Practicum Experience

One of the important features of the Bachelor of Education program is the combination of the theoretical and the practical aspects of teaching and learning. During the two-year program you will have the opportunity to work with experienced professional educators in a variety of educative settings for up to twenty four weeks.

Elementary program: you will have the opportunity to practice teach in 2 different schools and at least 2 different grade levels. The grade levels are lower (P-3) and upper (4-6).

Secondary program: you will have the opportunity to practice teach in 2 different schools (one high school and one junior high) and in each of your first and second teachable areas.

All students are responsible for and must complete two security documents in order to practice teach in schools (information on completing these documents will be sent to students once admitted to the program):

    1. A Criminal Records Check (must include the vulnerable sector search)
    2. A Child Abuse Registry Search

Practicum Overview

In Year 1 of the program you will be placed in a school in the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE). You will be given a placement request form to complete prior to the start of the program. All school placements will be made by the Practicum Coordinator directly with the HRCE placement consultant.

During Year 2 of the program all students will complete another placement request form. It is possible to apply for a practicum experience outside of the Halifax Regional Centre for Education. The final decision of accepting an out of HRCE request will rest with the Program and Practicum Coordinator.

To see more on the expectations of the in school Practicum Placement please review our Practicum Guidebook posted in our Practicum Documents section.

Community Placement Option (Year 2 Students Only)

This unique opportunity is designed to introduce the B.Ed. student to experience an educative placement outside the traditional classroom setting. It allows the student to practice the skills and use the knowledge they have acquired throughout the program in a different educative site. Some organizations we have partnered with have been the Art Gallery of NS, Pier 21, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Museum of Natural History, Red Cross, Pathways, Clean Nova Scotia, ACT and Compass programs from the IWK, Discovery Center, and NSCC.

All students in Year 2 of the program have the option to apply for a community placement to be completed during the last 4 weeks of the final practicum course. Year 2 students are notified in early September which community organizations will be taking part in the Community Placement Option for their year. Students who choose to apply for the Community Placement Option will also be interviewed by the host site as the organization will make the final decision on who will be accepted for the placement.