Introduction to the importance of Practicum
Introduction to the importance of Teaching Practicum
Teaching practice is a period that a student-teacher spends teaching at a school as part of his or her training.
Importance of Teaching Practice
The manual of Teaching Practice has been designed/developed/adopted for teacher education programmes in Pakistan. The Teaching Practice system introduces prospective teachers to a wide range of ideas about classrooms in action. It starts with an introduction to schools and classrooms. Then, through guided observations and action research tasks, the system links the college/university with the classroom. By the end of the experience, prospective teachers develop the confidence and skills to teach student-centered lessons. In addition, they become caring, responsible professionals. The Teaching Practice experiences, together with the course work in the teacher-training programme, are designed to prepare prospective teachers for a future which we barely understand. However, prospective teachers will interpret this as an interesting challenge, rather than an undesirable or incomprehensible one. The evidence suggests that Teaching Practice helps prospective teachers who:
- are knowledgeable
- are skilled
- are caring
- act as professionals
- have an effective toolkit of teaching methodologies.
- The Teaching Practice system works well for a number of reasons:
- It provides a strong scaffold for prospective teachers.
- It provides an effective mentoring system for prospective teachers.
- It gives more time in schools to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes.
- It provides opportunities to link educational theory and classroom practice.
- It makes practice part of the training of all prospective teachers.
- It creates a climate of cooperation between the colleges/universities and schools.
- It establishes a network of professional relationships.
