Student Teaching Guidelines
(For Student Interns Placed In Community Preschool Sites)
Welcome to EDUC
498A, Final Student Teaching in a preschool classroom! This handout
has been prepared to help make this a rewarding, enriching experience for
you and your cooperating teacher. We believe clearly written, well organized
expectations will ensure success for everyone involved at your placement site.
Please read it over carefully and ask for
clarification if necessary.
Your practicum is a 200 hour commitment, and will be graded on a pass/fail
basis. You must earn a grade of at least a “B” in order to pass
and earn 5 credits. If your level of performance demonstrates you
are unable to direct the learning of children with minimal supervision, you
may receive an incomplete and be required to repeat a portion or all of this
practicum. You are expected to work at your placement site for a minimum of
13.5 hours per week, for a total of 189 hours for the semester.
Since you will be working "off-site" on occasion (ie. planning activities,
attending an evening meeting, etc.), you will be provided the additional hours
to fulfill the 200 hour requirement. Student teachers need to maintain
an accurate account of their hours by signing in and out on the time sheet
in your classroom. Missed days due to sickness or school closings must
be made up. Be sure you communicate with your cooperating teacher and are
present when needed, and are able to attend planning sessions, important staff
meetings, parent meetings, etc., as well.
Your cooperating teacher, faculty supervisor, graduate T.A. form your team,
your support group, so to speak. We are dedicated to helping you gain
the necessary skills to become an effective teacher. In an effort to
identify your strengths and areas for growth, we are asking you for the
following.....
1. Keep a written journal which describes your thoughts and feelings about
your teaching experiences. This will be reviewed by your Graduate T.A.
approximately every two weeks. Your T.A. may ask you some questions,
and you may respond to them in your journal as well.
2. Plans for projects, written observations on two children, and a completed
developmental outline for two parent/teacher conferences will also be reviewed
by any or all of us. Since it is important for your cooperating teacher
to have a sense about what you are submitting for a grade to the faculty supervisor,
she, too, may want to see your written work.
3. Your cooperating teacher wants to hear from you! Please
provide suggestions, contribute to strategy sessions pertaining to individual
children, assist with curriculum development, etc. You need to
attend meetings in order to contribute; arrange your schedule so you can participate.
4. There will be scheduled times throughout the semester to conference
with your team. Please come prepared and able to discuss thoughts about
your personal growth and able to raise concerns about your placement site
in a timely and professional manner. A copy of an evaluation form will be
provided to you in advance. This will be completed by you and by your
cooperating teacher, and grad. T.A. at the middle and end of the semester.
5. We encourage you to do as much as you feel comfortable to do.
This is a place to learn, to test some of your theories about teaching and
learning. Take the initiative to become familiar with everything from where
certain supplies are kept, to knowing the daily routine so you can assist
in set-up, clean-up, meal preparation, etc. Try to learn the names of
the children and staff members rather quickly, and decide on two children
you would like to observe carefully soon after you begin as well. By
the third week or so, plan a small group activity (with approval).
6. Your cooperating teacher is aware of your two week master teaching
requirement. Try to plan and implement a unit of study which is originating
from the children. Discuss the details of when and what it might look
like with your cooperating teacher so everyone is connected and successful.
Preliminary plans must be submitted, in writing, to both the cooperating teacher
and your T.A. at least two weeks before your master teaching begins. More
formal written plans must be submitted one before. Plans concerning
Master teaching, including when it will actually take place, should occur
at the Mid-semester three way evaluation meeting.
7. You’re are also required to participate in two parent-teacher conferences.
You must complete a developmental outline on each child, in preparation for
each conference. If you are unable to attend conferences because they
occur after our semester has ended, or you are not permitted to participate
for whatever reason, you may submit a written "mock" conference
outline, stating what you would have communicated to the parent if you had
the opportunity. You can also demonstrate a commitment to strengthening the
parent-teacher partnership in a variety of other ways including contributing
to a parent newsletter, inviting a parent to visit the classroom, etc.
Although this may look like a lot of work (and it is!) we really want you
to enjoy this experience, especially the children! You will definitely
get out of this class what you put into it! We hope this will be an
enriching experience in which you will develop effective skills that you will
come torely on in your future teaching career. Please let us know how
we can make this class as rewarding as it can be for you.