Teacher education programs in Alberta institutions and the Alberta Teachers’ Association jointly acknowledge that field experiences are key processes in teacher education, which require for their success a close collaborative relationship between the teaching profession and preservice teacher education programs. Field experiences create conditions that recognize and promote teaching as a reflective and collegial practice. Teacher education programs in Alberta institutions and the Alberta Teachers’ Association are committed to field experiences that develop the student teacher’s reflective capacities for observation, analysis, interpretation and decision making as well as the competencies required for effective teaching and learning.

Opportunities: What Do Field Experiences Provide?

1. inquiry into teaching and an orientation and socialization to the teaching profession;
2. prospective teachers to consider how students learn and why, their own teaching strategies, and the social and cultural milieu that influences learning and teaching within schools; and
3. a forum for preservice teacher education program faculty, professional teachers, school leaders and preservice teachers to engage in meaningful discourse regarding competing ideas, approaches and pedagogical strategies that inform teaching.

Sharing Commitment With Teacher Education Programs in Alberta Institutions

The Association believes that field experiences provide opportunities for

Teacher education programs in Alberta institutions and the teaching profession share in the commitment to foster these opportunities. The field experience program will continue to be a matter of ongoing examination, refinement, enrichment and improvement involving preservice teacher education programs, the Association, the Department of Education and other relevant government departments as well as partner groups.

1. be planned in collaboration with the Association;
2. be the equivalent of at least 13 weeks of full-time classroom-based experience;
3. consist of a graduated set of classroom-based experiences taking place throughout the teacher preparation program;
4. allow the student teacher to demonstrate the competencies set out in the Teaching Quality Standard;
5. take into account provincial certification requirements;
6. be connected to a specific on-campus course;
7. orient the student teacher to the school, the school authority and the profession;
8. offer opportunities in both rural and urban settings;
9. involve the participation of cooperating teachers;
10. enlist the help of the Association in resolving disputes that might arise during the field experience;
11. ensure that the field experience is not compromised by efforts to recruit the student teacher; and
12. provide, during each phase of the field experience program, supervision and evaluation that (a) is consistent with Association policy, (b) is carried out only by the cooperating teacher and faculty members from the teacher preparation institution, all of whom must be physically present during the observations and evaluations and be familiar with the learning situation, (c) uses a pass–fail method that includes written descriptions of the student’s performance, (d) includes an appeal process for students who are unsuccessful in their field experience, and (e) ensures that, if a student is unsuccessful, the teacher preparation institution develops and sends to the cooperating teacher a remediation plan.

• Fosters a culture of collaboration and professional learning among schools, jurisdictions and teacher education programs
• Positively impacts the efficacy and teaching of both the student teacher and the cooperating teacher
• Builds teacher leadership capacity
• Promotes and develops innovative teaching practice
• Is responsive to learner needs
• Increases retention of skilled teachers