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by Caitlin
Master of Teaching student
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Ever since accepting and entering the MT program two years ago, I felt like I was moving towards my dream of becoming a teacher. Since the start there has been changes. My graduating class of 2016 started in September 2014. When we entered, we were told we had about 7 months of school (September-April), 4 practicums and the summer in between years off. And thats how the program went. Near the end of the last semester of first year, we were instructed to work on our third chapter over the summer break. There was no formal class or instructional lecture. If you recall from my previous post, that was not the case. I was in Southeast Asia when I received the email that we would be enrolled in an online class and we had to submit the approved third chapter by August 12th. If you want to read more about it, please read that post.
Coming into my second year, we were bombarded by projects, research and on top of that applications to future jobs. It was a stressful time as we tried to navigate our professional lives and our mental sanity. I am not going to lie to you that I did not have a mental breakdown or two. I was overwhelmed by the amount of work and stress that was given to us. (This also cut into the number of posts I produced for the blog. I am sorry that it was not as frequent or as detailed as my first year). All the chaos of my final year made me forget about all the first year MT students I met during orientation.
How were they doing? How were they adjusting to the modified MT program?
Nearing the end of my last practicum, I had a chat with a first year MT student. She started the program in September 2015, and is expected to graduate in June 2017. She told me the summer schedule would take up a majority of the summer. From May 14-June 24, they would be attending two courses and from July 4-August 12 they would be taking two more. They really don’t have a long break or rest period before school starts back in September. You can read more about the schedule change on the MT website.
From the most recent schedule, I can tell you that these are the four courses offered for each division:
Primary/Junior Cohorts |
Junior/Intermediate Cohorts |
Intermediate/Senior Cohorts |
CTL7009H – Anti-Discriminatory Education
CTL7008H – Introduction to Special Education and Mental Health
CTL7016H – Integrating Technology into the Classroom: Issues and Activities
CTL7018H -Curriculum and Teaching in Science and Environmental Education |
CTL7008H – Introduction to Special Education and Mental Health
CTL7009H – Anti-Discriminatory Education
CTL7013H – Curriculum and Teaching in the Arts
CTL7016H – Integrating Technology into the Classroom: Issues and Activities |
CTL7007H – Authentic Assessment
CTL7016H – Integrating Technology into the Classroom: Issues and Activities
CTL7009H – Anti-Discriminatory Education CTL7070H – Issues in Secondary Education 2 or CTL7019H – Supporting English Language Learners * |
*I/S Cohorts are only offered one of the two options: CTL7070 or CTL7019
In addition, MT students had to take 2 electives and they would be delivered as night courses during practicum. I cannot confirm if that is true because there is nothing posted detailing this. In my personal opinion, this change has to be the worst one. Practicum is a time where you need to focus on lesson planning, unit plan design, teaching and keeping your sanity. To have a night course on top of everything else is absurd. If I was put in that situation, I would go to class but I could not guarantee the work I would produce to be my best work.
With all the changes, many prospective students asked if I would enrol in the updated MT program. And to be frank, in a heartbeat. Yes it is unfortunate that there has been so many program changes and scheduling conflicts. But the reality is, for me, OISE’s MT program has always been my dream. I have always wanted to be in this program and I have been fixated on being a student here since undergrad. I strongly believe you make the most of your experiences and you have to meet each challenge with grace. It is very easy to become negative and pessimistic about change, especially if you are within the institution while it changes. But the truth is, there is a reason why you chose OISE. Always keep that in mind when you are working your bottom off. It should be your guiding light through hard times.
Are you curious about the OISE student experience? Contact me:
Email: oise.ambassador@utoronto.ca