Cancelled - Randstad Education Campus Visit - Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Unfortunately, the visit today has been cancelled.  Please continue to visit the blog for the rescheduled date.  

Year 2 Students - M.Ed Program Information Session - Thursday October 24th, 2019

Good Afternoon Year 2 (of 2 Year B.Ed Program) Students,

Are you interested in pursuing an M.Ed degree? 

Are you wondering about the admissions process and course offerings at Lakehead?  If yes, this information session is for you. 

Come and join us on Thurs. Oct. 24th from 12:30-2pm (Room 10 Heritage Place) for an information session about the M.Ed program. This is an opportunity to also hear from recent graduates of the program (thesis, portfolio and course routes).

Please RSVP to Dr. Sonia Mastrangelo at smastran@lakeheadu.ca by Tues. Oct. 22nd, 2019.

Year 2 Students - Professional Development Session - Wednesday, October, 2nd 2019 (Federation Day)

Greetings,

Hope all is well with you. This is just a reminder about the PD session at the Geneva Centre on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019. 

Sign-in begins from 8:30 a.m. for a prompt start at 9 a.m.- 12:15 p.m. This session includes Ontario Teachers' Federation (OTF), Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Qualifications Evaluation Council of Ontario (QECO) and the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) which are all relevant to you as future teachers. They will be providing very important information.

There are normal classes in the afternoon. See you there.

Student Appreciation Day - Monday, October 7, 2019

Clarification on Timeline for Starting Your OCT Online Application (Year 1)

Good Morning Students in Year 1 of our 2 Year B.Ed Program,

We have received many questions surrounding "how soon is too soon" for starting your Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) online application when you are only 4 weeks into Year 1 of the 2 Year B.Ed studies.  Following this morning's update regarding the provincially required Math Proficiency Test (MPT), we wanted to send out some tips that will assist you in starting the OCT certification application process. 

If you intend on taking advantage of the EQAO field test opportunity offered in January, you will need an OCT application number. We encourage all Year 1 (of 2 Year B.Ed program) students to start this process as soon as you can. If you have already started the online application and have your pending OCT #, you are in great shape.

For those who have not yet started the process, there is a really great YouTube clip that provides you with a step by step guide to how to navigate the online application. The video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0aoL3K6wfQ

TIPS about the OCT application:

• Please indicate an anticipated completion date of: April 30th, 2021
• You do not have to supply all of your required supporting documents (to make the application complete) right away - you can work on it over a period of time before you graduate
• You do not have to pay your certification fee right away to be provided with a pending OCT # - this too is something you can work on it over a period of time before you graduate 
• Your pending OCT# does not change  

 As EQAO makes new information available, the Faculty of Education will be sure to share it with you.    

YEAR 1 Students - Clarification PD On October 2nd, 2019

Attention Year 1 Students,

Please note that there will be no planned PD held on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019.

Important News - Provincial Math Test

To All Students in the B.Ed Professional Program:

This is an update on what we know about the provincially-mandated teacher math exam—called the Math Proficiency Test (MPT)—that you will be required to complete in order to become a full member of the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT), after completing your degree.  

• The EQAO will prepare and grade the exam. 
• They are currently developing the test format, sample questions, and associated resources for preparing for the exam. 
• The EQAO does plan on having sample modules for the test prepared in early November. 
• These will be available online and provide feedback on your results. 

To access these modules, and the test itself, you will need to have an OCT number. Our strong advice is to start the application process as soon as possible. Please go to https://www.oct.ca/becoming-a-teacher

The EQAO will run a voluntary field-test of the exam in January. At the time of writing, the OCT and EQAO are allowing students in both Year One and Year Two to take the field-test.

We highly recommend you sit this field-test, for three reasons:

• If you are successful on the field-test, this will count as meeting the requirement of the College. (Yes, you read that right: if you write the practice exam, and you are successful, EQAO will recommend you to the College as having successfully written the MPT!)
• If you are unsuccessful, no record is kept of the result.
• The field-test will help you gain insight to the kinds of questions that will be on the exam just by writing the field-test. 
• The EQAO will give you feedback on your performance—so this should help you prepare for the actual MPT.

Other Important Information: 

• There will be no fee to write the field-test in January. 
• At this time we do not expect to have much involvement with the administration of the field-test; it is being run by the EQAO, and we believe it will likely involve a university setting for ease of access and organization. 
• The faculty will not be involved in setting up the exam.
• We expect the first sitting of the exam itself to take place in April, which again will be free. 
• A third sitting of the test is planned for July.

The government of Ontario has made the decision to proceed with this test. Given the government’s decision, the Deans of all Faculties of Education in Ontario have asked that the implementation of the test be delayed until it can be properly developed and organized, and administered in an equitable manner.

To date there has been no indication that the test will be delayed, and we recommend you start the process to get an OCT number, and to prepare to write the field-test in January.