Read all SUNY Oswego emails from the Student Teaching Coordinator, your student teaching supervisor, and other members of the student teaching team.  Reply promptly to all communications that require a reply.

Familiarize yourself deeply with all student teaching resources, forms, and evaluation criteria. Abide by and refer to guiding documents and evaluation criteria throughout the student teaching experience. 

Attend and actively participate in on-campus and/or virtual student teacher meetings, workshops, and co-requisite courses. Apply what you learned in the meetings, workshops, and courses in your student teaching.

Complete the student teaching course evaluation form that is emailed to you at the end of the student semester.

Get to know your cooperating or mentor teacher, their vision for your student teaching.

Get to know placement school employees, their functions, how they support teaching and learning, and how you can collaborate with them.

Get to know the school facilities and resources available to support teaching and learning.

Learn the standards of professional behavior and dress consistent with school and community practices or requirements.

Know the contents of the school’s website and faculty and student handbooks..

Familiarize yourself with the curriculum, standards, and materials for each course or subject taught in the placement.

Get to know the students as individuals. Learn about their development and developmental needs in cognitive, social, emotional, linguistic, and physical domains. Learn IEPs, 504 plans, and any other accommodations or modifications that you must assure are addressed.

Get to know the established classroom rules and routines.

Learn the grading, record keeping, and data reporting and analysis practices.

Share contact information with your cooperating or mentor teacher and learn their preferred means and timing of communication.

Respond to all communications from your cooperating or mentor teacher.

At the start of your student teaching course, create your Teaching Plan with your cooperating or mentor teacher. Update it together as indicated.

Communicate with your cooperating or mentor teacher about the timing of observations and post-conferences.

Engage in regular planning with your cooperating or mentor teacher at their preferred time.

Share lesson plans with your cooperating or mentor teacher at least two days before teaching them. Integrate any feedback they provide.

Discuss and request feedback on your taught lessons with your cooperating or mentor teacher.

Explain the Capstone TPA requirements to your cooperating or mentor teacher and seek their support in learning about the students and in determining the curricular content for your lessons. (You may share the Capstone TPA handbook and/or seek your supervisor’s support in answering questions they may have.)

Make your cooperating or mentor teacher aware of any concerns or needs you may have as they occur.

Share contact information with your supervisor and learn their preferred means and timing of communication.

Respond to all communications from your supervisor.

At the start of your student teaching course, share your Master Schedule and Teaching Plan with your supervisor. Share updates as they occur.

On a weekly basis, submit your completed Weekly Teaching Schedule and Weekly Student Teaching Report with your supervisor.

Communicate with your college supervisor to schedule observations and post-conferences and to discuss your  student teaching as requested or as needed.

Share lesson plans for observation with your supervisor at least one day in advance of each scheduled observation.

Discuss observed lessons with your supervisor in the post-conference and subsequent to the post-conference if desired or needed in order to understand feedback deeply.

Make your supervisor aware of any concerns or needs you may have as they occur.

Engage actively in co-teaching and/or supporting the cooperating or mentor teacher’s lessons and student learning from the start of the placement.

Prepare long-term plans and lesson plans and assessments that follow the curriculum and standards and that are appropriate for promoting the learning of the students you teach. Write lesson plans on the SUNY Oswego lesson planning template for your subject area OR the template required by the district where you are student teaching. 

Know each lesson plan and its content so well that you can focus on students and learning as you teach each lesson.

Manage the classroom using the cooperating or mentor teacher’s routines and practices or with routines and practices that they agree to and are respectful of their system.

Engage actively with your cooperating or mentor teacher and other professionals in the school setting to maximize support for student learning and well-being.

Maintain accurate and timely records of student learning outcomes in ways requested by the cooperating or mentor teacher.

Return all borrowed materials and student work before completing the placement.

Download your Capstone TPA handbook, templates, and confirmation checklist from your Google Drive student teaching folder or Watermark.

Familiarize yourself deeply with the Capstone TPA expectations and rubrics through workshop participation and close reading of the handbook.

Plan, teach, and assess the Capstone TPA following the timeline in the syllabus calendar. If circumstances require you to modify this timeline, identify an alternate timeline with your supervisor.

Identify your Capstone TPA progress, questions, concerns, and goals in the Weekly Student Teaching Report you submit to your supervisor. Your supervisor will address your questions and concerns or refer you to the TPA Coordinator.

Submit the completed Capstone TPA documents to Watermark by the date indicated in the course calendar for your supervisor’s evaluation and feedback.

If your initial Capstone TPA submission does not pass, your supervisor will provide you feedback of what you need to do to address areas of concern and a second due date. Revise the Capstone TPA and submit revisions that address areas of concern to the new course shell provided to you in Watermark.

Adhere to the Attendance Policy articulated in the Policies section of this handbook.

Respect the standards of professional behavior and dress consistent with school and community practices or requirements.

Follow all school practices, procedures, and policies and attend closely to legal and safety issues.

Use professional language and engage in professional behaviors and relationships at all times with your cooperating or mentor teacher, school personnel, students, and families.

Maintain your social media sites private and unavailable to students and others.

Maintain confidentiality relative to information about children, families, colleagues, and schools within and outside of the school and school day.

Participate in all school events,  meetings, conferences, workshops, and other activities in which there is required teacher participation. Seek additional opportunities to continue your professional learning.

Acknowledge and express gratitude to the cooperating or mentor teacher,  students, and other school professionals for the ways in which they have supported you throughout the placement.

Reflect on all lessons you teach. Note what aspects of your teaching were effective for promoting student learning and what adjustments you need to make to better promote learning. 

Seek regular feedback from your cooperating or mentor teacher and college supervisor relative to individual lessons and professional progress. Incorporate the feedback and recommendations with the goal of continuous growth and improvement.

Maintain a reflective journal in which you regularly record your reflections and critically examine your student teaching performance.

In the fourth week of each student teaching course, complete the Mid-Course Student Teaching Evaluation Form as a self-assessment. Discuss your self-assessment with your cooperating or mentor teacher who has also completed this form. Identify strengths and set goals for the remainder of the student teaching course.

At the conclusion of the final student teaching course, complete the Professional Dispositions Self-Assessment in Tk20.

Organize all other life responsibilities to minimize any potential interference with student teaching.

Remember that student learning, growth, and well-being are the reasons for teaching. Proceed in all facets of student teaching with this mindset and understanding. 

Communicate openly and regularly with the cooperating or mentor teacher and college supervisor about your goals, concerns, doubts, and needs so they can support you in a well-informed way. 

Develop and carry out accurate, appropriate, and professional communication, both orally and in writing within and outside of the school and online.

Be prepared for emergencies, and have specific response plans in place (e.g., back up computer files in case of computer damage; have alternate transportation available should your transportation plans fall through; know steps to take when student becomes ill in the classroom).

Maximize professional learning opportunities and networking in student teaching through interactions with and observations of a range of professionals and active participation in learning opportunities.

Acknowledge that perfection in teaching is unattainable because of the complexity of what it encompasses and because of the human nature of it. Focus instead on the goal of continuous growth and promote this through intentional reflection on practice and dialogue with those who can inform and promote deep reflection.