Observation Instrument Midterm-Final Evaulation
Coaching, Mentoring, and Close Collaboration with Schools
During your two years of teaching, you will have regular visits from an M.Ed. Teacher Mentor/Lecturer who will support you through observations, reflective practices, and analysis of your teaching. They will observe, evaluate, and mentor you throughout your intern experience. Throughout the program, a school-assigned site mentor, with whom you will meet regularly to discuss planning, classroom management, professional development, district regulations and responsibilities, and other aspects of teaching, will support you at your school site.
Your University Coach and Mentor
- Your Teacher Mentor/Lecturer will ensure you have access to ongoing support when you need it. They will work closely with your school district site mentor, assessing your individual needs and facilitating methods to incorporate your district’s unique institutional requirements.
- You can expect a minimum of four classroom observations each semester you are in the program, with a total of 16 classroom observations. Your midterm and final will be part of the four classroom observations. In addition, you will be asked to record one of your lesson and upload the video to GoReact, a teaching platform. This activity will connect to a self- reflection and self-assessment process.
- Observation Forms will be completed for each classroom visit for an ongoing assessment of your growth toward competence in the State of Arizona InTASC Standards. You can expect to receive ongoing feedback and direction toward the standards from your Coach and Mentor.
- Ultimately, the goal of the Teacher Mentor/Lecturer is to offer you another layer of support, helping you to achieve success and confidence in your own unique classroom environment.
- The M.Ed. Teacher Mentor/Lecturer contributions are an important part of the professional teaching and learning environment fostered by the M.Ed. program.
Selection of Site Mentors
The selection of Site Mentors is done through partnerships with school districts in Arizona. Program faculty and Clinical Practice Coordinators meet with district and school administrators to share the mission of the M.Ed. program and the mentoring goals for teacher candidates. The district administrators identify and endorse qualified classroom teachers to mentor teacher interns. Through conversation and observation, a Clinical Practice Coordinator determines that there is a learner-focused environment that incorporates the program’s mission and principles for teaching and learning, and that the Site Mentor demonstrates an understanding of the program and a desire to mentor teacher interns.
- Site Mentors must hold an Arizona standard secondary teaching certificate and have a minimum of three years of experience as a teacher in a content-specific 6th-12th grade classroom. Classroom teachers most often selected as Site Mentors have additional experience in teacher mentoring, cognitive coaching, and teacher evaluation.
- Training of, and support for Site Mentors is primarily provided by each county’s Clinical Practice Coordinator, who meets with each Site Mentor to share information about mentor and candidate responsibilities and program mission, and facilitates regular professional development opportunities to advance mentor skills. University Coaches and Mentors also support Site Mentors by meeting them personally at the onset of each semester to discuss processes and answer questions. The University Coaches and Mentors communicate and collaborate with the Site Mentors throughout the teacher candidate’s experience. The program’s smaller size and personalized approach enable the program staff to build and maintain close relationships with Site Mentors throughout the teacher candidates’ experiences in the classroom.
Site Mentor Qualifications
Professionals are selected as Site Mentors because they are:
- Employed as an Arizona certified, full-time teacher in the school in which you are teaching.
- Highly qualified and certified in Arizona with a minimum of three years of teaching experience in the aligned certification area.
- Certified in the area in which they are teaching with a major emphasis in the subject area in which the teacher candidate will be teaching.
- Approved as the Site Mentor by the authorizing school and/or district administrator.
- Current in their own fields, aware of new teaching methods, and flexible and receptive to new ideas.
- Actively interested in the development of teacher interns.
- Capable of working as effective team members with the administration and University Coaches and Mentors for the benefit of teacher interns.
- Committed to spending time planning and preparing for instruction with the teacher intern.
- Reflective--a self-evaluator who strives for ongoing personal and professional growth.
- Skilled in communicating their knowledge of teaching and learning to others.
- Enthusiastic toward teaching and working with teacher interns.