Teacher candidates and interns are instructed to develop a teaching summary in conjunction with their mentor teacher. In consultation with their mentor teacher, candidates and interns are to:
Plan, prepare and teach a minimum of three lessons (e.g. planning a community building activity, leading a routine, facilitating a review activity, developing a mini-lesson) as directed by the mentor.
Plan, prepare and teach/co-teach a minimum of two lesson sequences. Each should be approximately two to four weeks in duration. In addition, each candidate should facilitate various routines and/or stand-alone lessons as directed by the mentor.
Plan, prepare and teach/co-teach units, lesson sequences, routines and stand-alone lessons. By mid-October and as directed by the mentor and field advisor, interns normally assume a 70-100% teaching load.
Mentors are eligible for 3.0 Okanagan School of Education Tuition credits if they host a BEd candidate or intern during the immersive field experiences. These tuition credits will be issued in the spring and can be redeemed for any of the Okanagan School of Education’s Summer Institute in Education, Post-Baccalaureate or Graduate courses.
Note: These tuition credits are valid for two years and are not transferable.
Candidates and interns in the Okanagan School of Education develop the competencies reflected in the Professional Standards for BC Educators (2019).
Mentor’s role is in bold
Field advisor will be referred to as FA
Candidates will reflect regularly on their experiences.
Candidates will complete a self-assessment (including Growth Goals) and email it to their FA and mentor teacher by early January
FA will meet with candidates to discuss their self-assessment and goals
FA will check in with mentors to discuss candidate progress to date and preparations for the five-week experience.
Five-week immersive experience (Collaborative Explorations II)
Week of February 24 – March 4
Working with their mentor(s), candidates complete their Curation of Learning Self-Assessment and Growth Goals document. This document is then shared with the candidate’s FA.
March 7 – 18
Mentors will receive a link to an online survey to provide feedback about the candidate field experiences.
Candidates and interns in the Okanagan School of Education develop the competencies reflected in the Professional Standards for BC Educators (2019).
Mentor’s role is in bold
Field advisor will be referred to as FA
Interns will share their Reflection in Action Document with their FA/IA, Curation of Learning meetings are scheduled: intern, mentor(s) and FA/IA will meet to discuss the intern’s assessment and goals
Interns will submit their Reflection in Action document to their FA/IA
Mentors will receive a link to an online survey to provide feedback about the internship.
Interns can bring new energy, ideas and practices to a classroom.
The relationship between a teacher intern and their mentor can be an exceptionally transformative learning experience. Mentors play a vital role in our teacher education program as they help to guide interns’ learning and influence their identity as future teachers. Interns can bring new energy, ideas and practices to a classroom.
At Okanagan Mission Secondary School (OKM), Lindsay Ellis, intern, and Candace Sharko, mentor, have a great working relationship – that perhaps stems from some common traits, professional goals, and shared beliefs in promoting equity and inclusion in the classroom.
“The goal of feedback is to improve the effectiveness of teaching and promote professional growth.” – Eric J. Feeney, Quality Feedback: The Essential Ingredient for Teacher Success
We believe that regular feedback is an “essential ingredient” for promoting learning. In our Bachelor of Education program, we want to empower mentors to support and work with their candidates/interns in a way that best fits their practice and teaching context. As such, we are offering multiple ways for mentors to provide feedback.
Here are some examples (not an exhaustive list) of mentor’s options for providing feedback to candidates/interns:
Optional: Mentors may choose to use the below templates to record feedback and general commentary.
It is expected that candidates/interns attend all staff meetings. Candidates/Interns are expected to attend school-based team meetings if all parties are in agreement about their participation. Candidates/interns DO NOT attend any union meetings such as staff committee meetings or union updates.
It is expected that your candidate/intern will join you for your weekly supervision. They cannot supervise on their own and must remain with you during your supervision time. Candidates/interns may participate in or run clubs if they are working in close collaboration with a supervising teacher. They may help to coach and be involved with sports teams if working under a supervising teacher.
Yes! You are welcome to leave the class for short periods if you feel your candidate/intern is ready for this next step. Candidates/interns are not to be used as a TTOC in case of a mentor’s absence. However, when there is a TTOC in the classroom, this is a great opportunity for candidates/interns to take on a lead teaching role as they know the students and classroom routines. The TTOC must remain in the classroom, and may take on the role of support teacher in these situations.
Collaborating can look different in different situations:
Collaborating is NOT the mentor providing lessons for the candidate/intern to follow and teach (similar to how a TTOC would work in the classroom).
Planning for regular opportunities to share feedback with your candidate or intern is an essential part of their learning in the field. Some mentors have meetings after school where their student takes notes, others create Google Docs with feedback and some write notes directly on the student’s plan. There is no mandated format. Please see page 21 of this Field Guide for more information. Should you wish to complete a feedback form to give to your student, examples of feedback templates are included on pages 22-25.
Mentors are an integral part of the support team and their input/feedback is invaluable. We recognize that mentors are extremely busy and we strive to provide a variety of ways for them in which to share their feedback. They are encouraged to share any written feedback they have with the field advisor (see pg. 21 for more ideas). The field advisor writes all formal reports, such as the candidates’ Summary of Learning Report and the interns’ Final Report. Mentors receive copies of all reports for review prior to submission to the candidates or interns.
Candidates and interns are expected to work closely with their mentors to develop teaching plans and learning sequences. It is recommended that candidates and interns share their planning with their mentors regularly. It is at the discretion of each mentor for when candidates and interns turn in their plans for mentor review. It is beneficial to have a set schedule for the review of lesson plans, such as sharing lesson plans a day or two before instruction. Mentors should be aware of lesson plans before each lesson.
Mentors should contact the field advisor (FA) whenever they are concerned about any aspect of their candidate’s or intern’s progress, conduct, or preparation. FAs are here to assist you with other questions, too, such as questions about the timeline, expectations etc. If you have concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the field advisor. It is preferable to contact the FA early when there is a concern. If you feel there is a concern and you have addressed it with your student, please let the FA know so that they are informed and ready to step in, if necessary. We are here to support you.
Candidates and interns are expected to conduct themselves to the highest standard in regards to punctuality and professional conduct. A general guideline is for candidates and interns to be at school thirty minutes prior to the start of the day and stay thirty minutes after the final bell. Although many candidates and interns complete some of their preparation at home, the OSE strongly encourages them to be fully prepared for the next day prior to leaving school at the end of the day. Candidates and interns should dress appropriately and are are expected to present themselves professionally as junior members of staff.
Interns:
As each situation is unique, an exact percentage of teaching time is sometimes challenging to identify numerically. For example, in some collaboratively-planned learning communities, the interns are 100% part of the planning and teaching teams; in other situations, there may be a portion of the day when some lessons are co-planned/taught and some lessons are planned/taught independently by the interns/candidates. To allow for flexibility in these unique situations, a guideline of 70-100% teaching load would be appropriate for the internship as it is their certifying practicum.
Candidates:
The teaching responsibilities of candidates may be based on their readiness to take on new challenges and responsibilities. While it is expected that the candidates will teach within the guidelines outlined, there is room for some discretion in assigning workload by the mentor and/or the field advisor.
While it seems that the Self-Assessment and Growth Goals document is completed at an early stage of the five-week field experience (EDUC 441), this document is actually reflective of all of the combined experiences candidates had during their school visits in November and January, the two-week field experience in December (EDUC 440), and the first three weeks of EDUC 441. The candidates complete the document, review it with their mentor and then submit to be reviewed by the field advisor. This document, along with observations and conversations along the way, are considered by the field advisor as the final summary of learning is written (in week 4) and reviewed by everyone (in week 5).