Throughout the teacher candidate experience, the Cooperating Teacher and the Teacher Candidate should function as a team to engage in cooperative planning, teaching, and evaluating.
During the early part of the experience, the Cooperating Teacher will handle the major responsibility for planning, teaching, and evaluating students. Beginning with orientation, the Teacher Candidate will progress through an observation and participation phase before assuming full teaching responsibility.
Before a Teacher Candidate assumes major responsibility for teaching a class, they should observe and participate in the classroom (both yours and other teachers’). To be effective in this role, they must have specific items in mind to look for during observations of the regular teacher and the pupils.
The Cooperating Teacher assists in the observation phase by:
During a 16-week student teaching placement, Cooperating Teachers are responsible for a minimum of six formal written observations for their Teacher Candidate. An 8-week placement requires three formal written observations.
These observations should be shared with the Teacher Candidate and their University Supervisor. In addition, each Cooperating Teacher must complete a written final evaluation of their Teacher Candidate.
The Teacher Candidate should assume some responsibility immediately. Participation is intended to help the Teacher Candidate gain confidence. Possibilities for participating include: giving assignments; reading a story or poem; assisting with supervision of students; sharing in lesson planning; and sharing special talents or experiences.
To host a Teacher Candidate for student teaching, Cooperating Teachers must:
Some districts also require tenure in order to host teacher candidates.
Cooperating Teachers are given stipends for hosting Teacher Candidates. According to Minnesota State regulations, these stipends are $75 for hosting an 8-week student teaching experience and $150 for hosting a 16-week student teaching experience.
Cooperating teachers should complete stipend forms with the Office of Clinical Experiences. This paperwork will be mailed to you for signature.
Often, the formal written and signed agreement between the school district and St. Cloud State requires these stipends to go into a district pool of professional development funds. Sometimes districts will redistribute stipends directly to the teachers, and in some cases, the OCE sends stipends directly to the Cooperating Teacher. Contact your district Human Resources office to find out more specific information.
Contact the Office of Clinical Experiences at (320) 308-4783 or oce@stcloudstate.edu.
Please include the following:
Teacher Ccandidates can find a wide variety of field experiences across grade levels and subject areas. Please refer to the link below for more information.
In addition to the formal written observations (see “Written Observations” above), Cooperating Teachers are also expected to meet with the teacher candidate and sign off on a midterm evaluation. At the end of the student teaching experience, the Cooperating Teacher will also complete a final summative evaluation, including a written narrative documenting the Teacher Candidate’s experience and demonstrated skills.
These forms can be found in the Student Teaching Handbook, found on the Student Teaching page under “Resources.”
Specific College of Education and Learning Design departments may also have additional requirements.
Developed for educators by educators, edTPA is the first nationally available, performance-based assessment for beginning teachers. The PDF below offers information and guidance to P–12 teachers as they partner with preparation programs to support candidates completing edTPA.
Cooperating Teachers can also find more information on the edTPA page.