Veteran Practitioner Training Material

EXHIBIT 6.3 Veteran Practitioner Training Material

Santa Clara University’s MATTC program provides Master Teachers an initial orientation training prior to the opening of school, in collaboration with the Field Supervisor and the Student Teacher, exploring a variety of instructional topics and responsibilities of each collaborator to start the school year. On-going training is provided in the fall and then throughout the winter and spring quarters during eight benchmark sessions to provide team reflection on Formative Evaluation results, based on the TPEs, of the Student Teacher’s clinical experience. Further collaboration and training continues with the final winter and spring Summative Assessments. Thus, these collaborative experiences occur as the Student Teacher moves through the implementation stages of clinical practice into lead teaching in the winter and spring. Included in the yearlong training process are Cognitive Coaching Theory and Practice, Adult Learning Theory, current content-specific Pedagogy and Instructional and Assessment Practices. Our program is intended to assist Master Teachers in supporting the progress and success of Student Teachers by remaining current in their own knowledge and skills to apply appropriate candidate supervision and meet SCU program expectations, including Assessment.

Beginning the Cognitive Coaching process, Field Supervisors share, with Master Teachers, the importance of providing Student Teachers a means to establish themselves as fully recognized teachers in the classroom. This would involve providing a designated classroom workplace and materials; sharing and discussing their rationale/implementation of classroom management, curriculum, teaching strategies, and assessment; and the collaborative and gradual release process of lesson segments to the student teacher to support their continuous growth, and supporting their fieldwork in constructing meaningful focus for observations of additional experienced teachers both at their worksite school and for a four-day week at an alternate school site. During the four visits made by the Field Supervisor in the fall quarter, communication centers on specific areas of focus to support that particular Student Teacher in acquiring and/or honing the skills of curriculum development, pacing, class management, assessment and etc. so necessary for becoming the lead teacher in winter quarter for two morning classes.

Field Supervisors additionally share with Master Teachers the means by which student teachers will apply Adult Learning Theory, first to better enable the success of all students, and then to prepare the student teacher for their mandated TPAs. Thus, Master Teachers assist Student Teachers in identifying students in their classes who have special needs and model the strategies for adapting their teaching and class management to afford these students greater success. In this process, Master Teachers are asked to include Student Teachers in IEP meetings and familiarize them with IEP and 504 plans of their students. The importance of Student Teachers attending staff and department meetings whenever possible in the fall and certainly in the winter and spring quarters, and attending school functions/student activities is also covered in these sessions

Throughout the school year, Field Supervisors and Master Teachers communicate as a team to support the Student Teacher’s success by examining and sharing Pedagogy Practices, through conversation after the lesson event or by examining work prior to a lesson. Both may share responses or resources with Student Teachers on further growth in creating lesson plans or unit plans of merit, discuss rationale of summative assessments, share strategies for scaffolding of curriculum for EL strategies or other means to include a clear understanding of the connection Pedagogy has with Practice.

Master Teachers receive additional in-service training, primarily with the Field Supervisors in a one-on-one experience, in reviewing the new TPEs and their relationship to both the Formative and Summative Assessment documents that frame the success of the student teacher. As a team then, these Assessment documents are unpacked with the student teachers to assist them in exponential growth through the yearlong clinical experience of becoming a credentialed teacher.

Finally, in our ongoing practice to provide training to our Master Teachers for supporting our students’ success, we are prepared to preview and implement the best methods for inclusion of the specific 10-hour training modules developed by the state once they are released to us.

School of Education and Counseling Psychology

Department of Education

MASTER TEACHER

JOB DESCRIPTION

Qualifications: All master teachers working with SCU teacher candidates must hold a California Clear Multiple or Single Subject teaching credential with a Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development (CLAD) certification or endorsement. Master Teachers must be tenured and recommended by their principal and school district.

The position includes, but is not limited to the following responsibilities.

1. Read the Teacher Candidate Handbook provided by Santa Clara University (SCU); fulfill the responsibilities listed in the handbook enumerated below:

A. Treat credential candidates as equals and with professional respect

B. Introduce credential candidates to colleagues/staff/aides/administrative assistants at the school site

C. Introduce credential candidates to class

D. Establish a designated work area in the classroom and provide keys (unless this violates district regulations), supplies, computer access for credential candidates

E. Share classroom and school calendar and bulletins weekly

F. Involve credential candidates in daily lessons on a gradual basis

G. Inform credential candidates when they are ready to take on responsibility for teaching each quarter

H. Check credential candidates’ daily and weekly lesson plans on Friday prior to teaching (not during the lessons) and provide constructive formative feedback

I. Share resources and ideas for lesson/unit plans with credential candidates

J. Provide credential candidates with constructive suggestions on a daily and weekly basis

K. Explain the reasoning and rationale behind their decisions regarding instruction, curriculum, classroom management, student discipline

L. Share unit tests and quizzes and provide the rationale behind their construction

M. Share standardized test scores, formal assessment data, and informal documentation of student learning and demonstrate how those data are used to inform instructional decision making and to adapt lessons

N. Explain student IEPs and 504 plans and offer guidance for working collaboratively with special education teachers. Please note: credential candidates MUST have access to IEPs and 504 Plan documents when they accept responsibility for planning, teaching, and assessing student learning.

O. Include credential candidate in at least one IEP meeting and at least one Student Success Team meeting

P. Share CELDT scores of identified English Language Learners and explain how to use the CELDT data to adapt instruction

Q. Support the credential candidates’ requirement to visit other classes/cross curricular areas/grade levels at the school site and to spend one week of visitation at another school either within the district or a different district during the fall quarter.

R. Allow credential candidates to teach lessons, practice instructional strategies, and engage in other professional activities in the placement classroom as required for SCU course assignments

S. Assist candidate in completing the tasks on each month’s Required Experience Checklist during fall quarter

T. Arrange for credential candidates to attend at least one staff meeting, one or more parent conference(s), and one relevant school function or activity

U. Assist in supporting credential candidates’ maintenance of their lesson plan binder, log sheet of meetings, professional goals, and reflections. This binder shall be present at all times at school for review by the Field Supervisor.

V. Support credential candidates with their completion of the Teaching Performance Assessment tasks, including securing parent permission forms

W. Complete 10 hours of training that is blended in nature (part face-to-face and part using technology).

2. Meet at least once a month with teacher candidates’ SCU field supervisor to review candidates’ progress.

3. Observe, document, and evaluate teacher candidates’ professional practices, including lesson planning unit design, instruction, differentiation, classroom management, assessment of student learning, and other practices detailed in the SCU evaluation documents. Provide detailed feedback to teacher candidates regarding their performance. In both winter and spring quarters, complete four observations and formative evaluation forms, and two summative evaluations (one numerical rating scale and one narrative).

4. Participate in a 3-way Benchmark conference with the credential candidate and field supervisor to discuss the credential candidate’s progress in the field placement at the end of Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. The Fall Benchmark conference concludes with a recommendation about the candidate’s readiness to advance to student teaching; the Winter Benchmark conference concludes with a recommendation regarding the candidate’s suitability for continuation in student teaching; the Spring Benchmark conference concludes with a decision about whether or not the candidate has consistently demonstrated a level of mastery of the TPEs appropriate for a beginning teacher, has satisfied the requirements for Clinical Practicum, and should be recommended to the teacher education faculty in the Department of Education for their preliminary teaching credential.

5. Follow the gradual assumption of responsibility recommendations suggested by the Teacher Candidate Handbook,

• During Fall quarter, teacher candidates will be in master teachers’ classrooms four mornings a week to observe, work one-on-one with students, and assist with small group instruction. Multiple Subject candidates will teach two lessons during this time: one Physical Education lesson and on Visual Performing Arts lesson. Multiple Subject teacher candidates do no do any large group instruction or planning during this quarter. Single Subject candidates will practice teacher a single class period and only one time to assist in the planning and completion of TPA #2 with guidance from master teacher. Informal feedback from the master teacher on this single lesson will not be part of the evaluation process. It is suggested this practice lesson be taught in the month of November. All teacher candidates may also need to teach on or two small group activities to satisfy methods course requirements.

• During winter quarter, teacher candidates are at the school site five mornings per week and one afternoon by mutual agreement. Multiple Subject candidates gradually assume teaching responsibilities and then complete 10 mornings of solo teaching at the conclusion of this quarter. Single Subject candidates begin to teach two classes independently in the mornings.

• During spring quarter, teacher candidates are in master teachers’ classrooms five full days a week. Multiple Subject candidates take on increasing responsibility for planning and instruction and complete 10 full days of solo teaching by the end of the quarter. Single Subject candidates increase their teaching load until they are teaching two (2) full periods in the morning and one (1) period in the afternoon.

6. Multiple Subject master teachers will be compensated monetarily at a rate of $75 for fall quarter, $150 for winter quarter, and $225 for spring quarter. Single Subject master teachers will be compensated for $75 for fall quarter, $75 per class for winter quarter, and $75 per class for spring quarter.