Cooperating teachers are jointly determined and approved by school administrators and the Director of Clinical Experiences at Roosevelt University. At a minimum, the Department of Teacher Preparation expects all cooperating teachers to possess:
- A bachelor’s degree in an appropriate teaching content area
- State licensure at the appropriate level and in the required content area
- Principal rating of “proficient”
- Three or more years of teaching experience, with at least one year of experience in the school or school system of current employment.
By no means is the role of the cooperating teacher an easy one. Cooperating teachers are responsible for mentoring student teachers into the profession and sharing responsibilities for instruction and assessment along a timeline that allows for the assumption of significant responsibilities. However, cooperating teachers remain primarily responsible for student learning and interactions with parents and school leaders throughout the experience, and assume full-time teaching upon the completion of student teaching.
Prior to the student teacher’s arrival, cooperating teachers should prepare students for the arrival of the student teacher so that they know that a new, beginning teacher will be instructing them for 15 weeks. Cooperating teachers should explain in general terms how the student teaching experience will unfold, why it is necessary, and the academic and behavioral expectations that remain in place for students. In addition, cooperating teachers should plan some initial observation and participation activities for the student teacher's first days in the classroom and make time to meet with the student teacher to learn more about his or her background and to communicate academic, behavioral, and/or professional expectations. They also should provide their student teacher with a reliable email address and phone number to ensure timely communications with the student teacher, the university supervisor, and other Department of Teacher Preparation staff and personnel.
In the initial weeks of student teaching, the cooperating teacher should pay careful attention to the student teacher, especially with respect to his or her initial interactions with colleagues and learners. The following activities are recommended:
- Orient the student teacher to the building and personnel.
- Explain school policies and procedures, room policies and routines, materials and resources available.
- Explain protocols for parent contact, classroom management, and assessment of student learning.
- After a few days of observation, assign routine tasks to the student teacher.
- Help the student teacher develop focused and intensive instructional activities that might be implemented in the classroom after the second week of teaching.
- Provide immediate verbal feedback on lessons taught, especially if significant concerns emerge.
- Communicate directly with the student teacher and university supervisor to provide an oral, preliminary evaluation of the quality of performance in student teaching. In particular, the student teacher’s punctuality, attendance, and professional dispositions are very important, and anything less than acceptable behavior in these areas should be communicated immediately.
During the middle stage of the experience, the cooperating teacher should continue to monitor and supervise the student teacher's implementation of teaching responsibilities, especially giving attention to the development of lesson plans and units before the lessons are scheduled and taught. They also should observe their student teachers on a regular basis and provide support and feedback to the student teacher about curriculum, instruction & assessment, classroom management, assignments, lesson planning, and the evaluation of students. As often as possible, cooperating teachers should communicate their formative feedback directly to student teachers and university supervisors. If they have any concerns or problems to report, cooperating teachers should immediately contact the university supervisor. In general, Roosevelt expects that at least one face-to-face meeting will be held with the university supervisor and the student teacher to discuss any problem or concern that has the potential to abrogate the 15 week student teaching experience.
At the mid-point of a 15 week student teaching experience, or the end of an initial 7 or 8 week experience, cooperating teachers will receive information from Roosevelt’s Director of Assessment and Experiential Learning about how to complete a mid-term evaluation of their student teacher. Instructions for completing the evaluation form will be sent to the cooperating teacher’s school e-mail approximately one week before they are due. The evaluation form is the Modified Danielson Framework for Teaching form that is provided in Appendix B. Cooperating teachers are encouraged to share and discuss their mid-term evaluation with their student teachers and university supervisors.