Course Description

CONTEXT: This initial professional seminar is intended to provide meaningful experiences that allow teacher candidates to make a reasoned judgment as to whether to pursue a teaching career. Students will be introduced to the diversity of the teacher's role and the broader aspects of the school and it's relationship to the community.

CONTENT: Four goals of the EDUC 200 course.

1) Conceptual Learning: Introducing preservice teachers to:

· education and schooling

· the role of the professional teacher in relation to the school and community the nature of the learner as an individual and as part of a group

2) Skill Development: Introducing preservice teachers to:

· planning skills

· instructional skills

· observational and analytical skills

· collegial attitudes and practices

3) Personal Growth: Initiation, by the preservice teachers of,

· a career decision-making process

· the acquisition of the processes and skills of self-assessment, reflection and self-knowledge

· the acquistion of effective communication skills

4) CRAFT: This initial professional seminar is intended to introduce preservice teachers to the teaching craft through a selection of activities from:

• systematic observational and analysis of the act of teaching
• role-play, audio-visual scenarios and microteaching experiences
• peer feedback, reflection and self-assessment
• observation and engagements with children within a classroom environment

CRITIQUE: A focus on the development of the professional role of the teacher as a continuous learner emphasizing teaching as:

• a moral enterprise- "The Ethic of Caring"
• a reflective practice
• an autonomous and collegial process
• advocacy for children.