Fall Practicum | Spring Practicum | Cooperating Teacher Profiles 


Fall Practicum

• Discussion between student teacher and cooperating teacher about goals, professional responsibilities and the DOE's Pre service Performance Assessment form (PPA).
   
  We recognize that many student teachers have experience with professional conduct, but our experience teaches us that it is useful to have a conversation about what it means to be professional at this school site (e.g. if you are absent or going to be late you should…in our school, dressing professionally means…)
   
• Student teachers come to the school one day a week (for a total of at least 75 hours). This day should be negotiated between the student teacher and the cooperating teacher. If the student teacher needs to miss school for illness or emergency, he/she should know how to notify the cooperating teacher and should arrange to make up the day. 
• Cooperating teachers meet with their student teachers on the day that they come to school.
• Student teachers observe the cooperating teacher' classes.
• PSTs interview an administrator and/or member of the student support staff
• Once a month, student teachers observe different classrooms and teachers.
• Student teachers shadow a student through a regular day.
• Student teacher assists cooperating teacher in classes, often working with individual students and small groups, helping distribute materials, taking attendance, etc. The student teacher should be engaged in classroom activities that help him/her get to know the students. Outside of class, student teachers may assist the cooperating teachers in making photocopies, finding curricular resources, brainstorming ideas for lessons, and helping to grade papers. 
• PSTs assess student work with cooperating teachers
• PSTs plan individual lessons or units in collaboration with cooperating teacher/team
• Cooperating teacher and PST co-teach one or two classes. This could look like the student teacher leading a lesson while the cooperating teacher walks around to check student understanding, or adds to the discussion.
• PSTs observe an IEP meeting
• In consultations with cooperating teachers, PSTs learn to communicate with parents about student progress.
• PSTs become familiar with different types of assessment used to record student learning, MA frameworks, and effective use of technology in the classroom
• PSTs individually teach class(es), at least once before the end of the semester.
• Discussion between PSTs and cooperating teachers about the spring semester.

Spring Practicum

• PSTs follow the school's daily schedule and calendar, including school vacations and holidays. Student teachers are expected to follow guidelines for teachers in terms of attendance, parent-teacher conferences, exhibitions of student work, and social occasions. PSTs need to complete 150 hours of “direct teaching” (working with students) and 150 hours doing other work at the school (planning, assessing, talking to parents, participating in faculty meetings etc.).
• Cooperating teacher, PST and supervisor review the PPA together and note PST's strengths and areas for growth.
• PSTs participate in regular staff meetings and exhibitions, parent conferences, and other events
• PSTs take on increasing responsibility in at least one class in terms of planning, instructing, managing class climate, assessing, communicating with parents.
• Cooperating teachers are available as coaches, providing advice on areas such as curriculum development and classroom management
• PSTs take on increasing responsibility in at least two classes in terms of planning, instructing, managing class climate, assessing, communicating with parents.
• Cooperating teachers observe PST teaching and debrief observations, at least once a week. This might be informal or formal.
• Cooperating teachers and PSTs meet for regularly scheduled (at least one hour a week) in-person conversations to debrief the PST's experience: What's working? What needs improvement?
• PST experiences teaching without the co-op in the room.

Cooperating Teacher Profiles

"I did my work at Tufts directly after my undergraduate program, so my student teaching was the first large-scale tangible, hands-on work experience I had ever had. First and foremost, I loved the students - even the ones that were a little painful at times - and that was the motivation for going into teaching in the first place. My experience at Tufts was extremely positive, and after developing my own confidence and teaching style in the classroom, I wanted to contribute to the department of education in some capacity. I am amazed at how often I examine my assumptions about what works, what kids need, and what graduate students need. It has been much more self-evaluative than ever expected. I am devoted to improving my own teaching in part by opening my classroom to aspiring educators. I feel strongly that one's personal experiences lend credibility to curriculum, and I spend a great deal of my "free" time traveling or immersing myself into other cultures - this is something I hope to role model to new teachers."

-- David Green
MAT 1996