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The Cluster Leader's Responsibilities
The cluster leader works on a regular basis with a set of schools to foster communication among collaborating teachers and course instructors and to make field placements for juniors, seniors and interns. Cluster Leaders also foster communication among course instructors, field instructors, and collaborating teachers during the internship year and assist in developing innovative mentoring practices.
Planning and communication
- Attend meetings for TELs; keep current information about the teacher education program on file (e.g., copies of assignments, memos).
- Help to plan and conduct periodic meetings for collaborating teachers, focused on both procedural and substantive issues.
- Promote the development of a shared language that university and school personnel can use to speak more clearly about the goals, methods, parts, and people of the teacher education program.
- Place juniors, seniors, and interns with collaborating teachers and work with course instructors to assure good communication regarding field assignments.
- Respond to e-mail communications from interns, CTs, and program personnel in a timely manner.
- Communicate with collaborating teachers about MSU students' responsibilities and expectations for course assignments, and get collaborating teachers' feedback about those responsibilities and assignments.
- Communicate with other cluster leaders about issues and problems that arise.
- Communicate with course instructors about course content and field assignments, and collaborating teachers' questions about them. Get and communicate feedback on assignments and ideas about things students can do in schools in addition to assignments.
- Communicate with field instructors about collaborating teachers' concerns and about MSU students' concerns that arise in the building.
- Help plan, and participate in, the regular meetings of field instructors.
- Participate in weekly meetings of LAET Coordination Staff.
- Communicate with school principals about the progress of teacher education in their school and about any issues and problems requiring the principal's attention or knowledge.
Supporting interns' learning and collaborating teachers' practice of teacher education
- Develop guidelines for problem solving with collaborating teachers and the principal. As problems arise, work with students, collaborating teachers, field instructors, course instructors, and the principal, as needed, to solve them.
- Represent collaborating teachers and school staff in relations with the university personnel, helping to assure that their perspectives are known when plans and decisions are made.
- Help interns and collaborating teachers to develop shared understandings about how they will work together in the year-long internship to support the intern's learning while teaching the class.
- Talk with collaborating teachers about the practice of teacher education in the school. Provide collaborating teachers with useful readings, e.g. on mentoring, or on the content of the courses in the TE program.
- Provide in-classroom support for collaborating teachers and interns, as requested.
- Provide collaborating teachers feedback on their written evaluations of MSU students, as requested.
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