QUESTION
How teaching practice is different from an internship? Develop guidelines to optimize the benefits of teaching practice.
Course: Teacher Education in PakistanCourse code 8626
Level: B.Ed (1.5 Years)
Solved Assignment
Answer:
Understanding the difference
between a practicum and an internship can better prepare students for the
curriculum demands of their degree programs. Essentially, educational practicums
and internships are supervised on-site work experiences that allow students to practice
and demonstrate their developing skills and competencies in their chosen
careers. While these experiences bear some similarities in design, their purpose
and scope are quite different.
THE PRACTICUM EXPERIENCE
Practicums are field experiences
that allow a student to observe and document how working professionals perform
their job responsibilities. Students will also participate to a limited extent
in performing tasks under supervision by program professors and on-site staff.
Concurrently, students enroll in a course that outlines the expectations and requirements
of the practicum.
The expectations associated with
a practicum vary according to the career. For example, a practicum in teaching
may require assisting the teacher with implementing small group instruction,
whereas a practicum in nursing may entail recording vital signs for one or two patients
under supervision. General characteristics of practicums include:
·
Shadowing one or more assigned employees who
will guide the on-site experience.
·
Observing and correlating practices in the field
with theories and methods previously
·
studied.
·
Recording data or assisting with tasks as
directed by on-site personnel.
·
Completing practicum course assignments.
Participation at the practicum
site is typically two or three times per week for a few hours per session. No
remuneration is expected for a practicum, but it does qualify for academic credit.
THE INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE
As compared to practicums,
internships take on the characteristics of a real job focusing on the independent
application of skills and knowledge in the workplace setting. Students are placed
with on-site professionals who manage their workload and oversee their performance
much as an administrator in an actual employment setting would. Additionally, program
instructors visit the student two to three times during the internship to
evaluate their progress and performance.
A major difference between a
practicum and an internship involves the degree of expected involvement of the
student with hands-on work. The expansion of task expectations can be demonstrated
using the previous examples from the education and medical fields.
Compared to a practicum student,
student teaching interns would not only assist with lesson planning but
collaborate with their supervising teachers to create and instruct whole-group
lessons independently. In a similar fashion, nursing interns would go beyond
mere charting of vital signs. They would be expected to understand and
independently perform evaluation procedures on multiple patients, then
accurately record their results and consult with their nursing supervisor about
them. Internships are usually considered to be full-time experiences, following
the work schedule of the assigned placement. They also receive academic credit,
and in some cases, may provide a stipend for services rendered.
As an avenue for preparing
graduates for careers, academic practicum and internship experiences are
valuable tools for learning. They not only afford students opportunities to demonstrate
their knowledge and practice their skills in real-world settings but prepare students
for the realities of the workplace. By understanding the differences between a practicum
and an internship, students have the advantage of being better prepared to navigate
the curriculum of the degree programs they are pursuing. Guideline to optimize
the benefits of teaching practice:
Through the decisions they make,
excellent teachers translate the DAP framework into high-quality experiences
for children. Such teaching is described in NAEYC’s position statement on
Developmentally Appropriate Practice, pages 16-23: "Guidelines for
Developmentally Appropriate Practice." These guidelines address five key
aspects of the teacher's role:
· Creating a caring community of learners
· Teaching to enhance development and learning
· Planning curriculum to achieve important goals
· Assessing children's development and learning
· Establishing reciprocal relationships with families
Let’s think of these guidelines
as five points on a star—a “mariner’s star” to guide our journey to help
children learn best. Each point of the star is a vital part of good practice in
early care and education. None can be left out or shortchanged without seriously
weakening the whole.
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