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Responsibilities to the Clinical Teacher

  • Prepare the classroom students to receive the Clinical Teacher as a professional co-worker.
  • Prepare a workspace for the clinical teacher.
  • Orient the clinical teacher to the students, the school calendar and daily schedule, the building facilities and resources, the personnel-administrators, faculty, and staff, school policies and procedures, the nature of the community, and professional opportunities.
  • Provide a gradual induction to the teaching process by modeling appropriate planning and teaching.
  • Demonstrate methods and resources for creating daily lesson plans that are sequential and integrated.
  • Demonstrate the use of curriculum guides, teachers' manuals, and other resources for your grade/subject level.
  • Explain the philosophy of classroom management, the specific techniques that are to be used, and how management is to occur when the cooperating teacher and clinical teacher are both in the classroom.
  • Ensure that playground duty is done in the company of the cooperating teacher or with a district designated personnel in the immediate area.
  • Choose a specific time for planning on a daily/weekly basis.
  • Guide the clinical teacher toward effectiveness by:
    • monitoring effective use of time
    • requiring written lesson plans two days in advance of teaching
    • creating a climate that encourages questioning and self-reflection
    • praising and encouraging
    • keeping interactive lines of communication open and discuss problems frankly, one at a time
    • sharing professional experiences and materials
    • encouraging the use of alternative instructional and management strategies
    • guiding the acceptance of varied school duties and tasks which represent the teacher's workload.
  • Explain the methods of record keeping for attendance, tardiness, grades, conduct, etc.
  • Discuss emergency and health procedures such as fire drills, lockdowns, illness, fighting, etc.
  • Allow the clinical teacher to assume all responsibility of classroom instruction and management.
  • Give specific instruction on how to set up a classroom for the beginning of the year.
  • Provide weekly feedback to the clinical teacher.
  • Provide daily interactive discussions that encourage reflective thinking about the strengths and weaknesses of the clinical teacher's effectiveness in the planning/teaching process.
  • Assist the clinical teacher in implementing recommendations received during the daily evaluation sessions.
  • Accept each clinical teacher as an individual and refrain from comparison of him/her with previous clinical teachers.
  • Allow the clinical teacher to attend all required seminars/meetings which are part of the clinical experience.
  • Leave the clinical teacher alone in the classroom (see pacing guide, p. 26-27) so that he/she can have a feeling of independence and an opportunity to learn from his/her mistakes.
  • Introduce the clinical teacher to professional journals, resources, and organizations.
  • Invite the clinical teacher to faculty/curriculum meetings, parent meetings, and parent/teacher conferences when appropriate.

Responsibilities to the Supervisor/Cadre Coordinator

  • Confer with the university supervisor on a continuing basis. Performance problems should be identified and discussed as early as possible. Use a Growth Plan (p. 28) whenever necessary to encourage timely change.
  • Participate in a three-way evaluation conference with the clinical teacher and supervisor at the mid-point and final evaluation.
  • Submit final evaluation online through Foliotek.
  • Contact the university supervisor/cadre coordinator with questions or concerns.

Compensation Day for Cooperating Teachers

Cooperating teachers play a vital role in preparing clinical teachers to achieve certification and begin their professional careers in public schools. A compensation day is offered as an acknowledgement of the service the cooperating teacher provides. If the school/district approves, this bonus day should be taken during the last two weeks of the student teaching semester. The clinical teacher will be the substitute and will receive no pay for this substitute day. UNT does not provide a form since most campuses/districts have their own procedures. Some districts have a printed form that must be signed by the cooperating teacher, the clinical teacher, and the university supervisor. Other districts require only verbal approval from the cooperating teacher and the university supervisor. Whatever format the campus/district uses, this notice serves as documentation for university approval.