What is a Pre-Practicum?
The pre-practicum is a focused field-based experience that addresses the Professional Standards for Teachers associated with educator preparation. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requires approved Educator Preparation programs to ensure that candidates for the Initial License complete field-based experiences in a variety of settings, where they are able to observe diverse learners, in diverse settings, using different instructional models and within different grade levels relevant to the license being sought.
What are the requirements for the Pre-Practicum?
All Initial licensure courses include at least one field-based experience assignment that meets pre-practicum requirements for the course. The course syllabus includes a detailed description of requirements for the assignment for the course.
Each pre-practicum assignment requires spending 1-2 hours engaged in field-based activities that are aligned with the MA DESE Professional Standards for Teachers (PST). Actual activity varies by course, and could include, but is not limited to: classroom observation, teacher interview, one-on-one supervised session with a student, or observation of a school-community event.
Leave a Reply