The university supervisor has a crucial responsibility in the success of the internship and student teaching experience. As the liaison between the teacher preparation program and the public school, the university supervisor facilitates the transition of the student to teacher during the final field experiences. If the resources of both the university and public schools are to be utilized most effectively in this transition, there must be a thorough understanding of the unique role and contribution each can make in the education of teachers.
The university supervisor shall visit each student under their supervision at a minimum of three times per semester to communicate with the host teacher and check on the candidate’s progress and performance. During these mandatory visits, the university supervisor will complete formal observations of the teacher candidate using the approved evaluation instrument. In addition to three formal observations, routine visits by the university supervisor include and orientation visit and a final evaluation conference with the cooperating classroom teacher, the intern, and the principal (or his/her designee). If possible, the teacher candidate may prepare and present one or two lessons for observation during the internship and participate in pre- and post-observation conferences to scaffold preparation and reflection processes.
The university supervisor’s orientation visit will occur during the first week of the placement and shall include conferences with the school principal, the clinical educator, and the teacher candidate. Subsequent visits shall include conferences with any or all of the above as needed. On-campus group or individual conferences with interns may be scheduled at the discretion of the university supervisor.
The university supervisor is responsible for the assessment and evaluation of the intern’s work and performance periodically during the semester. Included in these assessments are:
completion of the Educator Dispositions Assessment (EDA) at the beginning and end of the internship/student teaching;
completion of three Formal Observations;
completion of the Midterm Evaluation;
completion of the Final Evaluation; and
completion of the Certificate of Teaching Capacity at the end of student teaching).
Additionally, the responsibilities of the university supervisor include:
Consistently adhering to the policies and regulations for student teaching as specified in this handbook.
Working in close cooperation with the clinical educator.
Providing the necessary orientation to prospective clinical educators concerning the responsibilities of supervision of the student teachers.
Acquainting oneself with the school programs and instructional personnel of the schools in which one will supervise.
Acting as liaison person between the school and the university.
Acquainting oneself with the qualifications - personal, social, and educational - of the teacher candidates one will supervise.
Participating in orientation meetings for teacher candidates prior to the beginning of the internship and/ or student teaching.
Counseling with individual student teachers concerning personal and professional concerns.
Participating with the teacher candidate, clinical educator, and principal when appropriate in planning the individual teacher candidate’s program and schedule.
Visiting and observing in the cooperating schools and holding individual and joint conferences about the student teacher’s progress.
Assisting in arranging for resource persons to consult with special instructional problems when possible.
Participating in the final evaluation conference to help teacher candidates generalize from the field experience.
Collecting and interpreting all evaluative information in collaboration with the principal, clinical educator, and teacher candidate to arrive at a final report or grade for the student.
Assisting the Director of Teacher Education in providing professional development opportunities for clinical educators.
Assisting in the continuous evaluation and revision of the student teaching and internship programs.
Participating in the student teacher seminar as needed.