SSCP Cooperating Teacher Overview of Roles & Expectations

The student teaching semester begins when your district semester begins and ends when it ends. We rely on your professional judgment to help our candidate grow and reach their full potential. We recommend a gradual release of responsibility method to ease them into the student teaching experience, and trust your expertise to determine how long each phase should last.

• Phase 1: co-plan and observe their cooperating teachers (no longer than 1 week).
• Phase 2: co-plan and co-teach
• Phase 3: co-plan and teach lessons on their own
• Phase 4: plan and submit lessons for review before teaching

Student teachers can work with 1 or 2 cooperating teachers, and they can have 1 but no more than 2 preps. In addition to teaching 3 periods, they should have an assigned planning period and an assigned observation period.

Student teachers are expected to arrive on time at their site and be on campus for at least five hours a day. Their schedule should include teaching 3 periods (but no more than 2 preps), an assigned planning period, and observation period. 100% attendance is expected; if they are ill and cannot teach, they should notify you and the University Mentor immediately and provide lesson plans for the classes they will miss.

If they are hired by your district, student teachers may substitute teach for pay at their school site, but only in the classrooms of their cooperating teachers. If working with two Cooperating Teachers, the candidate must have the approval of both Cooperating Teachers as well as the University Mentor before they can substitute teach. Candidates may substitute teach for their cooperating teacher(s) for a maximum of ten (10) days during the semester. Candidates are not expected to substitute teach if they are not being paid by the district.

While you will be assessing your student teacher's progress throughout the semester, you will complete two formal assessments: midterm (due for Fall November 1 and for Spring April 1) and final evaluation (due for Fall January 10 and for Spring June 10), and contribute to the Midterm Action Plan and Final Induction Plan that is developed by the University Mentor. Your student teacher will email you the link you will use to access the evaluation forms in S4@The Beach.

The California Teaching Commission requires student teachers to complete CalTPA (Cycles 1 and 2) to qualify for their preliminary credential. Each cycle incorporates continuous improvement: Plan, Teach, Reflect, and Apply.

• Cycle 1: Learning about students and planning instruction. For the first TPA Cycle students learn about their students assets and learning needs and based on this information plan and teach a lesson to help them meet a California State standards-based lesson. The target completion date is around week 7 or 8.

• Cycle 2: Conducting assessment-driven instruction. The purpose of the second Cycle is to assess student-teachers ability to design and implement formative and summative assessments (including a rubric) and use the data to plan and teach an appropriate follow up lesson. The target completion date is approximately week 13-14.

• Both Cycles require student teachers to record short video clips of their classroom teaching, in which student participation should be evident. Student teachers must get parent/guardian permission to film and several resources are available for students to use.

• While Cooperating Teachers are welcome to provide guidance and encouragement, they are not required to assist with these assessments directly. Student teachers have access to various support resources through their weekly student teaching seminar, during which they can ask questions.

In addition to the support and guidance you are providing, our student teachers are assigned a university mentor and are enrolled in the Student Teaching Seminar.

• University Mentor - your primary contact with the university
  • Observes the student teacher 6 times during the semester (3 before the midterm and 3 after),
  • Meets regularly with the student teacher to review plans,
  • Provides encouragement and advice for how to address classroom challenges,
  • Consults with cooperating teacher(s) regarding student teacher progress
  • Completes formal evaluations and writes the midterm action plan and induction plan
• Student Teacher Seminar is a weekly hybrid class that offers peer support and guidance on the CalTPA pacing and planning.
• All student teachers are able to access a variety of CSULB Beach Wellness Resources and services that are included as part of their tuition fees.