Working with an ISU Physics Student Teacher

1. Working with an ISUPhysics Student Teacher University Supervisor for Student Teaching ~ Department of Physics Illinois State University Kenneth Wester

2. 2014 Student Teaching Dates • STT starts Monday, Tuesday September 2 • STT ends Friday, November 21(or later if needed) • Student teachers are expected to be in the classroom or involved in professional development activities for 50 full days. • 11 weeks are scheduled assuming a one-week spring break

3. Prior to Student Teaching… • Enrollment in PHY 312 - Physics Teaching from the Historical Perspective (Inquiry!) http://www.phy.ilstu.edu/pte/312.html • Enrollment in PHY 353 - STT Seminar http://www.phy.ilstu.edu/pte/353.html • Future student teaching school site visits: • Social Context Project • Teaching Analysis using RTOP • Safety Plan Development • edTPA Task 1

4. During Student Teaching • Enrollment in PHY 399 - Student Teachinghttp://www.phy.ilstu.edu/pte/399.html • Complete 10 weekly reports of time allocation • Complete 10 weekly reflections and 1 summary • Complete Final Reflective Essay • Complete edTPA

5. Student Teaching “Load” • Take off - due to PHY 353 requirements, many STT will be ready to begin teaching during the first or second week of the practicum and the build to full teaching load. • Flight - full-time load expected for 3-4 weeks beginning around fourth or fifth week of STT. • Landing - after 3-4 weeks of full load, ramp down to two classes only during last weeks.

6. Ideal STT Implementation

7. Schedule-related Tasks • Take off - STT develops unit plans while working with cooperating teacher; co-teaches class from time to time, implements STERS. • Flight - STT teaches full load in a sustained fashion, sharing daily lesson plans 2-3 days in advance of lessons; regular reflection. • Landing - STT corrects any remaining deficiencies in teaching practice, and finishes required STERS and documentation work.

8. Requirements for the STT • Generating unit plans for all courses taught • Writing daily lesson plan(s) for all classes taught • Demonstrating ethical behaviors during teaching: • Intellectual & moral virtues of ISU’s Democratic Ideal • Personal and professional integrity: • Arriving punctually or giving early notification if late/absent • Regularly consulting with coop teacher before and after teaching • Setting high expectations for students in terms of behavior and learning • Being honest in all communications, grading, and recording scores • Being organized and getting things accomplished in a timely fashion • Following through on commitments and promises • Acting so to earn the respect of teachers and administrators • Many others… See Ethics for STT in PHY 353 syllabus • Documenting work efforts

9. What to Expect of Your STT • Inquiry-oriented approaches that emphasize students constructing knowledge from experiences • Identifying and addressing student preconceptions • Multiple levels and modes of inquiry: • problem-based learning demonstrations • cooperative learning inquiry lessons • case studies inquiry labs • whiteboarding discussions • Metacognitive and student self-regulation practices • Multiple and varied assessment approaches • Some emphasis on out-of-class resources/reading

10. Assessment of STT • Formative: • Pre-class consultations with cooperating teacher • Post-class reflection with cooperating teacher • Periodic review by university supervisor • Weekly reflections and clock hour sheet approved and signed by cooperating teacher • Summative: • STT Performance Assessment Form • edTPA • Observations by University Supervisor

11. Major Roles of Coop Teacher • Serve as liaison between school students and STT • Encourage and support best teaching practices • Provide both constructive criticism and support • Assist STT to become reflective practitioner • Communicate any concerns to University Supervisor • Supervise unit and lesson planning and implementation • Sign off on weekly reflection/report each Monday • Evaluate STT using provided forms; give to Supervisor • Assist University Supervisor with final grade determination • Mentor STT using an appropriate style

12. Common Mentoring Styles • Authoritarian - focuses attention on cooperating teacher’s concerns • Authoritative - focuses attention on student teacher’s concerns • Indulgent/Liaise faire - lack of attention or accountability • Idiosyncratic - Most teachers find they have a combination of mentoring styles depending on the situation • The preferred style is authoritative, but authoritarian might be necessary from time to time.

13. Practical Pointers for CT’s • Meet with STT before class to discuss lesson plan. Elicit objectives, activities, and assessments. • Meet with STT after each class to review lesson. • Elicit from STT problems with open-ended questions and ask him/her how s/he might improve lesson. • Avoid being prescriptive - telling STT about problems associated with the lesson. • Only if STT fails to see a problem even after questioning, then bring it up. • Focus on two or three main problems; avoid a laundry list of items that tends to be overwhelming for a STT.

14. Role of University Supervisor • Establish and maintain working relationships • Serve as a mentor to cooperating & student teacher, providing guidance as necessary • Ensure compliance with STT requirements and university expectations • Provide for evidence-based summative evaluation working with cooperating teacher • Determine and report STT grade

15. University Supervisor Visits • Five university supervisor “visits” • Initial “visit” consists of this presentation • Four on-site visits minimum: • Focus on planning, teaching, and assessing by STT • Consulting individually with student, teacher, and both student and teacher • Final “visit” consists of a telephone discussion • All on-site visits are announced in advance, and some are difficult if not impossible to reschedule • Please avoid scheduling tests and other activities that would interfere with supervisor’s observations

16. Mid-point Visit (2nd on-site visit) • In addition to the usual observations and discussions, the University Supervisor’s mid-point visit will include the following additional items: • Discussion of mid-term evaluation completed prior to visit by both student teacher and cooperating teacher using the STT Performance Assessment Instrument • Review of progress toward completion of the Realizing the Democratic Ideal mid-term assessment • General reminders about teaching requirements: turning in 5 NSTA-mandated STERS assessments, teaching multicultural and diversity lesson, doing final reflective essay, and final student teaching assessment (Democratic Ideal portfolio) -- all on LiveText by end of spring classes (not finals week).

17. What to Expect from Your STT • Student teachers typically have substantial deficits in content knowledge - especially in areas of conceptual understanding. • Student teachers typically have substantial deficits in knowing how to teach a given concept using different approaches. • Student teachers are sometimes unfamiliar with student difficulties. • Student teachers will have lots of questions.

18. Lesson plans should be pragmatic, flow from a unit plan, and contain at a minimum: Key question(s) Alternative conceptions Stu. Perform. Objectives ILS alignment Instructional activities Assessment Closure List of materials Unit plans should be prepared before lesson plans and include: Knowledge and skills Varied teaching methods Available equipment for demonstrations and labs Elements of N.O.S., real-life applications & issues Multiple assessments List of resources Rough daily timeline Unit and Lesson Planning

19. STT Release Time • While 50 classroom days are mandated, they are not strictly counted sequentially from the formal start of student teaching due to Social Context Project work prior to the start of STT. • It is reasonable to provide 2-3 “personal days” for job interviews, participation in conferences, and sickness during STT. • Extra days off must be made up by extending the STT practicum after the announced end.

20. Legal Liability • Student teachers legally may not be left unattended with a class of students. • Cooperating teacher must supervise student teacher as s/he would any adult student. • Cooperating teacher is legally liable for any missteps taken by a student teacher. • Student teachers are required to follow all legitimate orders of cooperating teacher.

21. Benefits of Working with a STT • Learning by cooperating teacher: • content knowledge • pedagogical knowledge • pedagogical content knowledge • A token honorarium: $65 payment or 3 s.h. of tuition waiver (valid for 1 year) for either school or cooperating teacher, but this will depend upon school district policy.

22. Mr. Kenneth Wester ISU Physics Dept. kwester@ilstu.edu 309-660-9902(cell) 309-438-2957 (office) Contact Information Thanks!