School Practice
(Uganda Versus the United States)
Education students in their second and third years spend
time in school practice (SP) during the January semester. During this time,
they are supervised by education lecturers using an evaluation form developed
by the education department at UCU. SP students prepare a scheme of work for
the term as we as individual lesson plans. We also have a form of school
practice in the states, but we call it student teaching. Since I have had the privilege
to supervise in both countries, I would like to compare the differences and similarities
of the two.
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Topic
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United States
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Uganda
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Length of school
practice
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One semester
·
Students can choose to student teach from
January to May or August to December
·
Student teaching takes place during the LAST
semester of your senior year of college (before graduation)
·
All university work is finished when a student
enters student teaching
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8-10 weeks
·
Second year students teach for 8 weeks
·
Third year students teach for 10 weeks
·
Students at UCU complete their SP during the
January semester
|
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Frequency of school
practice
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One time
Students complete student teaching one time, during their
fourth year at university.
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Two times
Students complete school practice during second and third
years.
|
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Supervision
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Teacher, university
faculty
·
Students are evaluated by university faculty a
minimum of two times during student teaching
·
Students are also evaluated by the certified
teacher, which is the original teacher of the class
|
Head teacher,
university faculty
·
Students are evaluated by university faculty
at least six times (three in each subject)
·
Students are evaluated by administration of
the school one time (DOS, head teacher, etc.)
|
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Class size
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15-25 students
The class sizes are regulated by law.
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40-100+ students
The class sizes are regulated by the school.
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Teaching time
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8 hours per day
(40 hours per week)
Student teachers follow a regular teacher’s schedule of
working eight hours per day (7:30-3:30).
|
Number of lessons
per week (about 9)
Student teachers are given a certain amount of lessons by
the head teacher. Most students have around nine lessons.
|
|
School choice
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Chosen by
university
The student teacher selects three districts in rank order
and the university matches them to a school. All of the schools are public
(government) and must be supervised by a certified teacher.
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Chosen by student
The student teacher chooses the school by taking a letter
from the university for approval of conducting school practice. The letter is
then returned to the university in order to arrange the supervising lecturer.
|
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Resources
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Books, internet, interactive white board, available to all
students
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Some books and chalkboard
|
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Food
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No food is included
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Usually break tea and lunch are included
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Grading system
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Student teachers are graded mostly by the supervising
teacher (from the school), but the university faculty also contributes to the
grade. The grade is either “pass” or “fail” and you must pass to graduate.
|
Student teachers are grading by combining the six
observations and one observation by the head teacher. They are given a
percentage (out of one hundred).
|
|
Lesson Plans
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Student teachers follow the standards of the state and the
curriculum map of the district. They write lesson plans and submit them for
approval from the supervising teacher. The supervising teacher must approve
of their lesson plans before the lesson is taught.
|
Student teachers are required to create a scheme of work
and also write lesson plans for each lesson taught. The supervisor looks over
these plans each time he/she visits the student teacher.
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Overall, I have enjoyed supervising school practice over the
past three weeks. In every school I enter, I receive praise from the staff and
head teachers about our UCU students. The teachers know that our students are
disciplined, responsible, and knowledgeable. Several schools have even asked to
retain our students after they are finished with school practice! I look forward
to nurturing our students over the next month and watching them blossom into
amazing teachers.
