All Teacher Candidates in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) Teacher Education Program are required to complete practicum placements as a mandatory part of their program. The practicum component is highly regulated; Teacher Candidates must complete the required 400 hours (320 hours of teaching time and 80 hours of observation time) to complete their certification for both the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) and for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teacher Education Post-Baccalaureate Diploma.
Every effort is made to give the Teacher Candidate an opportunity to have Practicum placements in two varied educational settings. Each Practicum placement must be completed as a teaching block and not as a compilation of individual or coupled teaching days. These Practicum experiences may occur within a publicly funded school board program or within the context of the Provincial and Demonstration Schools Branch. The Practicum Facilitator is responsible for all aspects of the placement process and arranging placements. American Sign Language is the language of instruction at the Provincial Schools for the Deaf. The Teacher Candidates who are placed at a Provincial School for the Deaf as their Practicum placement must have a high level of competency in American Sign Language. Teacher Candidates interested in completing a practicum placement at a Provincial School for the Deaf are required to complete the Gallaudet University ASLPI Evaluation and must achieve a level 3 or higher.
Within school board programs, the Teacher Candidates may teach in a specialized program class for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students or in an educational setting supported by itinerant teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Teacher Candidates may be asked to travel outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) for an appropriate placement. Related travel and accommodation costs are the responsibility of Teacher Candidates. There is the additional expectation that Teacher Candidates will have access to a car for itinerant teaching placements.