Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Time, or lack thereof, is not the only thing that takes student teachers by surprise. The amount of curricular
content, multilevel standards and diverse learning needs that must be considered when planning can be
overwhelming to the novice teacher.
Student teachers have little knowledge of or practice in long-range planning.
o Those students who are assigned to your classroom for the first quarter get the chance to see how
the beginning of the year decisions concerning curriculum, philosophy, rules, procedures and
organization are made; however, not all students have the opportunity to witness the thinking
process and decision making that goes on before students enter a classroom.
A cooperating teacher who takes the time to outline and describe reasons for these planning decisions
(unit timelines, room or personnel scheduling, necessary resources, testing schedules, etc.) will give a
student teacher a foundation to help them start their first year off successfully.
From the previously considered long-term plan, a cooperating teacher can sit with the student teacher and
identify what content and outcomes he/she will be responsible for during the placement and the timeline for
taking on and letting go of the teaching role.