35 ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COOPERATING TEACHER Overview: Working with teacher candidates can be a uniquely rewarding experience. Few persons have a greater influence on the development of prospective teachers than their cooperating teachers. Thank you for accepting the responsibility of working as a cooperating teacher with our candidate in your classroom. Your role as a Cooperating Teacher is one of primary importance to the success of Lycoming College’s teacher education program. Your efforts will make student teaching a creative, fulfilling experience for our candidate and at the same time provide a skilled candidate for our profession. We look forward to working with you to guide our teacher candidate on this vital step in his/her teaching career. You can be assured of the support and cooperation of personnel from Lycoming College as we embark on this venture. Thank you again for your commitment to work with Lycoming College. The teacher candidate who is coming to you has completed the professional requirements for student teaching. It is reasonable to assume this training has prepared him/her to participate with some measure of effectiveness in a classroom. However, please remember they are not yet a fully prepared or qualified teacher. The reality of classroom experience is a necessary and crucial part of the teacher preparation sequence. Your student teacher can grow in confidence, professional attitude, and teaching competence with your guidance. As competence is developed, he/she can be expected to gradually assume more of the responsibilities of a certified teacher, however your judgment will be a major determining factor. Cooperating teachers are encouraged to be aware of the developmental level of the teacher candidate and provide experiences that are appropriate for that level. Each cooperating teacher will receive a copy of the Field Placement Guide and an evaluation form for the Teacher Candidate (see pages 17-18). The evaluation is used to assess the teacher candidate’s progress and help him/her identify areas needing attention. It is suggested that the cooperating teacher provide as many comments and/or constructive feedback as possible and to share the evaluation with the teacher candidate. Private, professional discussion is more productive than just reading over the evaluation. If you have specific questions about the evaluation form, please contact the field placement coordinator or the clinical supervisor/professor. Ways to Best Assist the Student Teacher: Prepare students for the arrival of the student teacher and encourage them to look upon the student teacher as a member of the teaching team. Please provide the student teacher with copies of the school handbook/policies and information relevant to students’ social etiquette, copies of textbooks and other needed materials, and of the general school and class schedules to include weather delays. Be a model of effective instructional procedures and share your instincts for teaching. Assist the student teacher in finding available community resources to enhance classroom lessons. Encourage innovation and creativity and involve the student teacher in planning and assessment. Encourage student teachers to implement new learning from seminars. Prepare your classroom to maximize opportunities for novice teachers to succeed and learn from their mistakes. Encourage student teachers to implement new learning from seminars. Observe and evaluate the student teacher’s performance. Set the pace for the integration of the teacher candidate into classroom activities, allowing gradually increased levels of responsibility. Hold frequent conferences. There should be time for daily/weekly informal conversations about planning and teaching. A more formal conversation should be held weekly. Consider setting weekly goals. Provide feedback in writing using post it notes or email. Identify problems and help the student teacher to address them as necessary notify immediately both the student teacher and the college supervisor of any problem concerning the student teacher, students, parents and school officials.
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