August Professional Teaching Orientation Week
TECs attend the Professional Teaching Orientation Week which occurs during the last week of August before Semester One classes begin. The Professional Teaching Orientation Week is designed to help TECs become familiar with the WLU Faculty of Education, the PDS site in which they will be working and learning over the course of their professional year and the lap top program. TECs have an opportunity to meet and participate in team-building activities with faculty and other teacher education TECs, and learn about library, technology and other resources available to them through WLU.
TECs are introduced to key structures and components of the WLU program that facilitate learning for both them and for their students. TECs become familiar with the goals, purposes and procedures related to the PDS sites, the Learning Cohort, the Professional Learning Seminar, and the range of required field experiences. They are introduced to the four themes of Learner-, Knowledge-, Assessment- and Community-Centeredness, that intersect all course and field work and become familiar with the themes' role in helping them create coherence among these various experiences.
During the Professional Teaching Orientation Week, TECs are oriented to
the technology-intensive aspect of the WLU Faculty of Education program.
Through this program initiative, TECs have an opportunity to acquire or
hone skills related to using the technology to support student and
personal professional learning, to manage administrative
responsibilities related to teaching and to create and share
professional knowledge.
As part of the Professional Teaching Orientation Week, TECs are introduced to their assigned PDS site. They spend one full day at the site before school starts, familiarizing themselves with staff, basic school policies and procedures, and learning about how schools and teachers prepare for the arrival of students in September.