Sample EC-6 ESL Student Teacher Guidelines

Attend These Events!

• Job Search Tools Workshops
• Career Fair
• Recruiters Panel Discussion

Plan for Yourself First!

Make a plan for taking care of yourself throughout the semester! Get the sleep, relaxation, exercise and nutrition that you need! Wash your hands frequently. Student teaching requires tremendous emotional and physical energy. Be generous with your smile and your vitality will be contagious!

You Are Not Alone!

Be patient with yourself! You are a beginner in a very challenging and fulfilling career. Seek assistance immediately from your cooperating teacher, field supervisor or program coordinator if you are experiencing confusion, excessive anxiety—or if you simply need encouragement! Your fellow cohort members are also ready to lend a listening ear!

Student Teacher Notebook

Your Student Teacher Notebook must be visible in the classroom throughout the school day for reference by your cooperating teacher, university field supervisor, and program coordinator. However, due to the confidentiality of contents, this notebook must be off-limits to students, school visitors, parents, etc. Notebook contents will provide significant data for formative and summative evaluation. The notebook should be carried home daily by the student teacher, who must accept responsibility for its security.

Personal Notebook

Use your personal notebook to record informal observations, “to do” lists, questions, concerns, ideas, or the details that mere mental notes could overlook. Review your pages regularly. Consider setting aside a section for recording complaints! Your notebook is a good place for any whining! Prioritize your lists so that the most pressing and important items get addressed during periods of your highest energy. 

Dialogue Journal

Plan to use your Dialogue Journal as a back-and-forth means of brief, efficient written communication with your cooperating teacher. While your cooperating teacher is teaching, several questions/comments may occur to you. Jot them down and leave the journal on your cooperating teacher’s desk for responses. Your cooperating teacher may respond in writing while you are teaching; or he/she may prefer to highlight certain items to discuss when conferring with you later. You may pick up the journal once again, read any responses, and continue with brief questions or comments when your cooperating teacher returns to teaching. Your cooperating teacher may use the same tool for comments/questions when you are busy with students. Keep the journal handy for reference during conferences with your student teacher. Check off highlighted items when they have been covered during discussion. Many cooperating teacher/student teacher pairs have found this to be an invaluable tool.

Lesson Plans

Present a copy of your lesson plans for the following week no later than Friday at 7:30 a.m. to allow your cooperating teacher some time to review them. If revisions are needed, you can complete those over the weekend and e-mail them to your cooperating teacher for approval. The weekly checklist must be signed by your cooperating teacher and placed with the field supervisor’s copy into your Student Teacher Notebook before you begin teaching each week. Please accommodate your cooperating teacher by providing earlier plans if requested.

Use the week-long planning calendar and/or the 3-week planning calendar to sketch brief notes for longer-range planning.

Practicum Contribution Project

Work with your cooperating teacher to determine how you will contribute to this class by preparing one of these: an interactive bulletin board, a set of manipulative materials, a learning center, a series of stations, or a thematic unit that will support learning success for your students this semester. Seek cooperating teacher suggestions.

This contribution can be completed independently or cooperatively with one or two fellow cohort members. Make copies of materials so that one set will remain with your host school and the second set can go with you to your own classroom. Incorporate at least some elements of listening, speaking, writing, handwriting or spelling to reflect your work in EDC 370E Reading last semester. Provide documentation of planning through completion of a written form (provided) and photographs / video showing how your project engages your students in content. Consider realistic time factors before undertaking this project. Although this project will not be graded, it will be considered as one of many factors relating to practicum evaluation

Volunteer Service Record

Please print the form provided and keep it in the OBSERVATIONS section of your Student Teacher Notebook. Items to be recorded on the form include: service at your placement school before the official beginning of practicum; attendance at evening PTA/PTO meetings or student performances; providing environmental, social or academic service to the school’s community. Discuss opportunities with your cooperating teacher. 

Cooperating Teacher

Your relationship with your cooperating teacher is a key factor in your success. Your conscientious efforts will foster mutual respect between professional colleagues. Provide assertive, courteous communication of your own needs, concerns, ideas and preferences. Remember that your cooperating teacher once shared your path as a beginner in this challenging profession.

No two teachers would handle every issue identically. Remember the role that consistency plays in successful classroom management. Please defer to your cooperating teacher teacher’s judgment and preferences for this semester. You will have your own classroom soon! Meanwhile, appreciate your cooperating teacher teacher’s willingness to help you enjoy a successful student teaching experience.

University Field Supervisor

Your field supervisor will be on your campus weekly for observations and conferences. Your field supervisor will provide you with observation schedules for selecting formal observation times. In addition, field supervisors will perform informal observations and notebook checks.  In your personal notebook, jot down questions or concerns to discuss with your field supervisor. You may request additional private conferences as needed. You have the right to expect university support!

Program Coordinator

Do not hesitate to contact your program coordinator through e-mail or telephone. The student teaching pacing guide documents are all working drafts for the EC-6 ESL student teaching experience.

Prior Notification of Absences

Failure to telephone your cooperating teacher and university field supervisor before 6:30 a.m. on the day of an unexpected absence could jeopardize your student teaching.

Anticipated Absences

During the first week of student teaching, please e-mail me any requests for anticipated absences due to religious observance. Notify your university field supervisor and cooperating teacher regarding any other anticipated absences as early as possible. These might include events such as a scheduled job interview, family wedding, or a physician appointment.

Making Up Absences

University policy provided in the Student Teaching Handbook requires that absences be made up. Any exceptions will be considered on an individual basis. Excessive absences could jeopardize completion of your student teaching.

Transportation Emergencies

Plan for transportation problems. Call on fellow cohort members should you need an emergency ride to school. When this will not work, call a taxi service!       

Laptop Eligibility of Cooperating Teachers

As a public school cooperating teacher of a UT College of Education student teacher, your cooperating teacher may wish to take advantage of the deeply discounted price for an Apple Laptop package available through the Campus Computer Store. We will provide more information to facilitate cooperating teacher purchase, but your cooperating teacher may see the Website https://webstore.hied.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CampusComputer.woa for actual specifications.

Evaluation: EC – 6 ESL Student Teaching Summative and Formative Assessments

These instruments are research based and correspond to teaching competencies published by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, TEA endorsed TxBess and PDAS.

Objective data for evaluations:

         1. direct observations of exhibited behaviors

         2. artifacts

             (i.e. student teacher notebook contents, student teacher-prepared materials; audio/visuals and student work samples). 

Each section of the form contains a comments section requiring subjective (but critically important) professional comments. These forms can be found at the Student Assessments Web page.

Suspected Physical or Sexual Abuse?

Remember your moral and legal obligations! Immediately contact your cooperating teacher, school nurse, counselor or administrator. A referral to Child Protective Services may be warranted.

Photographing or Video/Audio Taping at School

Please use the form provided during the first class to seek parent permission. Discuss this issue with your cooperating teacher and obtain approval from your principal before proceeding.

      TB Test - No student teacher in ______ needs another TB test.

Addressing Emotional, Physical, Intellectual and Social Development

Consider how you will support your students in the following areas while designing and implementing developmentally appropriate instruction:

• self-esteem
• sense of belonging to a community of learners
• increasing independence
• self-discipline
• self-expression
• responsibility
• accepting and learning from mistakes
• communication skills
• self-awareness of thought processes
• self-monitoring of learning
• maintaining a sense of humor and fun
• positive motivation
• establishing and maintaining positive peer relationships
• understanding and coping with feelings
• recognizing relationships between beliefs and behaviors
• social interaction
• physical activity
• civility
• respect for self and others
• physical outlets for excess energy
• adequate rest

Questions to Consider

How will you…..?

• Facilitate meaningful student engagement in learning
• Demonstrate that you care about each student
• Respond to incorrect student responses in ways that encourage academic risk-taking
• Encourage participation by all students (even those
• Involve students in the evaluation process
• Model self-acceptance
• Allow cooling off periods (for teacher and student)
• Involve the student in problem-solving during individual conferences, class meetings
• Give students a “voice and a choice”
• Establish and maintain an atmosphere of mutual respect
• Provide a safe environment for the risk-taking business of learning
• Involve students in limits-setting
• Provide ample noncontingent attention to each student. (Sprick, Module 5)

Reflective Teaching

• Evaluate and reflect upon your teaching experiences daily
• Analyze problems.
• Seek solutions through brainstorming, readings, and consultations with professional colleagues.
• Implement new strategies and assess the effectiveness of changed teaching behaviors.
• Remember that problem-solving is much more productive when you are rested.
• Make consistent efforts to improve.
• Complete the self-assessment Notes sections frequently following instruction.

Demonstrate Professionalism

• Recognize the connection between teacher behaviors and student attitude, behavior and achievement.
• Adhere to the Code of Ethics and Standard Practices of Educators in Texas.
• Take careful notes during planning sessions and other meetings.
• Be flexible.
• Take initiative.
• Show creativity.
• Maintain a sense of humor.
• Accept responsibility.
• Consider suggestions.
• Accept constructive criticism.
• Accept your own mistakes.
• Be a reflective teacher.

Bredekamp, Sue and Carol Copple( Eds).1997. Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Brooks, Jacqueline and Martin Brooks. 1993. In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist Classrooms. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Partin, Ronald. Classroom Teacher’s Survival Guide. West Nyack, New York: The Center for Applied Research in Education

Pelletier, Carol. 2000. A Handbook of Techniques and Strategies for Coaching Student Teachers. Boston:Allyn and Bacon

Sprick, Randall, Mickey Garrison, and Lisa Howard. 1998. CHAMPS: A Proactive and Positive Approach to Classroom Management. Longmont, Colorado: Sopris West.

Vernon, Ann.1989. Thinking, Feeling, Behaving:An Emotional Education Curriculum for Children Grades 1-6. Champaign, Illinois: Research Press.