The School Experiences Office is working to create more reciprocal links with our educational partners while providing more diverse practicum opportunities for students. In consultation with Seven Oaks School Division, we are hoping to create a partnership through which our teacher candidates would have a supportive French Immersion experience, while their cooperating teachers and host schools would have the supports from and access to French Immersion professional development.

The Proposal: To work in collaboration with a school or two who would host a small group of teacher candidates. The teacher candidates would be supervised by Dr. Krystyna Baranowski, Associate Professor at Université de Saint-Boniface and cross-appointed at University of Manitoba. The teacher candidates would be placed in French Immersion classrooms with willing cooperating teachers and would have opportunities to participate in, plan for, and experience French Immersion settings. In addition, the faculty advisor will support the teacher candidates and facilitate professional learning opportunities for the teacher candidates, their cooperating teachers and other interested French Immersion staff. The purpose would be to develop a learning community within a French Immersion setting. The learning opportunities may include workshops, presentations, supportive group meetings, reflexive journaling using Le Portfolio canadien des langues pour enseignants (CASLT/ACPLS, 2011) for teacher candidates and interested teachers, but these would be determined in consultation with the group.

Teacher Candidates: The teacher candidates selected for this experience would be those that volunteer, demonstrate an interest in pursuing French Immersion experiences and developing teaching competency, and who have either passed the USB test or are close to passing the USB test. The teacher candidates may be in year one or two of the two-year Bachelor of Education program.

Advantages: We hope that there are advantages for all partners involved, including: • developing knowledge and understanding of immersion programming; • increasing confidence in speaking and working professionally in French;

• understanding the complexities in French Immersion instruction;
• having an exposure to options available for improving French (programs, courses, exchanges);
• professional development experiences in French;
• developing an understanding of and sharing strategies for instruction in French Immersion; and
• challenging norms of French Immersion instruction.
For more information, please contact Jennifer Campbell, Coordinator of School Placements at campbel2@cc.umanitoba.ca.