SCHOOL OF EDUCATION APPRENTICE TEACHING HANDBOOK

61 Pages·2013·1.09 MB·English

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

APPRENTICE TEACHING
HANDBOOK

For Special Education

2010-2011
Dear Apprentice Teaching Team:

At Webster University, the apprentice teaching experience culminates our teacher preparation
program. It represents the opportunity for students to grow toward becoming accomplished,
confident teachers. This ultimate effort requires teamwork. Each member of the team - the
apprentice teacher, the cooperating teacher, and the university supervisor - plays a vital role in
making this experience productive and enjoyable for all concerned.

This handbook is intended to prepare all members of the team for the apprentice teaching
experience. It outlines the expectations and responsibilities of each participant in this important
experience.

We expect that you will have questions. Please do not hesitate to call the Coordinator of
Apprentice Teaching and Field Experiences at 314-246-7582 or the Coordinator of Field
Placements, 314-968-7103.

Diane Cooper, Coordinator of Apprentice Teaching and Field Placements

Tracey Brenner, Coordinator of Field Placements

Fall, 2010
Spring, 2011

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The School of Education continues to develop a world of learners through
Knowledge, Leadership, and Life-long Learning.

School of Education Mission Statement

The School of Education at Webster University provides its students with the knowledge, experiences, and
practical tools that enable them to guide both themselves and others toward lifelong learning. The School is
a community of teacher-scholars who apply critical reflection and creative energies to enhance learning in
schools and other educational settings. The faculty strives to do this by modeling effective teaching
practices based on sound theory and research. The personalized approaches make for a challenging, yet
supportive environment that permits the risk-taking necessary for learning and growth. The School
encourages its faculty and students to work actively toward this end, keeping in mind that the actions must
be rooted in visionary yet realistic thinking. This thought and action process underscores the development of
an inner directed self-understanding, an outer-directed global perspective, and an appreciation of human
diversity that arises from both.

Goals of the School of Education

Webster University education candidates demonstrate knowledge of the subject matter, knowledge of
the learner, and knowledge of pedagogy based on inquiry and scholarship.

Webster University education candidates incorporate multiple assessment and instructional strategies to
support effective education practices based on research and theory.

Webster University education candidates reflect on the roles educators take as leaders of change through
collaboration with colleagues, students and families in schools and communities.

Webster University education candidates demonstrate respect for diversity through responsive teaching
and learning that values individual differences.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section I: The Apprentice Teacher 1

Section II: The Cooperating Teacher 7

Section III: The University Supervisor 9

Appendix: 10

1. Apprentice Teaching Contract 11
2. Lesson Plan Format 13
3. Instructional Plan 15
4. Instructional Plan Scoring Guide 16
5. Unit Plan 18
6. Unit Plan Scoring Guide 19
7 Professional Development Plan & Scoring Guide 22
8. Field Experience Observation Log 24
9. Observation Form For Productive Teaching Practice 26
10. Observation Form 27
11. Apprentice Teaching Mid-term & Final Evaluation Form 28
12. Apprentice Teaching Worksheet 29
13. The MoSTEP Standards Rubric 32
14. The School of Education Dispositions Proficiencies & Rubric 38
15. Cooperating Teacher Experience Evaluation 39
16. University Supervisor Experience Evaluation 40
17. Apprentice Teacher's Checklist 41
18. Cooperating Teacher's Checklist 42
19. University Supervisor's Checklist 43
20. Cooperating Teacher Data Sheet 44
21. CEC Code of Ethics & Standards of Practice 45
22. CEC Knowledge & Skill Base 50

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Section I: The Apprentice Teacher

The following is a series of general suggestions and guidelines intended to help you succeed in your
apprentice teaching experience:

• Apprentice teaching is full-time work. Guard against taking on additional obligations or coursework
during your apprenticeship. The experience requires enormous time and energy.

• Observe the schedule and calendar of your cooperating school, not Webster University, during your
apprenticeship. If Webster has a holiday not observed by your school, you report to school as usual on
that day. If your school observes a holiday not recognized by Webster University, enjoy the day off and
take care of your portfolio or some of your job application details. Your placement dates have been
selected in order to provide you with 16 full weeks of teaching on the cooperating school's calendar and
may not coincide with Webster University terms. A case by case decision will be made by the university
supervisor concerning make-up days for absences of apprentice teachers due to sickness, school
cancellations, etc. Make-up days may be required.

• Dress like a professional educator. Observe the standards of the school.

• Your primary responsibilities are to the pupils and to the school where you are teaching. You MUST
notify your cooperating teacher, the principal, and your supervisor as soon as possible, preferably the
night before, if for some reason you cannot get to your school on a particular day. You are also
responsible for ensuring that any lesson plans for which you have assumed primary responsibility are
transmitted to the school personnel who will implement these plans in your absence.

• You are in the school as an apprentice. You are there to learn by working closely with a professional
educator. Although you are not an employee, you are a participating member of the faculty, and
therefore, you should work with all school personnel in a cooperative and professional manner.

• Practice professional ethics. Demonstrate professional courtesy and confidentiality in interactions with
students, parents, and colleagues.

• You are expected to attend extra events and conferences, even if held outside regular school hours.
Consider these as opportunities to learn. Discuss parent teacher conferences with your cooperating
teacher and the school administration to see if your participation is appropriate.

• Be prepared. Read, research, and organize appropriate materials and develop effective instructional
plans. Integrate and apply subject matter knowledge and teaching theory under the guidance of your
cooperating teacher.
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• Be prompt, cooperative, diligent and willing to learn. Your daily schedule will be established by the
cooperating teacher and university supervisor.

• Don’t hesitate to ask your cooperating teacher and your university supervisor for help if you are unsure
about any issue. Apprentice Teaching should be a learning experience for you. Your cooperating teacher
and university supervisor are experienced professionals interested in helping you become the best
teacher you can be. Trust their judgment and advice and give their suggestions a fair trial.

• Be positive. Teaching is tough. In fact, at times it seems nearly impossible. Expect to be tired, but please
persist. Learning is possible and can be thrilling. Draw energy from the successes of your students.

• Relax. Teachers carry memories of their apprentice teaching experience for many years. They smile over
pleasant memories and reminisce about experiences, which seemed traumatic at the time. You will
survive and so will your students.

• The school must provide a substitute in the absence of your cooperating teacher.

• Problem situations might affect the successful completion of apprentice teaching. The university
supervisor, in consultation with the apprentice teacher and the cooperating teacher, may develop a plan
of assistance or recommend termination of the apprentice teaching placement. The apprentice teacher
may be required to do additional work. The School of Education of Webster University reserves the
right to extend or terminate an apprentice teaching placement.

Evaluate your own progress and development in the role of teacher at the mid-term and final evaluation
conference. This self-evaluation will help the cooperating teacher and the university supervisor provide
useful feedback to you on your teaching performance.

• Phone the university supervisor when there is a necessary absence or if school is closed for any reason.
In addition, you should follow your school's policy for unplanned absences (calling in sick).

• Request all materials needed to apply to the state for certification from the Coordinator of Teacher
Certification. These forms will be distributed and discussed during a session of the Apprentice Teacher
Seminar.

• Keep copies of your evaluation forms, narratives, etc. for your job search file.

• Complete your program portfolio for submission immediately following completion of the final
Apprentice Teaching seminar.

Listed below are the expectations of Apprentice Teachers in Special Education. As an apprentice teacher
you will:

Follow the schedule of your cooperating teacher and attend all before and after school meetings and
activities. This is a minimal expectation. You may find that you will need to arrive earlier and/or
stay later than your cooperating teacher does.
Keep an organized binder of all lesson plans and reflections. This binder will be reviewed by the
university supervisor at each observation and contribute to your lesson planning point total.
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Review the School Handbook, Curriculum Guides, IEPs, BIPs, IHPs during the first week of your
placement. Observe the students in multiple settings—general education classes, specials, related
services, cafeteria, extra curricular activities.
Create a student file for each student on the caseload by the end of the second week. This student
file should incorporate the results of your observations in multiple setting, highlights of the IEP and
other important document. Information included in this file should be: education diagnosis,
educational strengths and areas of need, behavioral considerations, goal and objectives and any
other relevant background information that you will need when planning. The summary should be
no more than 1 page for each student.
Submit a copy of your daily schedule to the university supervisor at the first visit.
Submit the Assignment Timeline and Scheduling Matrix by the end of the third week.
Create a scheduling matrix that includes: the time period/activity occurring, students involved in
the activity, personnel responsible for implementing the activity, specific goals and objectives being
addressed in the activity. For those students and activities where you are not directly providing the
instruction, indicate how you will monitor the student performance and progress on the relevant
goals and objectives. Be sure you have included information regarding when students receive any
therapies or related services and participate in classes in the general education setting. Also include
information related to paraprofessional breaks and lunches. (The matrix may be one large master
matrix or you may need to complete individual matrices for each student.)
Write lesson plans for every instructional period you teach. The lesson plans need to follow the
format and contain the level of detail taught in Methods II. A copy of the lesson plan should be
submitted to your cooperating teacher for review no later than 2 school days prior to when it will be
taught. The lesson plan you will use for each scheduled observation should be e-mailed to the
university supervisor no later than 48 hours prior to the observation. Once you have demonstrated
proficiency in the planning and implementation of lessons during observations by the university
supervisor, a briefer version of lesson plans will be discussed and accepted.
Identify a professional development goal related to your performance as a teacher. Develop a
system to measure your progress toward this goal as detailed in the Professional Development Plan
Scoring Guide. One of the observations by the university supervisor should be related to your plan.
Based upon informal assessment of an individual student, design and implement an instructional
plan as detailed in the Instructional Plan Scoring Guide. The plan should be implemented for at
least 3 weeks so you will need to plan for about a 6 week segment. You will implement your plan
during one of the observation by the university supervisor.
Design and teach a 4-6 lesson unit as detailed in the Unit Plan Scoring Guide. One of the lessons
the university supervisor observes will be from your unit.
Complete at least four weeks (or the equivalent) of intensive teaching. During this period, you are
responsible for all aspects of teaching (e.g. classroom management, scheduling, supervision of
paraprofessionals, lesson planning, implementation and evaluation of all lessons, data collection for
IEP objectives)
Develop and implement a plan for transitioning instructional periods back to your cooperating
teacher by the end of the 15th week.
During the last week of your apprentice teaching assignment, you will observe teachers at your
school or other settings that your cooperating teacher has identified as good practitioners. These
observations will be done through your newly tuned “teacher expectations and performance” eyes.
You will want to take note of ideas and practices you want to keep in mind for future
implementation.
Learn, grow and enjoy!

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Overview of Assignments and Point Values – Revised Spring, 2009

Assignments Point Value
Disposition to Teach / 50 points
Daily Lesson Plans / 175 points
Instructional Effectiveness /200 points
Teacher Work Sample / 150 points
Scheduling Matrix and Assignment Timeline / 50 points
Thematic Unit / 150 points
Instructional Plan / 100 points
Professional Development Goal / 50 points
Professional Behavior / 75 points
Total / 1000 points
Grading: A 930-1000 points B+ 880-899 C+ 780-799 D+ 680-699
A- 900-929 points B 830-879 C 730-779 D 630-679
B-800-829 C-700-729 D-600-629

Apprentice teachers are required to meet with their university supervisor outside of the apprentice teaching setting for
conferences that will be held at a mutually agreed upon time and place. These conferences will occur on at least a bi-
weekly schedule throughout the course of the semester. (The frequency of these conferences may be adjusted at the
discretion of the supervisor.) Students are welcome to submit assignments early for feedback; upon request an assignment
for which a student has received below a B may be resubmitted. In that case the final grade for that assignment will be the
average of the two grades. Assignment which are not handed in by the deadlines agreed upon will be penalized by 1/20th
(e.g., 5 points on a 100 point assignment) for each week they are late unless previous arrangements are made with the
supervisor. No assignments will be accepted (initial or resubmission) after the last day of class. Students who do not
complete the requirements of the course must contact the supervisor prior to the end of the course to complete an
Incomplete Course form; otherwise, a NC will be issued.

No form of academic dishonesty will be tolerated. According to the Webster University Student Handbook academic
dishonesty includes: Fabrication--Falsifying, inventing, or misstating any data, information, or citation in an academic
assignment, field experience, academic credentials, job application or placement file and Plagiarism--Using the works (i.e.
words, images, other materials) of another person as one's own words without proper citation in any academic assignment.
This includes submission (in whole or in part) of any work purchased or downloaded from a Web site or an Internet paper
clearinghouse. All assignments which are starred *** in this syllabus must be submitted by hard copy as well as electronic
copy. The electronic copy will be turned sent to the turnitin database to determine if any part of the assignment has been
copied and not properly cited. Students who plagarize will earn “no credit” for the assignment. At the discretion of the
supervisor, the student will fail the course or be referred to the department chair and dean for disciplinary action.

This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the supervisor.

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A student who is removed from or withdraws from apprentice teaching must pass apprentice teaching during the
second placement arranged or they are no longer eligible to pursue teacher certification. (Aprroved by UEICCC
5/1/06; Adopted by the Department of Teacher Education 7/6/06).

Academic Honesty and Plagiarism Policy
The Webster University School of Education faculty requires students to honor principles of academic
honesty. Students are expected to practice academic honesty when they take tests, produce homework, or
create original work.
If a student is found to have committed plagiarism in any of his/her courses the following Plagiarism Policy
will be implemented:
1st offense Student will take online Plagiarism course at the Academic Resource Center and rewrite the
assignment.
2nd offense Student will receive a zero percent on the assignment.
3rd offense Student dismissed from the Teacher Education program and expulsion from the university will
be recommended by the department.
(Approved by the Teacher Education Department, May 2009)

Remediation Policy for Apprentice Teaching

Any student removed from Apprentice Teaching by the school or Webster University or who
receives a C- or below in Apprentice Teaching must successfully complete a semester of
remediation prior to being placed for a second time.
The student will work with a Webster University mentor from his/her major department during
the following semester focusing on the skill, content or other deficits identified during the
practicum experience. During the semester of remediation the student may request in writing a
second placement from the Coordinator of Apprentice Teaching and Field Experiences.
The Coordinator of Apprentice Teaching and Field Experiences will determine if the remediation
has been successful and a second placement for Apprentice Teaching is warranted.
(Approved by the Teacher Education Department, May 2009)
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Assignment Due Date Planning Sheet

(Complete this by the end of your third week of apprentice teaching and submit to your supervisor.)
Week of: Assignment due:

Assignments:
1) Scheduling matrix (need to complete this within the first three weeks of apprentice teaching).
2) Develop student summaries.
3) Identify a professional development goal and develop a plan to meet this goal. (You will need at least
3 weeks to implement this goal so plan time to 1) develop the goal, 2) implement it, and 3) reflect on
it.)
4) Unit plan- Please plan out when you will be completing each of the following individual
components: PLEASE NOTE: This assignment must be ready for implementation by week 10.
a. Topic for unit plan is determined.
b. Pre-assessment is designed and implemented.
c. Lesson plans are developed including the adaptations you will make for individual students,
plans to incorporate critical thinking skills, how you will use verbal, non-verbal and media
communication techniques, (and if appropriate, how you will use technology within the unit).
d. Unit is implemented.
e. Post-assessment is designed and implemented.
5) Instructional plan- Please plan out when you will be completing each of the following individual
components: PLEASE NOTE: This assignment must be ready for implementation by week 10.
a. Informal assessment is designed
b. Informal assessment is implemented (You will probably need multiple days to do this.)
c. Instructional plan designed.
d. Instructional plan implemented (You will need at least 3-4 weeks to implement your
instructional plan.)
6). Observations of three teachers