculty (400 KB PDF)
