Working With Seniors
The Elementary Teacher Preparation Program thanks you for being willing to work with a senior-year teacher candidate as a Mentor Teacher (MT). You are an essential part of the success of the Elementary Teacher Preparation Program at Michigan State University. Your senior-year teacher candidate will be placed in your classroom for five school hours each week. Throughout the year long placement, the senior-year teacher candidate will be investigating her or his future work as a teacher through several assignments which are part of the 400 level elementary methods coursework. These assignments include writing and implementing a daily lesson plan in your classroom. Your senior-year teacher candidate will provide you more information about these assignments. Your work as a MT is a vital part of the development and mentoring of preservice teachers.
On the rest of this page, you will find information and resources to assist your work with Seniors as a Mentor Teacher.
Junior/Senior Mentor Teacher Guidebook
This guidebook provides information as to how to supporting the professional learning of teacher candidates. The guidebook also provides:- Contact information
- How field placements are organized
- Details about the TE 400 level coursework
- Responsibilities in working with Seniors
- Helping Seniors get the most out of their field experiences
- Mentoring practices
- Helpful Websites
Mentoring Practices
This helpful handbook provides ideas and advice about mentoring teacher candidates. While the primary audience of the book is for MTs working with interns, this handbook is a must read for all professional teachers. Any mentor teacher who has worked with teacher candidates will quickly acknowledge that it is complex and demanding work, and that, like all teaching, there is always more to learn about carrying out the mentoring role. That is because mentors are teacher educators who must provide appropriate guidance and support for a novice teacher whose professional practice is still developing. Use Mentoring Practices to help assist you in best practices related to mentoring teacher candidates.
Field Placement Log
The Senior(s) that you have in your classroom should fill out a field placement log regularly (kept in a folder in your classroom) so you and the Senior(s) have a record of days/times they were at the school and how they spent their time. This will help you keep a record of attendance and it's also a place to write reminder notes to the candidate(s).
MT Feedback Form – Seniors
You will be asked toward the end of the semester to fill out an evaluation and provide feedback of your teacher candidate. You will be sent a link to the evaluation. This feedback is given to the teacher candidate and helps the course instructors keep in touch with how candidates are participating in the classroom.
Additional Planning Resources
The following planning resources are available to guide Seniors in their lesson planning:
- The Unit/Lesson Planning Guide outlines key areas to address and provides a template for daily lesson plans.
- The Designing Lessons for Diverse Learners guide provides specific suggestions for making adaptations and accommodations.
