From the Editor

Training Cooperating Teachers to Create a Successful Triad between Student Teachers,

Cooperating Teachers, and University Supervisors

Marianne E. Hazel

Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania

As part of an effective teacher preparation program, Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania offers a training workshop for new cooperating teachers. This has recently been expanded and presented to teachers in an urban setting, who work with diverse populations. This effective workshop helps to train cooperating teachers to build successful triads between teacher candidates, cooperating teachers, and University supervisors, which ultimately assists teacher candidates in having positive student teaching experiences. This training assists the cooperating teachers in understanding the teacher preparation program and philosophy and helps them to feel connected to the University.

The workshop is scheduled at a convenient time and location. After cooperating teachers are assigned to their teacher candidate, they receive an invitation to participate in the workshop. The presenters, who are University supervisors, model expected teacher candidate behaviors throughout the workshop.

Once welcomed, the presenters provide an agenda for the workshop and share the objectives, which are both encouraged activities in classrooms. A clear explanation of the University’s conceptual framework, which guides the teacher preparation program, is given. The reflective decision maker model includes knowledge: disciplinary concepts, tools, and structures, pedagogy: research, theory, and practice, contextual factors: learners and the learning environment, and professionalism: ethics and dispositions. Detailed information is also shared with regards to expectations and policies to develop consistency among teacher candidates, cooperating teachers, and University supervisors. Necessary items such as forms and timelines are also reviewed. Some of the expectations discussed include lesson plan requirements, professional dress, attendance, and teaching schedules. Teacher candidates are encouraged to be actively engaged and to become integral parts of their communities and of their school and classroom cultures. By participating in school and community events, teacher candidates can develop leadership skills.

Teacher candidates have requirements including creating lesson plans, an integrated unit, a bulletin board/learning center/website, a teacher work sample, and a senior portfolio. These assignments help the students apply their knowledge. These are in addition to the work necessary for teaching in the classroom.

Each week, teacher candidates attend a two-hour practicum session, held on campus. At times, there are group presentations for all student teachers and sessions that are taught by University supervisors to their own student teachers. The practicum topics are reviewed with the cooperating teachers to help them to understand how critical it is for our teacher candidates to attend.

Along with formal and informal observations, a competency form is used as an assessment tool. During the new cooperating teacher workshop, cooperating teachers learn how to complete the competency form. Cooperating teachers and teacher candidates are asked to complete the competency form two times during each student teaching placement. The purpose of this is to assess the teacher candidates’ progress, to highlight successes, and to create a plan for improvement in necessary areas. We want to make sure that teacher candidates know their strengths and areas where improvement is needed, based on their own self-evaluations and their cooperating teachers’ evaluations. A demonstration regarding the web-based software, which is utilized, is also given. In addition to assessing our student teachers, the online program is used for communication, lesson planning, integrating state standards into curriculum, creating teacher work samples and senior portfolios, linking assignments, sharing projects and assessments.

One other part of the workshop includes highlights from a classroom management course, which our teacher candidates take prior to student teaching. Teacher candidates are encouraged to learn from their cooperating teachers, and it is important for the cooperating teachers to understand the strategies that our teacher candidates bring to the classroom, as this is the time that they can put theory into practice.

Additionally, the presenters review the student teaching handbook, which is provided to all cooperating teachers and teacher candidates. It is to be used as a resource, throughout the student teaching semester. By highlighting its important components, the presenters hope that cooperating teachers will find the handbook to be a useful tool. The cooperating teachers also receive resources to assist them in having a successful student teaching experience.

Strategies for creating successful partnerships among teacher candidates, cooperating teachers, and University supervisors and to build the University public school connection are also shared. Important steps, including having early face to face interactions, having open and consistent communication, developing mutual respect, and providing support are also presented, so that participants will value the impact of being a part of a unified team and be empowered to create a supportive team. Cooperating teachers are expected to provide honest feedback to their student teachers to help them to grow professionally, and student teachers use reflection to assist them. We also establish means of communication, so that if a problem should arise, an early solution may be achieved.

Participants are encouraged to actively participate, as this allows the presenters and the participants to share their thoughts, experiences, expertise, as well as their perspectives, so that they can build upon each other’s ideas and thoughts. This leads to thoughtful, in-depth discussions permitting participants to reflect and examine their own views and to learn some new initiatives regarding teacher preparation.

An evaluation of the workshop is also given. This is compiled and shared with University supervisors, so that improvements can be made to future workshops.

Dinner is served during the workshop to help to show cooperating teachers just how much they are appreciated and valued, as well as the time they take to guide teacher candidates and share their expertise with teacher candidates. They are truly helping our students to transition from teacher candidates to novice professional educators, during this culminating experience, which will ultimately make differences in the lives of children.