appropriate is in the document “Discussion Questions for Supervisors and Mentor Teachers,” which may be found on the SEC ED student materials page. Week 6: At the latest, the teacher candidate, you and the cooperative teacher have completed and shared with one another the electronic midterm competency appraisal and have a meeting to discuss strengths and areas for our teacher candidate to work on for the rest of her/his student teaching experience. You are asked to email a link to both your and the mentor teacher’s midterm and final assessments to the candidate’s Seminar Instructor. Weeks 7: Either week 6 or week 7, the teacher candidate teaches the Sequential Learning Segment, videotapes those lessons, and makes copies of appropriate student work, making sure there are no names or other identifying marks on these copies. Weeks 8-9: The candidate continues teaching a “full load” of classes. Week 10: The candidate begins to “give back” classes to the mentor teacher. Near the end of week 10, the teacher candidate, mentor teacher, and you complete and share the electronic final competency appraisal and the three of you have a meeting to celebrate our teacher candidate successfully completing her/his student teaching experience. The competency appraisals provide topics for discussion. Focus on Roles during Student Teaching For the Student Teacher Theory and Practice are two concepts that are closely linked. These should be second nature to student teachers during this capstone experience. Student teachers should continue to keep in mind the pragmatics of how theory and practice are experienced in school communities, how schools and districts, state standards, goals, and tests, and cultural and political factors influence the decisions that are made while interacting with children, families, colleagues, and the community. Student teachers and mentor teachers have an essential relationship to develop as fully as possible. It is critical to communicate on a consistent basis before school, during school, and after school. This can be challenging as time is always at a premium. Student teachers will need feedback for collaborative learning, methods of teaching and assessment, and use of state standards, school protocol, lesson ideas, and much more. In addition to one-on-one dialogues or team meetings, it is important to have genuine, meaningful communication with the mentor teacher. Some will ask student teachers to write questions to be answered outside of the school day or continue discussions by e-mail. Constant communication plays a major role in all relationships and is extremely important in this experience. For example, ask questions for clarification no matter what the issue might be. Whether it is about a lesson plan, goal setting, or a puzzling remark heard, it is important to understand expectations clearly. Mentor teachers understand the limited experience student teachers often bring but can best help when asked. This also lets the mentor teacher know how highly motivated the student teacher is. For the Mentor Teacher A major purpose of the linked Practicum/Student Teaching experiences is to provide the candidate with concrete experiences to help in the development of a realistic perception of self in the professional role of teacher and inappropriate relationships with others within the school organization. In this critical role, the mentor teacher must hold a standard Professional Educator License with an endorsement in
SEC Practicum/ST Handbook 2025-2026
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