EDUC 371 Elementary/EC Junior Practicum - Maryville University

2006 EDU 371
Fall Junior Practicum
Overview of the junior practicum year
The junior year is an intense one for Maryville University teacher candidates in the
elementary education and early childhood programs. Candidates begin the year with a
solid foundation in the moral principles of education in a democracy and most have a
beginning familiarity with lesson design and instruction.
Candidates begin their junior year with a minimum of understanding of how to “see”
children learning, how to run a classroom, or how to negotiate the complex demands of
teaching. By the end of the junior year they should be able to enter a classroom and
have an immediate sense of what needs doing and some idea of how to do it
collaboratively with students and teachers.
By May junior practicum candidates should be able to:
• Plan engaging and substantive short-term lessons around a concept or
classroom need (e.g. start-ups)
• Negotiate large and small transitions in instruction
• Demonstrate beginning abilities in differentiation that adapts instruction for
individual needs within a class
• Present an effective school and classroom presence that helps them get and
keep student attention and ensures their acceptance within the professional
community
• Develop initial plans for meaningful long-term sequences of lessons in light of
student learning
• Share a beginning understanding of how to organize for classroom life, record
keeping, and time management in and out of the classroom.
Cooperating Teacher Role:
Being a cooperating teacher is complex and demanding. We understand that your
ultimate responsibility is to your students and at no time should the presence of
our candidates in your classroom compromise that goal. We also bring our own
concern that our candidates become the best teachers possible. We expect Maryville
candidates to become immediately active in classroom life, to accept constructive
criticism and grow quickly in response to your and our suggestions. Like all of us, they
need specific and copious feedback on what they are doing well. Please keep the
supervisor informed of ANY area of concern you may have. Also, please share all
areas of growth you believe would benefit the candidate so that we can work on them
together. We rely on your open and honest communication about the candidate’s
progress. Please remember, this is not “getting the candidate in trouble,” but
helps all of us ensure s/he becomes the best teacher possible.
Early in the year candidates often need help learning to take initiative in the classroom
and for planning. They should be increasingly resourceful and initiate ideas; they
should work with students without prompting, and they should increasingly offer to take
responsibility for activities, students, etc. At the beginning, you may need to suggest (or
even assign) tasks, but by November the candidate should be suggesting things on
her/his own.
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