Apprentice Teachers Deepen Knowledge of Customized Learning

1/24/2017

By working with experienced teachers, coaching sports teams, supervising outdoor education trips and service learning initiatives and completing on-calls, our six apprentice teachers get to know our students - and how they learn - incredibly well. These quality relationships between students and teachers are integral to supporting a truly customized program.

“The Apprentice Teacher program is a win-win,” says Mary Gauthier, Executive Director of the Greenwood Centre for Teaching and Learning. “Teachers new to the profession have the opportunity to learn about all elements of the school community, and to connect with many different subjects and age groups; in turn, Greenwood benefits from the many ways apprentice teachers support the program, from coaching school teams to supervising weekly community service activities.

OISE Certificate Program

Earlier this fall, Mary approached the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) about creating a course connecting research in customized learning to the Greenwood experience – and OISE readily agreed. This course is run out of Greenwood's Centre for Teaching and Learning; it is unique to Greenwood, and will earn each apprentice teacher a certificate in “Teacher Induction: Applying the Research to Design and Deliver Customized Learning.”

Once a week, our six apprentices meet with Mary to discuss a topic connected to customized learning – whether it’s the teen brain, grouping students by readiness or relational teaching. At the end of the year, our apprentice teachers will reflect on their own practice through an action research project on designing and implementing customized learning. In keeping with Greenwood’s approach, they can choose the form their final project will take; options include a research paper, an article, a presentation or a video.

“The OISE certificate brings even more value to the Apprentice Teacher program,” Mary says. “In addition to gaining hands-on experience both in and out of the classroom, these teachers can also further their professional credentials.”

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During their time at Greenwood, our apprentice teachers get to know our students - and how they learn - incredibly well.

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Greenwood College School

443 Mount Pleasant Road
Toronto, ON M4S 2L8
Tel: 416 482 9811

We acknowledge with gratitude the Ancestral lands upon which our main campus is situated. These lands are the Ancestral territories of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Anishinabek and the Wendake. The shared responsibility of this land is honoured in the Dish with One Spoon Treaty and we strive to care for the land, the waters, and all creatures in the spirit of peace. We are responsible for respecting and supporting the enduring presence of all First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. When away from this campus we vow to be respectful to the land by protecting and honouring it. We will create relationships with the people and the land we may visit by understanding the territories we enter and the nations who inhabit them.