Enhanced single school model : one Faculty of Education's variation of the professional development school

Abstract

The Enhanced Single School Model (ESSM) was created to provide teacher candidates with an extended practicum during their professional year. It included two core teaching blocks and weekly volunteer time at a single school site. The intent of the model was to submerge teacher candidates in one school's culture. The current study analyzes an existing document, the Enhanced Single School First Year Pilot Project Interviews (ESSM Data Source), which is a compilation of interviews, conducted in 1998 with 8 teacher candidates, 8 associate teachers, 2 principals and 2 faculty liaisons, concerning their perceptions of the ESSM. This study of that document connects ESSM with the model upon which it was based, that is, the Professional Development School (PDS) and makes recommendations for future single site placement models which include: improving communication between schools and universities, providing a clear description of the participant roles, clarifying the teacher candidate selection process, encouraging university/school teaching exchanges and advancing the model's start date to earlier in the school year.