The Beginning of Teacher Training: Practicum
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash.
December 15, 2023
Grace Sommer, Contributing Writer
There is a lot for education majors to learn about the field of education; however, professors can only teach some things through readings and videos. The best way for a teacher to put some of these skills to the test is by trying them firsthand, and it is essential for UMF that these students have firsthand experience early on in their education careers.
Almost all elementary and middle/secondary education majors who attend UMF have their first field experience, practicum, during their second year in the program. Practicum is a time dedicated to preservice teachers where they go into a local school and work with a mentor teacher. It allows future educators to apply what they have learned in their coursework to their particular field of study and to learn professional skills they would not be able to learn from reading a textbook.
Trinity Marshall has been placed in a second-grade classroom at a local school, W.G. Mallett Elementary. Here, she has been able to connect with and learn from the mentor teacher she was placed with, works alongside other teachers on the second-grade team, as well as making a positive impact on her students.
“At the beginning of my practicum placement, I was looking forward to getting into the classroom and having a professional relationship with my mentor teacher as well as getting to know my students,” Marshall said. “I think practicum has impacted my education as a teacher because I can have an experience in a classroom setting.”
During practicum for an elementary education major, students are required to dedicate six to eight hours a week to go into their classroom. Some placements can be as far away from campus as forty minutes, which means students have to find a way to get there or pay for transportation such as gas. The field instructors do their best to ensure that practicum students are carpooling where they can or are placed at a school they can commute to as efficiently as possible. It also means the semester before their placements; students must build their class schedule to fit at least six hours a week to go into the field. Academic advisors are there to help students talk through the schedule-building process to help make sure students are creating their schedules to the best of their abilities,
The time practicum students spend in their placement classes solidifies their learnings and the overall research they do during their theory and general education courses. “I first thought that I would gain experience with classroom management, which has been a big part of my placement, but I also think my placement is more structured around learning environments and accommodations for my students,” Marshall said.
The connections and lessons practicum students make during their first field placement set the tone for future semesters. Future educators must be given this opportunity early on in their careers because the world of education is not solely taught through written words and pictures. There is so much more to being a teacher than just that.
