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Cooperating Teacher Resource Guide

The Cooperating Teacher Resource Guide (CTRG) is for educational professionals who are mentoring teacher candidates. This guide will serve as orientation and training for a cooperating teacher. The CTRG is a guideline for the cooperating teacher’s expectations of a teacher candidate, as well as a guide for how to assess them.

This guide may also serve as a resource for experienced cooperating teachers who may need an update or review on Tift College of Education’s preparation procedures, policies, and criteria.

The selection of supervising teachers (cooperating teachers) will adhere to the guidelines set forth by the Tift College of Education and the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. Supervising teachers will:

Be professionally certified in the field of certification sought by the teacher candidate
Have a minimum of three years of experience in a teaching, service, or leadership role
Have demonstrated (through formal evaluations) successful performance in the field of certification sought by the teacher candidate

The following checklist provides a cooperating teacher with guidance for preparing a teacher candidate to participate and/or teach within the classroom:

Exchange contact information with teacher candidate, specifying your communication preferences
Confirm the schedule for the teacher candidate to be in the classroom
Discuss the requirements of the field experience with the teacher candidate
Discuss how the teacher candidate can assist you in accomplishing tasks in the classroom
Relate any specific school policies and procedures, classroom policies and procedures, or norms that might apply to the teacher candidate during the experience including staff parking, bus procedures, and sign-in/out
Relate dress, behavior, timeliness, and confidentiality expectations
Address appropriate use of technology in the classroom, including cell phones, texting, and taking photos
Discuss classroom management and discipline techniques being used
Review school calendar
Orient teacher candidate to the school community, including faculty, administrators, and support staff
Introducing the teacher candidate to the parents and students as “your other teacher” or “my co-worker” or a member of our “teaching team” will convey the impression of a peer relationship
Acquaint the teacher candidate with type(s) of lesson plans used in the school and classroom
Articulate the amount of instructional freedom and autonomy allowed in the classroom, including making changes with furniture, bulletin boards, etc.
Demonstrate and explain the grading system
Establish a time for conferencing with the teacher candidate
Establish a post observation conference time during which you may discuss the teacher candidate’s strengths and areas needing improvement

Evaluative feedback can be made through comments written on the teacher candidate’s lesson plans, separate evaluation sheets, or through verbal discussion. Time should be set aside daily to discuss questions, address concerns, or to provide reflection on the day’s events.

Samples

All teacher candidates are assessed at the completion of every course at Mercer. The assessment is conducted in order to facilitate the candidate’s professional growth; it provides feedback for the candidate and allows the candidate to see him or herself through someone else’s eyes.

The assessment is not a part of the candidate’s grade for the semester. The Mercer policy is that if a candidate has repeated assessments that demonstrate unacceptable ratings over a period of time and from different professors and cooperating teachers, that candidate’s assessments will be further evaluated. Please be honest in your evaluation of your teacher candidate as this will provide helpful feedback for the candidate.

Anthology (formerly Chalk & Wire) is a cloud-based, online e-portfolio system that allows students to engage in continuous improvement by acting on meaningful feedback in a real-time environment. Cooperating teachers assigned Mercer teacher candidates will be given a guest user account to complete required surveys, assessments, time logs, dispositions, and summative assessments throughout the semester.

Here are some quick how-to guides to get you started:

Field experience is an integral part of the teacher preparation program. Each candidate is expected to complete field experiences in diverse settings and meet cluster requirements of their individual program plan. All students must hold a Pre-Service Certificate or an IN4T certificate.

Field experiences are those activities that include organized and sequenced engagement of candidates in settings that provide opportunities to observe, practice, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions delineated in institutional, state, and national standards. The experiences must be systematically designed and sequenced to increase the complexity and levels of engagement with which candidates apply, reflect upon, and expand their knowledge and skills. Since observation is a less rigorous method of learning, emphasis should be on field experience sequences that require active professional practice or demonstration, and that include substantive work with P-12 students and P-12 personnel as prescribed by Tift College of Education.

All Elementary Education Candidates must have field experiences in the following grade clusters: Pre K-K, 1-3, and 4-5. Field experiences are coordinated through the Office of Field Placement, and additional fees will be assessed for each field experience course.

All Middle Grades Education Candidates must have field experience in the following grade clusters: 4-5, 6-8; one concentration area, 6-8; second concentration area. Field experiences are coordinated through the Office of Field Placement, and additional fees will be assessed for each field experience course.

All Secondary Education Candidates must have field experience in the following grade clusters: one experience in 6-8; concentration area, and two experiences in 9-12; concentration area. Field experiences are coordinated through the Office of Field Placement, and additional fees will be assessed for each field experience course.

Schedule requirements:

Fieldwork I/Fieldwork II/Pre-Practicum: Students are required to complete their individual schedules given by the Office of Field Placement. This experience is active observation.
Professional Practicum/Mentored Practicum: Students are required to complete their individual schedules given by the Office of Field Placement, cooperating teacher, and the University supervisor. This experience is active observation, assisting, tutoring, lesson planning and teaching lessons, and other duties and responsibilities from the cooperating teacher and the University supervisor.
Student Teaching/Internship: Students are required to participate in a semester-long full time teaching experience that coincides with the cooperating teacher’s schedule. This experience includes but is not limited to; active observation, assisting, tutoring, lesson planning and teaching lessons, and other duties and responsibilities from the cooperating teacher and the University supervisor.

If you have questions regarding field experiences, please contact us.

Where can I find all the forms that I need?
All assessments on teacher candidates will be completed in Anthology (formerly Chalk & Wire). For descriptions and sample documents, select “Evaluative Feedback” above.

How are candidates’ schedules created?
The schedule is created based upon the cooperating teacher, the candidate, and the University supervisor.

Do I get paid? How do I get paid?
Only cooperating teachers of candidates in Student Teaching/Internships get a stipend. Cooperating teachers can submit the Cooperating Teacher Voucher Form by the deadline.

Can a candidate serve as a substitute teacher or test proctor for standardized testing?
No, the candidate cannot serve as a substitute teacher or test proctor for standardized testing.

For a number of years, the Georgia Legislature funded the Capstone Grant Program to make honoraria payments to teachers in local school systems who supervise teacher candidates. Classroom teachers/cooperating teachers receive $50 for mentoring a teacher candidate. Capstone program funds are no longer available to teacher preparation institutions for distribution. The Tift College of Education of Mercer University, along with other public and private teacher preparation institutions state wide, received notice of this decision in late July 2003. There has been no move to replace these funds since that time.

The administration of Mercer University recognizes that the student teaching experience is one of the most important activities in teacher preparation and that the placement of teacher candidates with highly qualified teachers who serve both as supervisor and mentor is equally important. Therefore, in a demonstration of support for professional education and its future growth and development, budgetary support will be provided so that each cooperating teacher who is working with a Mercer student can receive a payment in the amount of $50. For those classroom teachers/cooperating teachers who might choose to pursue a graduate program at Mercer University, or for those who might choose to enroll in classes to renew their certificates, a voucher in the amount of $150 toward tuition payments can be chosen rather than the $50 payment. Rather than selecting either of the above described options, a teacher could also elect to transfer the voucher to a second party, a colleague in his/her school who might wish to begin a graduate program or who might need to renew a certificate.

While we cannot change the elimination of funding allocation from the state for the Capstone Grant Program, the administration of Mercer University can offer this demonstration of concern and support for the education profession.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to continuing our relationship with the education professionals in your school system.

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