To highlight the work that U of A teams do and the impact they make, The Quad has introduced a team version of Have You Met.
Meet the Field Experience Team, whose 12 members support the next generation of educational professionals by helping B.Ed students develop the skills and dispositions needed for their career. Learn more about their team and the work they do.
What does your unit do, and how does your work contribute to the U of A community?
“Field experience is the bridge that links theory with the practical application that is essential to develop teaching skills. Every year, approximately 1,600-1,800 B.Ed. students complete a field experience! We work with each of those students to prepare them for pre-service teaching, match them with a mentor teacher and help guide them throughout their practicum. We partner with dozens of school districts in the local Edmonton area and across Alberta. Every year, hundreds of teachers volunteer to be U of A mentors. We are proud of the way that our team and our students represent the U of A in the broader educational community!” - Susan Chevalier
What is one word you would use to describe your team?
“Collaborative.” - Val Petrone
“Dedicated.” - Maureen Yates
“Compassionate.” - Brian Sydora
Who is most affected by your unit’s work, and how do you support them?
“We work closely with university facilitators to support pre-service teachers as they transition to their field placements. Through preparation courses, meetings and visitations, we ensure they are prepared for the realities of the school setting. Support is adapted to the academic and personal needs of each pre-service Teacher by listening, guiding, coaching and most importantly caring. While pre-service teachers are most affected, this results in the positive impact they have on the future of this profession.” - Caroline Lakusta
What is your favourite thing about your team?
“We walk the talk by focusing on building positive relationships with our students and dedicated partner schools. We are proud to be the bridge between the theory of teaching and the practical field experiences we provide for our future educators.” - Loretta Manning
“‘Response - ability.’ We have high ‘response - ability’ to meet the needs of our many clients and partners. We respond to the need of the pre-service teachers to be as prepared as possible to enter a very demanding yet extremely rewarding profession. We work together to create and deliver seminars and define and refine field experience processes and procedures. Throughout the field placements, we guide and support university facilitators, pre-service teachers and school-based mentors. We also work directly with the field and in collaboration with professional learning to create and deliver our “Supporting Mentor Teachers Project.” Ultimately it is the children and youth in the K-12 classrooms who are central to our work as we are committed to “quality teaching and optimum learning of all school students” (Leadership Quality Standard, 2023).” - Maureen Yates
What is one thing your unit does that other employees may find surprising?
“We ‘hand place’ over 1,600 pre-service teachers each year! We are intentional with each placement, taking care to consider factors such as program and subject match, grade diversity, protected grounds, potential childcare and eldercare needs of our students and commuting distance. We also consider input from our students (including requests for specific types of programming and requests for specific school districts) as well as requests from our school partners.” - Maureen Labelle
“Many of us have had the opportunity to run schools and be in front of many adults and students for many years. It has been a pleasure to be able to use our career experiences to work together as a team to give back to our profession. What is so special about our team is that we have a common goal and aspiration to bring talented University of Alberta students into the wonderful world of teaching which has been a lifelong journey for everyone on our team.” - Brian Sydora
What does “Leading with Purpose” mean to your team, and how do you incorporate it into your daily activities?
“Leading with purpose in field experience is very closely aligned with the idea of “mentoring with purpose.” This means that our team works to provide support to about 2,000 pre-service teachers per year to help them reflect critically on their knowledge, skills and dispositions as they connect to their future role as the teacher. We continually work to strengthen relationships with our partners in the field, teachers and administrators, who represent schools from nearly 50 school districts. They provide pre-service teachers with a space in which to practice their new roles and provide feedback on how they can grow and move forward into their own classrooms.” - Roberta Baril
“Our purpose is to lead pre-service teachers in building confidence, fostering a growth mindset and developing a flexible skill set. We achieve this through themed seminars, hands-on school visits and in-person interactions with school staff who play a vital role in the growth of both students and pre-service teachers.” - Greg Lakeman
