Overview of Mentor Program
The College of Science Teacher Preparation Program relies on mentor teacher partners in area middle and high schools to provide high-quality field experiences for our prospective teachers. Mentor teachers can be involved at three levels of the program, as described below. Mentor teachers receive a stipend for their work with prospective teachers, and documentation of hours spent for re-certification.
Classroom Observations
Students taking the first two courses in the program, STCH 250 and STCH 310, complete 16-20 hours of classroom observations during each of those courses. Students complete observation tasks that were created by mentor teacher partners. The mentor teachers' role is to select appropriate observation tasks and discuss the prospective teachers' observations with them.
Classroom Internships
Students in STCH 410 complete an eight-week internship, during which they work with the same class each day that it meets. Students co-teach and co-plan, and teach the class for a minimum of two weeks during that time. The mentor teachers' role is to involve the interns with their one class as much as possible, guiding the interns in planning, teaching, and grading as well as sharing with them some of the "hidden" intricacies of teaching.
Student Teaching
In the last semester of the program, prospective teachers complete a semester-long student teaching experience. They assume complete responsibility for four classes for a minimum of four weeks, and are in the classroom every day that school is in session. The mentor teachers' role is to guide the student teachers' professional development over the course of the semester, helping them to plan, teach, assess, as well as sharing with them all the "hidden" intricacies of teaching.