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The Teacher Education Liaison's (TEL's) Responsibilities
Teacher Education Liaisons are usually teachers (sometimes principals) who agree to help make the partnership between school and university successful, to assist CTs and field instructors in their work with interns, and to attend regular monthly meetings with Team Two Program Personnel where they learn about, provide advice about, and sometimes make decisions for the teacher preparation program. They are a resource to tap for help in fostering effective communication and mentoring practices, and for advice on problem solving and communication.
Planning and Communication
- Attend meetings for TELs, and send a substitute if you are not available; keep current information about teacher education program on file (e.g., copies of assignments, memos), and gather information for program personnel as needed.
- 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.
- Help MSU’s cluster leaders to place juniors, seniors, and interns with collaborating teachers on schedules that work out for the MSU teacher candidates and the collaborating teachers. Communicate regularly with collaborating teachers about MSU students’ responsibilities and expectations for course assignments and get collaborating teachers’ feedback about those responsibilities and assignments.
- Communicate with cluster leaders about issues and problems that arise.
- Provide assistance to course instructors in communicating about course content and field assignments, and collaborating teachers’ questions about them. Get and communicate feedback on assignments and ideas about what students can do in schools in addition to course assignments.
- Communicate with field instructors about collaborating teachers’ concerns and about MSU students’ concerns that arise in the building. Assist the field instructor in organizing meetings (e.g., finding appropriate times, space) for CTs and interns.
- Communicate with the school’s principal about the progress of teacher education in the school and about any issues and problems requiring the principal’s attention or knowledge.
- Help establish and maintain a system for spending and accounting for field support funds including professional accounts.
- If the TEL does not wish to continue in the liaison role, notify the Team Leader in the spring and work with the principal and Team Leader to find a replacement for the following school year.
Supporting interns’ learning and collaborating teachers’ practice of teacher education
- Develop guidelines for problem solving with collaborating teachers and principal. As problems arise, work with teacher candidates, 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, 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, on the content of the courses in the TE program.
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