Red U (Dec 2012)
Clinical activity: description of apedagogical device-oriented program approach
Abstract
University teaching can generally be undertaken from two approaches: a traditional approach with courses, or a program-based approach. For the development of professional competencies, initial professional training from a program-based approach is recommended, as this approach promotes more active learning than the traditional approach with courses. Regardless of the advantages of this approach for professional teacher education, certain conditions are necessary to achieve success. For example, the team of professors needs to work in coordination to establish a synergetic relationship, and the various courses in the program curriculum must be explicitly complementary. These conditions are important in order to facilitate the integration of theoretical and practical knowledge during their teacher training program.This article describes the functioning of an initial teacher training program using a program-based approach at the Faculty of Education of the University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. To understand why we have changed from a traditional approach to a program-based approach, we explain some contextual aspects of teacher education in Quebec. We then present some relevant information about the program-based approach, and finally, we present the experience of an activity that highlights the advantages and limitations of the above-mentioned approach.
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