Calling all student teachers and mentor teachers! Today we are discussing how student teachers can make the most of their student teaching experience, and how mentor teachers can provide an environment for feedback and flourishing. If you are about to become a student teacher OR if you are about to mentor a student teacher, check out these 8 tips for making the most of this opportunity.
As the Student Teacher
Congratulations! You are about to embark on an incredible, educational experience. You have also been entrusted with the responsibility of educating an entire classroom of students. You can do this!
1. Mindset Shift
Teaching is an incredibly humbling experience. Simply put, great teachers make it look easy, and teaching is in no way easy. You will get there eventually, but you have SO much to learn. You don’t know what you don’t know yet, so be open and excited for feedback.
2. Ask ALL the Questions
You are here to learn from a seasoned teacher, so leverage that opportunity to improve your craft. Ask questions about pedagogy, organization, content, questioning strategies, technology, classroom management, small groups, grading, parent communication, and more. You are there to learn, so learn! In the future, it will be rare to witness how a teacher does everything, so take advantage by observing and asking questions.
3. Gradual Release of Responsibility
You are going to learn the most by doing, so jump in! You and your mentor teacher will need to come up with a gradual release of responsibility with instruction. Start by observing and taking notes. Move onto leading a station or small group. Then eventually teaching a mini-lesson and full lesson. Eventually, you will be teaching for an entire day!
For the Mentor Teacher
Congratulations! You have been assigned a student teacher! You have been deemed a role model for future educators. Take pride in this fact; you have knowledge and experience to share.
4. Mindset Shift
A common misconception is that a student teacher will mean less work for you, the mentor teacher. Another adult to help plan, grade, and teach, right? Well, no. Your role is to teach your student teacher how to do all of those things and to do them well. This means that you will spend much of your time teaching, discussion, modeling, and providing feedback on every aspect of your classroom.
For example, instead of just handing them a stack of papers to grade, sit with them and grade with them. Ask them to point out common errors, possible misconceptions, how they could reteach a specific problem, and/or ways to provide partial credit. If they are instructing, you still need to be an active participant whether you are observing and writing feedback, willing to jump in if they need some help, or circulating to leverage the additional teacher in the room.
5. Develop a Relationship
A strong mentor and student teacher relationship is key to growth for the student teacher. You will need to create an environment that feels safe and supportive. Be open and vulnerable about your teaching experience, including challenges, to connect with your student teacher. Stay positive and remember that being a new teacher is incredibly difficult. Try to be the type of mentor that you wish you had!
6. Set Up a Plan
The goal for a student teacher is to be independently teaching in your classroom by the end of the semester. Develop a week-by-week plan that scaffolds from your student teacher observing your classroom to independently instructing your classroom.
You could start by having your student teacher review a warm-up, then move on to teaching part of the lesson, and then an entire short lesson. Start by having them observe you teaching these parts of the lesson for your morning classes, and then having them teach in the afternoon. Other great opportunities for student teacher instruction are running a station or a review game before a test. By the end of the semester, a student teacher will need to teach without observing first, so work backwards from that goal.
7. Feedback is a Gift
As the mentor teacher, you will need to build the foundation that feedback is not only welcome, but is the most vital part of student teaching. When providing feedback, remember to be specific and not overwhelm your student teacher. Your positive feedback should be prolific, actionable, and can cover anything you saw in the lesson, but your constructive feedback should focus on one area at a time. In the first few weeks, focus on how he or she manages the classroom and builds rapport with the students. In the next few weeks, focus on the instructional aspects.
Don’t wait until the end of the day to give feedback; provide feedback at the end of the class period, so they can implement it in the next class. Whenever I was observed by my administration, they would leave me a note with a “glow” and an “opportunity.” The opportunity was something I could implement right away like “give 5 more seconds of wait time.”
Ask your student teacher for feedback on your teaching too! This models that no one is above improvement and that you can learn from each other.
8. Include them on Everything
In my teacher certification program, most of my learning revolved around lesson planning and classroom management. And while those are two really big buckets, there is another GIANT bucket that wasn’t covered: ALL THE LITTLE THINGS.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of things teachers do and manage that a student teacher would benefit from learning about and working on:
- SPED paperwork
- Progress monitoring
- How to fix a paper jam
- Using an LMS, Google Forms, Power School
- Writing a sub lesson
You are going to make quite a team! Your students will benefit from having two teachers in the classroom this year. Everybody wins! Have you been a mentor teacher? A student teacher? Share tips below.
WHAT IS MANEUVERING THE MIDDLE?
If you find this information helpful, consider checking out more of our resources! At Maneuvering the Middle, we design and develop standards-based math resources for grades 5 – Algebra 1. Our curriculum provides high quality, engaging resources for students and provides teachers with planning resources and plenty of training.
- All Access: standards-based, on-level curricula available for grades 5 – Algebra 1
- Maneuvering Math: a skill-based intervention program for middle school math students
This post was written with the help of Kim Dierks and Ashleigh Elisk, our wonderful curriculum team members.
