Initial Teacher Education · classroomsand’pizza’lunch’space’waslivelyand’a’strong’sense’ of’engagement’inlearning’andcommitment’toteaching’was’ present’onthis’first’day’of’classes.’

Winter 2011

Initial Teacher Education Four Program Pathways

Guiding Principles

• Teaching Excellence

• Equity, Diversity & Social Justice

• Research Informed

• Cohort-based Learning Communities

• School/Field/ University Partnerships

• Faculty Collaboration

• Coherence

Newsletter #6

Upcoming ITE Events Several events and professional learning opportunities are planned in the weeks and months ahead.

January 28 Annual Tacon Lecture in Art Education – Dr. Richard Siegesmund “The Beloved Community; Art Education after post-‐modernism”

February 1 Associate Teacher Advisory

February 2 SUPO External Advisory

May 10, 11 The Ministry/Faculty Forum with several sessions offered by OISE faculty

May 12 Associate Teacher Appreciation event

May 27 Awards ceremony for students and faculty

June 2 PM MT, MA Convocation + reception

June 16 AM The Bachelor of Education/Diploma in Technological Education Consecutive Program (Secondary) Convocation + reception

June 17 AM The Bachelor of Education Consecutive Program (Elementary) Convocation + reception

Thanks! As we move into the second semester, we would like to thank everyone for the many contributions to our various programs in the first term. We welcome to OISE the first class of Concurrent teacher candidates, who entered their professional semester on January 3rd. We would also like to acknowledge the work of the Admissions Committee , the Orientation, Mentoring and Research teams and the Readers, as profile reading gets underway for the class of 2011/2012.

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Initial Teacher Education Winter 2011

The Bachelor of Education/Diploma in Technological Education Consecutive Program

Last spring, elementary instructors participated in an equity curriculum mapping activity to identify theories and frameworks that their cohort would use as a tool for understanding and synthesis. With goals to highlight equity issues from day one, the first seven weeks of the elementary program focused on linking the coursework to theory and entering into courageous conversions. This led to a culminating event “equity-‐intensive day” with a keynote address by John Portelli and practical workshops by equity leaders from our partner school boards and community. Many thanks to the organizers, contributors, and participants for this outstanding work!

Infusing Technology in the Consecutive Curriculum One of our priorities for 2010-‐11 has been the infusion of instructional technology into teaching practice. Through the support and leadership of a number of key instructors and staff from Education Commons, workshops have been provided for over 700 TC’s (across Elementary and Secondary) with topics ranging from use of software (eg. Comic Life, SmartIdeas), adaptive assistive technologies (e.g., Dragon Naturally-‐ Speaking), to instructional uses of Wikispaces, clickers, podcasts and Smartboards. Workshops have been designed to demonstrate how IT can engage ‘next generation learners’ in creative and critical thinking. A special thanks to our partners in Education Commons for their unwavering support of ITE.

The University of Toronto Concurrent Teacher Education Program

Professional Semester Orientation January 3, 2011 was the first day of the Professional Semester for teacher candidates in Year 4. It began with an orientation during which teacher candidates from all units across U of T engaged in community building activities. They also met their Mentored Inquiry and Teaching (MIT) Instructor/Cohort Coordinator who will support them during the Professional Semester and Practicum. The atmosphere in the auditorium, classrooms and pizza lunch space was lively and a strong sense of engagement in learning and commitment to teaching was present on this first day of classes.

Equity Curriculum Mapping in the Elementary Program

UTCTEP at a Glance: a Guide for Concurrent Teacher Candidates in all The UTCTEP Program Office released its new program handbook entitled: Concurrent Teacher Education Program at a Glance: Guide for Concurrent Teacher Education Candidates in all Program Options. The purpose of this handbook is to provide Concurrent teacher candidates in all program options with an overview of program requirements from Years 1 to 5 to ensure that they complete all program requirements and stay on track. It includes program expectations with a series of checklists specified for each year, tips for success in the program, and lists of learning resources related to the various program components.

Sparking Inquisitive Minds Noting that inquiry and research are an integral part of Ontario high school curriculum, C&I instructors collaborated with OISE librarians and school board instructional leaders to organize a full-‐day series of workshops for over 300 I/S teacher candidates in January. Workshops included “Engaging Students in Inquiry”, “Designing Effective Research Assignments”, “Exploring and Evaluating Online Resources” and “Scaffolding Research for Success”. Many thanks to Jo-‐Anne LaForty and Julie Hannaford for their leadership in organizing this day which exemplifies faculty collaboration, research-‐informed practice and program coherence.

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The Master of Arts in Child Study and Education Program (Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology)

The University of Toronto announced that Dr. Eric Jackman donated $5 million to the Institute of Child Study – a landmark gift in Canada for early development and childhood education. In recognition of the gift, U of T has renamed the 85-‐year-‐old Institute of Child Study (ICS) the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study. “Dr. Jackman’s gift demonstrates his firm belief in the Institute’s unique and integrated approach to the study of human development, family dynamics and childhood education,” said U of T President David Naylor. “We are already a leader in this area. With Eric Jackman’s support, we can build on these strong foundations, continue to innovate, and develop best practices that will improve outcomes of early childhood education for children and families everywhere.” The Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, with its tripartite mission, integrates advanced research, renowned graduate teacher training and a demonstration model of practical elementary schooling, all at one place.

Institute Celebrates 85 Years This year the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study is celebrating its 85th birthday. To commemorate this momentous occasion we will be hosting a gala reunion on the evening of Saturday, May 14, 2011. We are looking forward to connecting with our greater education community and recognizing the achievements of our graduates and faculty members over the past 85 years.

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The Master of Teaching Program (Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning) The Master of Teaching program had a very good first semester. Our many new instructors have come together to form a vibrant community. In November we had a day-‐long retreat where the faculty developed an overarching statement for the program which is helping guide us with some revisions to our program.

Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study

Technology Day

One of the benefits of a two-‐year program is the opportunity for Year 2 students to mentor Year 1 students. In practice teaching placements the second year students support the first year students. Some Year 2 students went the “extra mile” and organized some lunch-‐time workshops on practice teaching, lesson planning, and navigating your practice teaching placement. This opportunity helped the Year 2 students consolidate their learning and helped strengthen our MT community.

Faculty Retreat

With technology being a key factor in today’s schooling, we are increasing our attention to the place of technology in our program. Once again we had a very successful Technology Day organized by Kim MacKinnon including workshops on a variety of technology-‐related topics: Apple Mathware; Online Discussion in Science; and SMART Board in Support of Knowledge Building. This led to two students, Carly Gallinger (Year 1 P/J) and Jenn Hancock (Year 2 J/I), organizing a lunch-‐time workshop on assistive technologies. Kim MacKinnon, Clare Brett and Jim Hewitt are developing a core course on technology and education. In the Year 1 literacy course we have made multi-‐literacies a key element. Lydia Menna, a TA for the course, is doing her research in this area and has helped incorporate multi-‐literacies into all aspects of the course. Similarly, Rob Simon who teaches the Year 2 I/S English has made multi-‐literacies a central aspect of his course.

Student Mentorship

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From the School-University Partnerships and Student Services Offices

The Professional Preparation Conference was a big success. This year we hosted the largest number of groups representing global teaching opportunities for our teacher candidates. Thanks to Amy Lobo and her team for the very many hours of work that went into preparing for this conference. More information can be found at: http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/oise/About_OISE/news_article_110103.html

Welcome Concurrent Teacher Candidates

SUPO/Student Services joined in welcoming our new 4th year Concurrent teacher candidates on January 3rd. John Smith and Paul Kelly joined our SUPO team for Concurrent practicum events, and we welcome the expertise they bring.

Professional Preparation Conference

Principals’ Breakfast SUPO/Student Services hosted a very successful ‘Principals’ Breakfast’ at which 35 Principals from across the GTA came together to hear Dr. Kathleen Gallagher speak about “School Partnerships, Theory and Practice”. The success of this event is encouraging us to think of various ways to deepen the relevance of the research we do here to practical issues and concerns within schools.

Alumnus earns the Week of the Child Agency Award

Kristen Armstrong (B.Ed., 1999) earns the Week of the Child Agency Award, which recognizes individuals for their dedication to improving the lives of children and/or youth in the community. Armstrong works with students with special needs and at-‐risk students at Orchard Park .

Stoney Creek News, November 25, 2010

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From the OISE Library

The library offered a series of orientation sessions in the fall designed specifically for elementary ITE teacher candidates. Orientation sessions were tailored to the requirements of each ITE Coordinator. Most sessions included a library tour and hands-‐on interactive library research lab where candidates had the opportunity to explore the library’s website and learn different strategies for finding books, videos, kits and other types of materials available in the library. Some of the classes also were shown how to access and more effectively search the full-‐text online article databases available through the Library’s subscriptions. Most of the sessions were given in September, while classes scheduled in October were provided a “just-‐in-‐time” orientation to guide teacher candidates needing library resources just prior to their practicum.

Fall Workshops

To better meet the needs of ITE teacher candidates preparing for their practice teaching assignments, the Library offered a new workshop in January entitled “Finding Classroom Resources for your Practicum: Math Manipulatives, Science Kits, Children’s Lit., and More!” The goal of the workshop was to help candidates identify and find age-‐appropriate resources for the classroom including games, textbooks, DVDs, images, and other multimedia materials from our library and beyond. Some time was also spent with teacher candidates exploring the Ministry’s Trillium List, and providing an introduction to some of the publicly licensed K-‐12 databases available through Knowledge Ontario.

ITE Scavenger Hunt and UTCTEP Treasure Hunt The OISE Library hosted a scavenger hunt in September for incoming ITE teacher candidates and a treasure hunt in January for incoming UTCTEP teacher candidates in partnership with ITE and UTCTEP instructors; representatives from the Student Teacher’s Union; EC, SUPO, and ACSC staff; members of the Greening OISE Committee; and the CAO’s Office. The Scavenger / Treasure Hunt provided teacher candidates with an opportunity to meet other teacher candidates and OISE staff, and to discover some of the many resources and services OISE has to offer, early in their programs. In addition to providing teacher candidates with a fun-‐filled opportunity to learn about OISE, all candidates who participated received a small prize, and those who completed the questions in their “passports” were entered into a draw to win a larger prize. Larger prizes ranged in value from $5 -‐ $50. The next Treasure Hunt will be held in September 2012. Please email any suggestions for new questions or improvements to Monique Flaccavento ([email protected]).

Josée Mercier, ITE teacher candidate

As part of the “Inquiry and Research: Sparking Inquisitive Minds” event for ITE I/S teacher candidates held on January 7th, Patricia Serafini and Monique Flaccavento offered a workshop on exploring and evaluating online resources. The session was designed to introduce ITE teacher candidates to some of the many online resources which they can use with their students (i.e. when they are teaching / practice teaching), and to provide them with practical search tips and tricks to help their students become more effective searchers and evaluators of online information.

New Winter Workshops

Inquiry and Research: Sparking Inquisitive Minds

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Book a tour, book display, or library / research skills workshop: Please contact Pat Serafini ([email protected]) or Monique Flaccavento ([email protected]) if you’d like to arrange for a tour, book display, or a hands-‐on library / research skills workshop for your class. Additional tours and workshops are posted on the Library’s website at: http://oise.library.utoronto.ca/research/classes-‐available.

Suggest a title: While the Collection Development selectors try very hard to order the “latest and greatest” materials in the field of education, there are times when instructors find out about great resources that don’t get under our radar. Please send your suggestions to Pat Serafini, [email protected] or call her at 416-‐978-‐1903. If you believe the library should get the material ASAP (1-‐5 days), let her know, and she can co-‐ordinate this with the Acquisitions Specialist, Arlene Fockaert.

Individual Consultations: Many of us learn better when we have one-‐on-‐one time with an instructor. If you or your teacher candidates feel that your library research techniques could use updating, refreshing or just a little bit more attention, Pat Serafini is available for one-‐hour consultations. Please send her an e-‐mail ([email protected]) to book an appointment in advance.

Course Reserves: Some of the library materials in our collection are in very high demand. If you’d like to ensure that a book, textbook, DVD, etc. is available for your teacher candidates when they need it, please contact Monique Flaccavento ([email protected]) to request that the item be placed on course reserves (short-‐term loan).

Reserve a video / DVD: To reserve a film for showing in your classroom, please contact Catherine Duff ([email protected]) with the title and call number of the film, as well as the date(s) when you will require the film. We’ll make sure it’s available for pick-‐up at the Circulation Desk for the date you need it.

Curious about how much an Ontario elementary teacher would have earned 100 years ago? What kind of teacher training new teachers would have received? What kind of textbooks students would have used? Or maybe you'd just like to see if you would have been able to pass a 1911 high school entrance exam! Join OISE Library staff February 24th from 12-‐1pm in the Library for a hands-‐on session as we explore materials from our Historical and Curriculum Resources Collections. Some of the differences between elementary schools and teachers between 1910 & 1915 and those of today will be illustrated using unique resources from our collection.

Primer (Royal Canadian Readers). Toronto: Canada Publishing Co., 1883. (illustration inside front cover)

Elementary Schools and Teachers in Ontario, 1910-1915 and Today: Collections in the OISE Library

Library Services Available to ITE Instructors

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Staffing

From the Associate Dean and Executive Director

The ‘Professional Conversations’ Series was initiated in September for new instructors to the ITE program. A variety of sessions have taken place including: • Introduction/orientation to the ITE Program (Wednesday, September 1 with Program Directors) • Teaching in ITE: Reflections on my first month (Wednesday, October 13 with Program Directors) • Practicum orientation (Wednesday, October 27 with Eleanor Gower and SUPO team) • Equity & inclusive curriculum practices in ITE (Wednesday, November 24 with Karen Murray and Marg Wells) This term, four more sessions are planned: • Building community and managing conflict in the ITE classroom (Wednesday, January 26 with Jeff Kugler and Nicole West-‐Burns) • ICT in ITE (Wednesday, March 2, tba) • Using research to inform your teaching in ITE (Wednesday, May 4, tba) • Planning for 2011/12 (May/June) Sessions have involved talking about teaching experiences in ITE with each other and experienced instructors, reading and reviewing core articles, and identifying questions, challenges, and next steps in connection with professional learning.

ITE BEd Directors’ Professional Conversations Series

The 2011/12 staffing process is well underway. Applications are now being considered for the Concurrent Lecturer position by the Search Committee with the intent to be completed by mid-‐March. Secondments have just been posted for the BEd Concurrent and Consecutive Programs and sessional positions will be posted in late March. Teacher Education Program Assistants will be identified in late April/early May. All positions for the Initial Teacher Education Programs will be posted on the OISE website.

Outreach Initiatives For a number of years, our Future Teachers’ Initiative (FTI) has focused on promoting teaching as a career for all students in middle and secondary schools, particularly students from under-‐represented communities. Under the leadership of Ann Lopez, FTI has become a well-‐established group of interns who work throughout the year and most intensively during the month of May to make contact and visit schools and provide workshops and materials directly to students and also to host a student conference here at OISE that introduces elementary and secondary students to teacher education and other programs and opportunities at the University. This year, a committee composed of members of the Registrar’s Office, the FTI leaders, instructors and graduate students has been planning actions to further broaden and deepen our outreach activities. Currently, a contest is underway to elicit video clips from ITE teacher candidates that will highlight the experience and excitement of becoming a teacher. We are also seeking advice from organizations within and outside of the university regarding effective ways to engage in two-‐way communication. Discussions with our Student Teachers Union regarding support for applicants at all stages of the admissions process are also underway.

Alumnus awarded prize for excellence in

teaching genomics Glen Kim (B.Ed., 2005, B.Sc., also U of T, 2004; I/S Biology and History; AQ: Religious Ed part 1, part 2, specialist) is the recipient of the Ontario Genomics Institute’s 2010 Genomics Teaching Prize. The annual prize recognizes the Ontario secondary school teacher whose teaching best expemplifies OGI’s commitment to preparing Ontario’s students for their future roles. Kim teaches science at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga. Physorg Wire News, November 8, 2010


This research project seeks to explore how the three schools involved understand and intentionally attempt to integrate inclusive classroom and school practices into the school curriculum, school activities, and overall environment. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, regard to the cultures, experiences and contributions of people of African descent and other racialized groups. Moreover, it also seeks to explore the relation of these intentionally implemented practices to student achievement and engagement. Partners include the Toronto District School Board and OISE/Initial Teacher Education. The Inclusive School Pilot Project OISE-‐TDSB Steering Committee includes: Lloyd McKell, Executive Officer of Student & Community Equity (TDSB), TDSB Project Coordinator; Christopher Usih System Superintendent Learning to 18, Programs & Partnerships (TDSB); Kurt McIntosh, Supervising Principal Equity (TDSB); Mark Evans, Associate Dean, Initial Teacher Education (OISE); and Leslie Stewart Rose, Director, Elementary Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Program (Consecutive) (OISE) and OISE Project Coordinator. The Project’s TDSB school principals and the OISE liaisons: Carleton Village P.S: Curtis Ennis, Principal; Beverly Caswell, ITE, OISE Liaison; Flemington Jr. P.S: Lyn Davy, Principal; Ann Lopez, ITE, OISE Liaison; Grey Owl Jr. P.S: Liz Holder, Principal; Mini Dindayal, ITE, OISE Liaison; the Inclusive School Pilot Project OISE Support team: Jeff Kugler, Executive Director of the Center for Urban Schooling (CUS), CTL; Karen Murray, William Waters’ Teacher-‐in-‐Residence; Nicole West Burns, Research Officer, CUS; and Carmen Carrero de Salazar, Research Officer. The project has a three-‐year timeline. In 2008-‐2009, consultation took place among stakeholders and work began with each pilot school in developing understandings of inclusive curriculum/inclusive schools, to identify teams of stakeholders and to establish professional learning processes to investigate selected aspects of inclusive curriculum and instruction. During the 2009-‐2010 academic year, an exploration of resources and research materials that inform effective practice were considered to assist in the analysis of inclusive curriculum materials. School-‐based inquiries were designed and initiated. This year the exploration of resources and research material that informs inclusive practice is continuing, as are the school-‐based inquiries. Findings will be reported in a culminating project, the Inclusive School Handbook, intended to be completed in early fall 2011.

OISE/TDSB Inclusive Schools 3-Year Pilot

2010 northern tour of Spirit Horse The 2010 northern tour of Spirit Horse ended in Toronto on Friday, December 10th with a moving performance for OISE elementary teacher candidates. One of our elementary candidates commented “This play not only shed light on the issues surrounding the mistreatment of First Nations people in Canada and their socio-‐economic plight, it humanized these issues and made the audience realize that we are all interconnected and responsible for change. I would recommend this play to teachers who are looking for big ideas so students can better understand the consequences that imperialistic conquests have had on this country and the residual effects these injustices have on First Nations people today. The story of this mythical horse could not rein more true to the conditions and realities to our First Nations people in Canada presently.” It was a special morning, with Jim Giles from ETFO, speaking to the teachers of tomorrow, and Patterson Fardell, Roseneath Theatre Director of Education & Outreach, spoke passionately about the role of the arts in education. Many thanks to Larry Swartz for his work to prepare for the day and the curriculum in ITE that prepared and followed the performance. For more info and photos see: http://www.etfo.ca/enewsletter/vol5no6/Pages/default.aspx

Documents

Initial Teacher Education · classroomsand’pizza’lunch’space’waslivelyand’a’strong’sense’ of’engagement’inlearning’andcommitment’toteaching’was’ present’onthis’first’day’of’classes.’