• FREQUENTLY USED TERMS
• Cadre Coordinator:  The UNT employee responsible for facilitating the EC-6 and 4-8 ELAR/Social Studies clinical experience. The Cadre Coordinator’s responsibilities include: facilitating open communication among the interns, supervisors, mentors, and UNT faculty, mediating any concerns or problems during clinical practice.
• Canvas:  An online learning management system   used to collect and store the assessments used to evaluate candidates’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions relevant to program standards and objectives, and to collect and store TEA-required documentation.
• Clinical Practice Office:  UNT office responsible for the coordination of all clinical field experiences related to initial teacher certification.
• Clinical Teacher:  A teacher candidate who is in their final semester completing clinical student teaching.
• Cooperating Teacher:  A certified teacher with at least three years of teaching experience in a partner district who is hosting a teacher candidate during Early Field Experience/Block B or Clinical Student Teaching. CTs teach, support, and monitor a clinical teacher’s growth into the teaching profession.
• Director of Clinical Practice:  UNT employee responsible for coordinating UNT clinical experiences with partner districts.
• Field Supervisor:  UNT employee assigned to each clinical teacher, responsible for on-site monitoring, mentoring, and evaluation during the clinical teaching semester.
• Growth Plan:  A Growth Plan is a written form initiated by university or district personnel when a teacher candidate displays a lack of progress that documents expectations that must be demonstrated by a teacher candidate to succeed in clinical teaching and be recommended to TEA for certification.
• Intern:  A graduate-level (Post-Bacc) candidate on a TEA-issued Intern or Probationary Certificate. Serves as the Teacher of Record while completing Practicum. This option is not available to Undergraduate students per TAC rule.
• Partner Districts:  Districts and campuses that host teacher candidates and collaborate with UNT’s Educator Preparation Program
• “Post-Bacc”: (Post-baccalaureate). The Post-Bacc teacher education program is only available to candidates with an earned bachelor’s degree.
• Internship: Candidates who have a Texas Education Agency Intern or Probationary Certificate do not clinical teach, they complete a full-year internship as the teacher of record in a school district.
• Professional Development Sequence/School Cadre (The Model is for EC-6 and 4-8 ELAR and Social Studies teacher candidates.):  Core group of preservice teachers assigned to a specific UNT partner school district for Block B (observation hours) and Block C (clinical teaching). Cadre members are pre-service teacher candidates, cooperating teachers, a Cadre Coordinator, and UNT field supervisors.
• Block B:  First semester of intensive clinical practice, 2 days (one full day, one half day) for 14 weeks for all undergraduate candidates in the EC-6/4-8 programs.
• Block C: Also called “Clinical Teaching” Six (6) Semester credit hours. For undergraduate EC-6 and 4-8 ELAR/SS candidates. Last semester before graduation.    Clinical teachers are placed in school district classrooms for no fewer than 14 weeks, 5 days/week for 100% of the district’s designated school day.
• Student Advising Office (SAO):  UNT office responsible for advising undergraduate EC-6, 4-8 ELAR/SS, and All-Level teacher education candidates (except music & art who are advised in their home college).
• Texas Education Agency (TEA): State Agency external to UNT that issues teaching certificates to eligible completers of UNT’s Educator Preparation Program.
• TExES Success Office (TSO):  UNT office responsible for the following tasks: Disseminating information about TExES state certification exams, Administering TExES practice tests to candidates, Documenting and reporting TExES results.
• Texas-Teacher Evaluation Support System (T-TESS): TEA required formal evaluation of clinical teachers completed by UNT field supervisors at least three times during clinical teaching.  Failure to achieve a score of Developing or higher on each domain on the final evaluation will result in a grade of NP for one or both clinical teaching courses.
• UNT Flexible Lesson Plan: UNT requires that all lesson plans used for formal T-TESS evaluations be submitted using the using the UNT Lesson Plan format. Clinical Teachers and Internship students will submit to UNT Field Supervisor at least 3 days prior to the scheduled evaluation date.  Each lesson plan must be approved by the field supervisor before the lesson is conducted.

Block B Teacher Candidate Expectations

Your role:

• Your first responsibility is to students in the district classroom/s to which you are assigned. Their safety, health, social and emotional well-being, and academic achievement should guide your decision-making every day.
• You are still a student and a learner, but you will be expected to act as a beginning professional educator at all times.
• As a guest in your host school (either in virtual or actual learning spaces) act accordingly.
• Your cooperating teacher, Cadre Coordinator, instructors and school-based colleagues are there to help you become the best possible teacher you can. Be open and responsive to their feedback, input, and ideas.

Responsibility to your students:

• You are a model for your students and they will regard you as another teacher.
• Everything you say and do conveys a message about who you are and what is important to you. Be aware of your role as a preservice teacher and self-aware as you work in classrooms.
• Learn students’ names, how to pronounce them, and pronounce them correctly. If uncertain, ask the student to help you. Never substitute a “nickname” for what the student has asked to be called.
• Contribute actively to a positive classroom and school culture.
• Establish and maintain high expectations for yourself and your students.
• Teach the whole student; recognize and be responsive to their social-emotional needs.
• Be prepared. Know your content, have a plan, and teach to the best of your ability at every opportunity.
• State your expectations in ways students can understand and ensure students understand them.
• When a student acts in unexpected ways, respond, don’t react. Stay in the solution by identifying the inappropriate behavior, listening to the student explain the cause, clarify (as needed) why the behavior did not meet expectations, and identify specific steps the student can take to rectify the situation and to do better.
• Establish relationships grounded in mutual respect and professionalism with everyone.
• The use of ANY technology or social media must be approved by your cooperating teacher and be for instructional purposes only.

Responsibility to the host school/your cooperating teacher:

1. Be discreet with any confidential information you are privileged to. Know all FERPA and COPPA laws. Along with meeting legal and policy guidelines for privacy, before you share any information, THINK about what you plan to say and whether you have reason to:

Is it True?

Is it Helpful?

Is it Important?

Is it Necessary?

Is it Kind?

2. Policies. Know and act in accordance with all school policies and procedures. Ask for a copy of district policies.
3. Professionalism. Establish professional relationships with school personnel (administrators, faculty, support staff), students and parents.
4. Schedule. Keep the same daily schedule as your cooperating teacher. Report to school on time and remain on campus throughout the designated school day.
5. Communicate Absences. Notify the school office, your cooperating teacher, and your cadre coordinator as soon as possible if absence due to illness is necessary.
6. Attire. Wear appropriate professional attire in compliance with school policy dress code.
7. Cell Phone. Your cell phone should be turned off and out of sight during class unless it is being used for instruction-related purposes.
8. Food and drinks (other than water) should not be consumed in the classroom unless part of a class activity.
9. Get engaged! What can you do to assist? What are the strengths and skills you bring that can support your cooperating teacher and students?  Say “Yes” to every opportunity offered. Participate in non-academic events to get to know the community and to see students outside the classroom.
10. Plan. Schedule dedicated time with your cooperating teacher to discuss your Collaborative Progress Log, ask questions, help plan for instructional activities, and ask for advice.
11. Be proactive about addressing your concerns and goals.
12. Learn. As permitted, attend any school-wide professional development, faculty meetings, student development meetings, sports events, club meetings, etc.

Responsibility to your Cadre Coordinator

• Submit by agreed-upon means, before or by Sunday afternoon, your weekly schedule showing when you will be teaching the following week.
• Notify your cadre coordinator immediately when changes occur to this schedule.
• Notify your cadre coordinator and cooperating teacher if absence due to illness is necessary.
• Welcome constructive suggestions and incorporate them in subsequent planning and teaching.
• Contact your cadre coordinator with questions or concerns.
• Attend all seminars/meetings.

Suggestions for Including your UNT Teacher Candidate in your Learning Community

• Let your students know that another “teacher” will be joining your learning community.
• Prepare a workspace for the teacher candidate.
• When contact is made for the first time with the teacher candidate, exchange phone numbers, email addresses, and preferred communication modes/times.
• Discuss emergency and health procedures such as COVID protocols, fire drills, lockdowns, illness, fighting, etc.
• Orient the teacher candidate 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.
• Explain the methods of record keeping for attendance, tardiness, grades, conduct, etc.
• Provide guidelines for the teacher candidate related to duties outside the instructional space (recess, lunch, dismissal, etc.
• Explain your philosophy of classroom management, the specific techniques that are to be used, and how behavioral issues should be addressed when the cooperating teacher and teacher candidate are both in the classroom.
• Share your methods and resources for engaging students in learning.
• Choose a specific time for planning on a daily/weekly basis.
•  Keep interactive lines of communication open and discuss issues that arise frankly, immediately, and one at a time.
• Invite the teacher candidate to faculty/curriculum meetings and parent/teacher conferences when appropriate.

Responsibility to the Cadre Coordinator

• Allow the teacher candidate to attend all required seminars/meetings which are part of the field experience.
• Participate in three-way Triad conferences with the teacher candidate and cadre coordinator.
• Communicate with the cadre coordinator on a regular basis. Contact them with questions and concerns.
• Performance problems that are not easily resolved should be identified and discussed as early as possible with the UNT cadre coordinator.
• Submit teacher candidate and cadre coordinator evaluations online through Foliotek.

Tips for Mentoring Success

Modeling

Modeling is key to a successful experience. You are a model for your student along with other teachers they observe. The more they see effective lessons and instructional strategies, the more confident they become with their own teaching. Scaffold your student into instruction/content as they are capable.

Unpack Your Teacher Thinking with Think Alouds

Think-aloud as you plan and reflect. Discuss the purpose for your choices. Reflect aloud on how instruction and management went so your student can internalize the reflection process. Some questions to “answer aloud”:

Why do you do what you do? Why not something else? What variables inform your choices? What about your philosophy and beliefs about children inform your choices? What did you like about the lesson? What would you do differently next time? Interns want and need to know what goes on in your mind. The modeling of self-reflection helps them to be vulnerable when it’s their turn to self- reflect on their choices, philosophy and teaching style.

Lesson Plan Writing

The students come with minimal lesson plan writing experience. Therefore, we give them a model to use for the year. All lessons must be written out prior to teaching, and reviewed & approved by the cooperating teacher. If students do not have a lesson plan, they do not teach!

Teacher Time

Give your student an opportunity to engage in the work of a teacher as soon as possible, whether they are taking a lead or supporting role. Ask them to take over daily routines such as attendance, lunch count, snack time as well as lesson Blocks such as calendar, read-aloud, SSR or advisory. Students do not take full control of the classroom first semester.

Student Observation, Reflection, and Feedback

The cycle: teach, reflect, give feedback. Think of post-observation feedback as a time when your student is learning to self-reflect using professional standards. If your student teaches a lesson, ask him/her/them to reflect first on what went well, what he/she/they would change for next time.

When the student has had a chance to illustrate his or her basic understanding of the lesson’s success, begin your feedback process. Discuss positives first, make links to their perspective, and give suggestions. Pick and choose the challenges you want your student to work on so he/she/they will be able to focus on improvement.

Possible Schedule For Your Teacher Candidate

This page provides a possible schedule for working with PDS I/Block B students in their clinical practice assignments. Each student knows his/her/their strengths and needs. Please allow her/him/them to participate and be engaged in this process.

WEEK 1:

• • Familiarize teacher candidate with schedule
  • Observe routines, procedures, management techniques
  • Get to know students’ names
  • Sketch the room arrangement (if in the physical classroom)
  • Observe students in other instructional settings if possible (art, music, P.E., etc.)
  • Determine any meetings that the teacher candidate may attend (PLC, ARD, faculty, etc.)
  • Familiarize teacher candidate with key personnel
  • Read aloud, observe cooperating teacher’s duties
  • Help to monitor and assist students
  • Become familiar with TEKS, teachers’ manuals, and other curricula.
  • Familiarize teacher candidate with grading procedures

WEEK 2:

• Allow teacher candidate to take on one of the daily routines as you feel comfortable— calendar, morning meeting, “bell ringer”, etc.
• Teacher candidate can assist with grading
• Allow teacher candidate to monitor independent practice or to reteach a lesson to a small group that did not understand or that was not present
• Discuss specific management events of the day
• Brainstorm with the teacher candidate about a bulletin board/center that might be needed so that the teacher candidate can work on this
• Recommend a student that might need one-on-one tutoring
• Teacher candidate continues to monitor during lessons

WEEK 3

• • Confirm whether or not your teacher candidate will be required to teach any lessons in your classroom and schedule these if possible.
  • Engage the teacher candidate in some instructional planning
  • Allow the teacher candidate to independently teach one element of a lesson –anticipatory set/focus, strategy, independent practice, teach a specific skill, monitor guided practice, etc.
  • Teacher candidate monitors or plans small group, enrichment, guided, mini-lesson activities

WEEK 4

• • Give teacher candidate increasing instructional responsibilities.
  • Do any grading, etc. that you deem appropriate
  • If feasible, allow teacher candidate to observe in other classrooms, sections, subjects
  • Request that teacher candidate gather any materials that are needed for the next unit of study—perhaps from library, websites, etc.

WEEK 5

• • Allow teacher candidate greater responsibility to deliver lessons—you and teacher candidate work this out— teacher candidate delivers lessons in certain subjects (spelling, math, handwriting, etc.), certain portions of the lessons— you make sure that the material is taught and the teacher candidate handles other parts of the lesson, or certain classes—you teach the first three sections class and the teacher candidate teaches the last section of the class

WEEK 6 AND BEYOND (IF APPLICABLE)

• • By this time, you and the teacher candidate will have determined what activities and responsibilities that are most appropriate. If more direction is needed, please contact the Cadre Coordinator.

Possible Engagements & Activities for Block B Teacher Candidates

1. Block B Time Record 
2. Block B Reflection
3. UNT EPP Stages of Intervention
4. Code of Ethics and Standard Practice for Texas Educators