6.3 Teaching Practice

Teaching practice was part of the certificate and diploma courses at the Umlazi College of Further Education. In the first year of the course the principal of the school was asked to complete a form assessing teaching practice. In the second year there was micro-teaching in front of others who are registered for the course, and the peer group assessed the student on practice teaching. Involving the principal in assessment of teaching practice was organised so that there was a mechanism to get the principals' support for the students' studies.

In the SACOL curriculum there hasn't been a discussion as yet of how to incorporate teaching practice into the curriculum. The lack of a teaching practice component in the curriculum is of concern for two reasons. Firstly, as indicated by the biography of the students on these courses, many had come into teaching from high school. It is highly probable that they have not observed or experienced good teaching practice. There does not seem to be a mechanism for critical comment and guidance on how to teach. Secondly the lack of a teaching practice component means that there is no mechanism for college lecturers to visit classrooms. This could place the lecturers at a distance from the school and classrooms.