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University
Supervisor’s Guide for Mentoring Student Teachers
Eastern Kentucky University
Introduction:
This guide is an attempt to provide assistance
to supervisors of Eastern Kentucky University’s Student Teachers.
EKU has a long and distinguished history in providing teachers
for the Commonwealth and nation. Our program has ranked
among the largest in the nation in terms of producing teachers
for the schools. Often, Eastern produces more teachers
than any university or college in Kentucky during a given year.
Our graduates can be found throughout Kentucky and the nation
serving the youth of America. We are the keepers of the
excellent tradition that the EKU College of Education enjoys,
and we strive to provide the very best supervision for our student
teachers.
Requirements for student teaching:
Our student teachers are well prepared when they
reach the student teaching site. They must have attained
an overall GPA of 2.5 and a 2.5 GPA in their teaching area(s).
We do not allow students to student teach unless they have completed
the required courses in their program. Prior to student
teaching, our students have had at least one hundred fifty (150)
hours of field experiences in various courses preparing them
to teach. Except on rare occasions, they are not allowed
to take a college class during student teaching. They
enter the student teaching experience with an acceptable portfolio
that represents a snap shot of their work. They have had
a TB test, proved negative, and a general physical exam attesting
to their good health. They cannot student teach without
the recommendations of their college advisor and department
chair. For more specific information about the requirements
for student teaching review the student teaching HANDBOOK on
our web site.
Requirements for supervisors:
We strive to provide our student teachers with
the best-qualified supervisors. Regular EKU College of
Education faculty or professors from other departments who hold
a terminal degree in their area of specialization supervise
the majority of our student teachers. We hire a number
of part-time or adjunct faculties each semester to supervise
as well. Mostly, these people are master teachers who
are skilled educators. Many are retired teachers or administrators
with many years of practical experiences in the schools. We
prefer that our supervisors become certified in the Kentucky
Teacher Internship Program (KTIP) and use the KTIP process at
least for part of the supervision process. KTIP addresses
the nine new teacher standards established for beginning teachers
in Kentucky. We believe that student teachers can adequately
address at least seven (7) of these standards. Thus, using
the KTIP process with student teachers provides a standards-based
element to our program and familiarizes our students with the
internship program they must complete in order to be fully certified
in Kentucky. Also, it provides excellent documentation
for evaluating the student’s teaching performance.
We prefer that our supervisors attend the seminars scheduled
during student teaching. Our student teachers must complete
several assignments generated by the seminars, and the supervisors
need to know what their student teachers are required to do.
Kentucky law requires university supervisors
of student teachers to conduct at least four (4) formal observations
of student teachers. We want at least two of those observations
to be done using the KTIP IPR (intern performance record).
Other options for observing the teaching performance of student
teachers may be left to the discretion of the supervisor.
It is important that a written feedback be given to the student
teacher, and a growth plan should be initiated in the early
stages of student teaching in order to guide the novice teach.
Again, the KTIP process provides for both with the IPR and the
growth plan format. These instruments (the IPR and the
Professional Growth Plan) may be obtained from the Office of
Professional Laboratory Experiences.
The student teacher’s portfolio should be reviewed
and evaluated periodically. Again, using the KTIP process
allows one to incorporate the developing portfolio as evidence
of teaching performance since some standards are best evaluated
using samples from the portfolio.
Scheduling the visits to the student teacher is the responsibility
of the university supervisor. Reimbursement must follow
Kentucky and EKU guidelines. Observation visits should
be spread out so that the student teacher is given guidance
as the student teaching experience develops.
We rely on our supervisors to facilitate the flow of information
between the university and the student teachers. We ask
supervisors to provide us information that will assist in maintaining
correct records or data.
Cooperating
Teachers:
Many excellent cooperating teachers work in our schools and
do a great job with our student teachers. We select cooperating
teachers who have the experience and proven skills to work with
our student teachers. These teachers must have a Rank
II certificate, four years of teaching experience, and at least
one-year experience at the school where we send the student
teacher. Their principal or a central office administrator
must recommend them. We endeavor to place our student
teachers with cooperating teachers who have had training in
working with student teachers. We offer KTIP training
to our cooperating teachers, a graduate level course in supervising
student teachers, and many receive training at their school
sites. In the future, we hope to offer web-based training.
Cooperating teachers are evaluated by their student teachers,
and we track these evaluations to determine which ones to use.
In addition, we often receive formal or anecdotal information
from university supervisors regarding the job done by cooperating
teachers. Kentucky law now allows cooperating teachers
to receive tuition free credit for classes at public colleges
and universities in the Commonwealth. In addition, they
receive a stipend for their work with student teachers from
the Education Professional Standards Board. We pay
cooperating teachers and the principal a modest stipend as well.
Student Teaching “Triad:”
The crucial element for the success of the student teacher is
the student teaching triad of the university supervisor, cooperating
teacher, and the novice teacher. Research consistently
shows that the cooperating teacher has tremendous impact on
the success or failure of the student teacher. It is very
important that the university supervisor cultivates a good working
relationship with cooperating teachers, communicates our expectations
for student teachers, and invites the cooperating teacher to
become a partner in the development of the student teacher.
The best approach to take with the other members of the triad
is a “collaborative” rather than a “nondirective” or “directive”
style. Student teachers should be made to feel that they
are professionals in a cooperative endeavor aimed at advancing
their skills as a teacher. Where possible, allowing the
student teacher and/or cooperative teacher to analyze problem
situations and develop realistic plans of action will work better
than simply telling the other members of the triad what to do.
The university supervisor has to provide the emotional support
often needed by student teachers who can be overwhelmed by the
normal disappointments, stress, and adjustments to change that
accompany daily classroom instruction. Student teachers
want feedback from their supervisors, both the cooperating teacher
and their university professor. Often cooperating teachers
have difficulty criticizing student teachers, especially in
a constructive way. The university supervisor must provide
the feedback when it is not always forthcoming from the cooperating
teacher, and then work with the cooperating teacher to provide
daily and weekly evaluation, in a non-threatening manner.
Working with the Difficult Student Teacher:
For a variety of reasons, some student teachers experience difficulty
that requires immediate attention by the university supervisor.
The problems may be related to pedagogical issues, conflicts
with the cooperating teacher, or personal issues that impact
the student’s daily classroom performance. If a student teacher
is experiencing marital strife, economic problems necessitating
work outside of school, or feelings of inadequacy, then job
performance will suffer. Whatever the reasons, the university
supervisor should address serious problems impacting the student
teacher’s performance directly and quickly. Letting issues
fester will only make the problems worse. In some cases,
the university supervisor becomes a counselor, advising the
student teacher regarding personal problems. For example,
if it appears that the problems are related to a lack of preparation,
low energy, and an unenthusiastic demeanor, maybe the novice
teacher isn’t getting enough sleep or proper nutrition.
Student teachers don’t anticipate the energy necessary to teach
daily, and when they experience the daily grind and try to maintain
the same routine of late night life in the dorm, or an after
school job, they can’t handle student teaching. Other
problems may arise because the student teacher has not mastered
the art of teaching. Areas that consistently give student
teachers difficulty are: (1) writing lesson plans, (2)
matching educational objectives with assessments that evaluate
learning, (3) providing multiple forms of assessment, (4) incorporating
technology into lesson plans, (4) classroom management, (5)
selecting relevant samples for the portfolio. Whenever
evaluations indicate poor performance, or a personal problem
of the student teacher precipitates a crisis, it is best to
meet with the student teacher, and possibly the cooperating
teacher, and try to resolve the problem. A plan of action,
with defined roles for each of the triad, should be discussed
and implemented. Monitoring the situation is necessary,
and additional visits to the school site are probably a good
idea. In cases where more help is needed, don’t hesitate
to discuss the situation with the Director of Professional Laboratory
Experiences. In some cases, it is necessary to relocate
a student teacher, but this should be done only with the full
approval of the Director.
Portfolio
Process:
Student teachers are required to develop a portfolio
during their experience. The purpose of the portfolio
is to document, through samples of activities and lessons, their
work with children that contributes to learning. Student
teachers must have an acceptable portfolio, developed during
their undergraduate program, as a prerequisite to student teaching.
The task of the student teacher is to extend and/or convert
their undergraduate portfolio into a “show” portfolio he/she
can use to interview for jobs that accurately portrays himself
or herself as a teacher. During student teaching the portfolio
is useful for evaluating teaching performance since several
of the new teacher standards lend themselves to evaluation using
portfolio documentation. The KTIP process requires
evaluation using the portfolio. Student teachers need
guidance in preparing the portfolio, especially organizing it
and deciding what to put into it. Often cooperating teachers
don’t provide much guidance in this area, so it becomes very
important that the university supervisor assist the student
teacher with the portfolio. The Elementary/Middle School
Packet accessible to student teachers provides guidelines regarding
what samples to put into a portfolio that address each of the
nine new teacher standards. The best way to organize the
portfolio is to set up a section for each of the nine standards
and then feed each section with documents. Some of the
samples in the undergraduate portfolio may still be useful.
For example, the student’s educational philosophy, or the classroom
management plan, may still work during student teaching and
can be retained in the portfolio. Or, a student teacher
may revise his/her ideas on classroom management and then change
the plan. Student teachers must present an acceptable
portfolio that addresses the nine standards, approved by the
cooperating teacher(s) (some students have two cooperating teachers)
and the university supervisor in order to pass student teaching.
Evaluation of Student Teachers:
University supervisors are responsible for the final grade of
the student teachers under their supervision, in accordance
with the policies of EKU. This means that a mid term grade
and a final grade must be entered into the university computer
system. Grades for student teaching are recorded as satisfactory
(S), unsatisfactory (U), or incomplete (I). The Banner
system only recognizes supervisors whose students are enrolled
in their section of ELE/ESE/SED/CRF/ 499, which is the student
teaching course. Therefore, the supervisor enters the
grades. Once gaining access to the system, the supervisor
can enter grades from a computer at home that connects to the
Internet. Using the system is simple, once the person
is logged in. The university supervisor is responsible
to make sure that the cooperating teacher completes weekly evaluations
and a mid term evaluation which are shared with the student
teacher. The final evaluation must be completed by the
cooperating teacher, the university supervisor, and properly
signed by the student teacher before it is returned to the Office
of Professional Laboratory Experiences. The Director should
be notified if there is a possibility that a student teacher
will receive a “U” or an “I” for the mid term or the final evaluations.
In all cases, proper documentation should be maintained in case
a student challenges a grade.
Absences
or Extended Illnesses:
Student teachers must report any absences to their cooperating
teacher and their university supervisor. In the cases
of excessive absences by a student teacher, the university supervisor
should contact the Director. Each situation will be analyzed
on a case-by-case basis. In the event that excessive absences
or an extended illness necessitates that the student teacher
must extend the period of student teaching, then the Director
will notify the student teacher in writing. It is very
important that the university supervisor and the Director confer
before requiring a student teacher to be extended.
Travel:
The Office of Professional Laboratory Experiences processes
requests for travel reimbursement consistent with the policies
of Eastern Kentucky University. Requests for university
vehicles should be made through this office. Travel reimbursement
must be requested using the EKU travel voucher obtained from
the EKU web site. The Director should approve any overnight
expenses in advance. University supervisors should file
travel reimbursement requests in a timely manner and not wait
until the end of the semester.
What
Do I Have to Turn In?
Listed
below are the pertinent forms that university supervisors are
responsible for:
-
Location
Form : Lists the exact names of the student teachers
and the cooperating teachers.
-
Request
for travel : Filed through the Office of Professional
Laboratory Experiences to secure a university vehicle for
travel to student teaching sites. Several weeks’ notice
is necessary in order to secure a vehicle.
-
Travel
Reimbursement Form : Secured from EKU website.
Filed in the Office of Professional Laboratory Experiences.
Mileage must correspond to the chart provided on the EKU
website. Must be signed and dated.
-
Portfolio
Exit Form : Verifies the completion of the student
teacher’s portfolio. Must be signed by both cooperating
teachers for those having a split assignment and the university
supervisor.
-
Cooperating
Teacher Voucher : Cooperating teachers receive
a “voucher” from the Kentucky Department of Education that
they must send back to KDE for verification of their service
in order to receive the stipend from the state. This
form requires the signature of the school principal, the
cooperating teacher, and a university representative.
Supervisors may sign this form to verify the cooperating
teachers’ service.
-
Cooperating
Teacher Program Evaluation : Each semester we
collect surveys from cooperating teachers regarding Eastern’s
teacher education program. The various departments
analyze these data in order to make program changes.
Supervisors should make sure that cooperating teachers have
a copy of this survey and remind them to mail it to the
Office Of Professional Laboratory Experiences. The
survey is given to student teachers for dispersal to the
cooperating teachers and should be online at the Office
of Professional Laboratory Experiences website.
Program Evaluation:
At the last seminar student teachers evaluate their cooperating
teachers and their university supervisors. We track the
data on the cooperating teachers, which are used in making decisions
regarding the selection of future cooperating teachers.
We compile the data on each university supervisor and maintain
these records in the Office Of Professional Laboratory Experiences
where university supervisors may view them. Student teachers
also complete an evaluation of their program area, and these
data are shared with particular departments in the College of
Education.
Contacts:
Dr.
Bruce D. Bonar, Director (E-mail: Bruce.Bonar@EKU.EDU)
Office of Professional Laboratory Experiences
Eastern Kentucky University
521 Lancaster Avenue
Combs 425
Richmond, Kentucky 40475
Phone: 859-622-1544
Fax: 859-6221546
Office
of Professional Laboratory Experiences Website:
Go
to EKU Home Page, Academics, Education, Professional Laboratory
Experiences
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