Elementary Internship Year Roles and Responsibilities

Mentor teacher

Mentor teachers are experienced teachers who take major responsibility for guiding, supporting and assessing interns' learning to teach across the year.

Major responsibilities include:

	o	arrange classroom-based learning opportunities that support the intern's development as a novice teacher across the school year;

	o	assist intern in developing and implementing personal and professional learning goals;

	o	assist interns in getting to know students, parents and school colleagues;

	o	meet with intern at least once a week at a regularly scheduled time to co-plan; share decisions, ideas and observations; and discuss questions regarding the teaching and learning of everyone in the classroom -- students, the intern, and the mentor teacher;

	o	model the intellectual work of teaching by sharing goals and beliefs, co-planning, discussing dilemmas and "thinking aloud" while teaching, co-teaching, and talking with the intern about the teaching and learning in the classroom;

	o	help the intern gain familiarity with district curriculum and grade level objectives, school policies, curricular resources;

	o	participate in assessing the intern's progress at the goal-setting, mid-terms, end-of-the-semester and end-of-the-year conferences;

	o	participate in writing placement papers for the intern at the end of the year;

	o	communicate with the MSU field instructor on a regular basis about the intern's learning and professional attitudes and behaviors;

	o	participate in professional development activities for mentor teachers (e.g. summer institute, MT study group, TE 501 seminars as schedules allow).

Field Instructor

As the program's representative, the MSU field instructor supports the learning of interns and the work of mentor teachers with interns in one or more schools.  The MSU field instructor works with interns and mentor teachers both individually and in groups.

Major responsibilities of MSU field instructors include:

	o	meet with mentor teachers regularly, both individually and as a group, to support their work with their intern, assess the intern's progress, clarify expectations, facilitate problem solving, and discuss seminar assignments;

	o	plan and lead the TE 501 guided-practice seminar for their group of interns;

	o	observe individual interns in their classrooms and confer with them about their planning and teaching on a regular basis;

	o	communicate with the principal(s) about interns' progress and Team 3 program activities;

	o	assist interns in developing and implementing personal and professional goals;

	o	convene the goal-setting, mid-terms, end-of-the-semester, and end-of-the-year conferences with interns and their mentor teacher to assess the intern's growth and learning and to assign the final grade for TE 501 in consultation with the mentor teacher;

	o	keep written documentation of the progress of each of their interns;

	o	write end-of-the-year placement papers, with the mentor teacher's participation, for each of their interns;

	o	communicate with the school's teacher representative about Team 3 program activities and general building questions or concerns and refer problems to appropriate Team 3 personnel when needed;

	o	participate in staff meetings for MSU field instructors and other Team 3 meetings as appropriate.

Interns

As novices, interns engage in their own learning as well as contribute to the learning of students and others.  Expectations for interns are found in their course syllabi, the Program Standards, and Team 3 policies.

Major responsibilities related to their school experiences include:

	o	participate, with their mentor teacher, in creating opportunities for learning to teach;

	o	participate in providing for the intellectual, social, and emotional growth and welfare of students;

	o	follow Team 3, school, and district policies and procedures regarding reporting absences, dress code, and other forms of professional conduct;

	o	introduce themselves to school staff and personnel and be knowledgeable about the role(s) they have in the school;

	o	attend faculty meetings, in-services, parent conferences and other school and district functions as appropriate;

	o	prepare lesson and unit plans for teaching responsibilities and give copies to their mentor teacher and MSU field instructor;

	o	arrange weekly meetings with their mentor teacher to co-plan; share decisions, ideas and observations; and discuss questions regarding the teaching and learning of everyone in the classroom -- students, the intern, and the mentor teacher;

	o	arrange regular times for their MSU field instructor to observe their working with students and to talk with them about their teaching;

	o	keep their MSU field instructor informed of schedules, activities, and events in the classroom or school that may interfere with the MSU field instructor observing and conferring with them;

o	participate in  the goal-setting, mid-terms, end-of-the-semester, and end-of-the-year conferences and document their growth in learning to teach through written reflections and forms for these conferences.