1. Be On Time
Punctuality is very important in the 'real world'. If you are late, you will definitely NOT start out on the right foot with your cooperating teacher.
2. Dress Appropriately
As a teacher, you are a professional and you are supposed to dress accordingly. Your dress lets the coordinating teacher know of your professionalism and dedication to your assignment.
3. Be Flexible Remember that the coordinating teacher has pressures placed upon them just as you have your own pressures to deal with.
4. Follow the School Rules
This might seem obvious to some but it is important that you do not break school rules. For example, if it is against the rules to chew gum in class, then do not chew it yourself. In addition, follow your own classroom rules.
5. Plan Ahead
If you know you will need copies for a lesson, do not wait until the morning of the lesson to get them completed.
6. Befriend the Office Staff
This is especially important if you believe that you will be staying in the area and possibly trying for a job at the school where you are teaching.
7. Maintain Confidentiality
Remember that if you are taking notes about students or classroom experiences to turn in for grades, you should either not use their names or change them to protect their identities.
8. Don't Gossip
You might even offend someone without realizing it. Remember, these are teachers you could be working with again some day in the future.
9. Be Professional with Fellow Teachers
Do not interrupt other teachers' classes without an absolutely good reason. When you are speaking with your coordinating teacher or other teachers on campus, treat them with respect.
10. Don't Wait to the Last Minute to Call in Sick
You will probably get sick at some point during your student teaching and will need stay home for the day. You must remember that the regular teacher will have to take over the class during your absence.
11. Show initiative in the classroom and the school
It is the responsibility of the student teacher to demonstrate professional growth. Show initiative by taking advantage of as many professional opportunities as possible, and accepting additional responsibilities when able. Volunteer to help supervise an after-school club or to assist with playground duties. Attend professional development and faculty meetings, discussing the topics with the cooperating teacher when appropriate. Participate in parent teacher conferences and interact with classroom volunteers.
12. Request Ongoing Feedback from the Cooperating Teacher
Cooperating teachers and university supervisors will provide formal feedback on lessons at designated times, but successful student teachers know that establishing a rapport with their mentors includes asking for feedback on other, more ongoing professional areas such as classroom management, parent communication, instructional materials, pacing, voice quality, etc. Focus on areas that need improvement; and if no specific areas are indicated, ask for suggestions on the aspects of teaching that still need fine-tuning.
13. Contribute Ideas and Materials to the Classroom
Cooperating teachers provide many ideas and materials for student teachers to use, but student teachers should not depend solely on what is readily available for instruction. Use other resources, such as the school’s professional library, professional journals, teaching magazines, and the Internet to find new ideas and materials for lessons, and then share these with the cooperating as well
Kelly, M. (2010). Top 10 tips for teachers. Retrieved 2 May, 2010 from http://712educators.about.com/od/teachingstrategies/tp/studentteaching.htm
New Teacher Resources (2010). Ten tips for student teachers. Retrieved 4 May,2010 from
http://www.teachersfirst.com/tenpoints.shtml
RESOURCES
http://teachersfirst.com/index.cfm
http://www.eslprintable/
http://www.k-3teacherresources.com/
http://www.primaryschool.com.au/free-teacher-resources.php
http://teachingtreasures.com.au/
http://www.sitesforteachers.com/
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/
http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/
http://www.nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/
http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/teachers/pd.html
http://www.ptc.nsw.edu.au/images/Header_Home.jpg
CROSS CURRICULAR SITES
Link to FUSE student and teacher sites on Dept of Education. https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/pages/Teacher.aspx
Tutput - online testing – compete against other kids real time - http://tutpup.com/
Interactive sites for Maths and Literacy - The beauty of this site is that most of the activities have been made by students http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/literacy.htm also interactive calculator
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/Calculator.html
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/Calculator.html
Sketching Symmetry - draw with this groovy sketcher to make crazy symmetrical patterns. http://www.techniquest.org/virtual/sketching
Interactive online games - A collection of educational free interactive computer based for students. http://url.edna.edu.au/X8vS
Design your own games using ClassTools. Very easy to use and kids have great fun playing the games at the end - http://www.classtools.net/main_area/quiz.htm
The call of the wild http://www.qag.qld.gov.au/kids/online_interactives Australian artist Justine Cooper invites children to play her simple game created especially for kids. The aim of the game is to set the animals free from the museum and return them to their natural habitat.
Lots of great activities in all learning areas - check it out http://www.copacabana-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/Get_Smart.htm
Lots of activities from across the curriculum areas on this site http://eduscapes.com/sessions/smartboard/
Free downloads for various curriculum areas http://www.senteacher.org/Files/?PHPSESSID=7883c3efc01ce07974fb679b33415742 This page lists cost-free software which has proven useful to teachers and parents of learners with special needs. Only software which is fully free for use in schools and at home is listed, no shareware or demo software is included.
Sites which work well on interactive whiteboards in the classroom. Subjects include - Literacy, Maths, Science and SOSE. Select a subject and age group http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Interactive.aspx?s=maths&a=f
Lots of English, Math and Science sites included here. Covers Primary & Secondary Levels. http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/15.cfm?s=15&m=429&p=251,index
General Whiteboard Resources covering all curriculum areas for use on an interactive whiteboard (or projected on a wall). Includes some great Powerpoint presentations. Caters for both Primary and Secondary levels. http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/ict/IWB/general_resources.htm
Great site for Literacy, Maths and Science themes - well worth checking out. http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/
Collections of Activities for K-5 classrooms. Lists several websites where collections of links to activities have been created. Some of these websites are even sorted into curriculum areas! http://www.amphi.com/departments/technology/whiteboard/eleminteractivesites.html
Links to Interactive General, Language, Math, Science and SOSE sites. http://www.fsdb.k12.fl.us/rmc/content/interactivesites.html
Provides tutorials as to how to use your whiteboard and how to create your own whiteboard presentations. http://www.fsdb.k12.fl.us/rmc/tutorials/whiteboards.html#resources
ENGLISH SITES
Students create their own stories using this great fun program. http://myths.e2bn.org/story_creator/
Songs, Poetry & Stories for Lower Primary - Baby karaoke - http://www.abc.net.au/parents/baby_karaoke/ This ABC site provides simple songs for singing to young children. The songs are provided as animations with sound, and subtitled with words highlighted as they are sung. So they can be used as a reading exercise as well.
Bananas in pyjamas http://www.abc.net.au/children/bananas/default.htm From the ABC, this website has a collection of interactive games, stories, music, and craft projects related to the Bananas in Pyjamas.
Bananas in pyjamas http://www.abc.net.au/children/bananas/default.htm From the ABC, this website has a collection of interactive games, stories, music, and craft projects related to the Bananas in Pyjamas.
Songtime is at http://www.abc.net.au/children/bananas/games/songtime/default.htm Children can select the musician and musical instrument for each section of the song then at the end, it is all played together.
Interactive literature site for Prep - 2 (can be used on a 12 month trial period) www.literactive.com
Interactive site for stories www.ziptales.com
OUTER SPACE - Great explanatory presentation of outer space - http://dingo.care2.com/cards/flash/5409/galaxy.swf
TYPING SITES
BBC - Schools Dance Mat Typing - A fun colourful website with animation and games introducing touch typing to children aged 7 to 11. I use this site with our students and they love it because it gets them using all the keys quicker than other programs I have used. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/
Fun Typing Games to challenge all levels of typists http://www.freetypinggame.net/play.asp
Keyboarding games - http://www.gamequarium.com/keyboarding2.htm
MATH SITES
Kinder Maths IWB Resources at: http://www.primaryschool.com.au/mathematics-lessonsresults.php?strand=Number&unit=Number%20IWB%20Resources&grade=K
Sites for telling time http://beeks.eu/swf/Railway.swe AND http://home.tiscali.nl/annejan/swf/timeline.swf
NCTM Illuminations – Early Yrs to VCE maths resources featuring 95 activities and 523 lesson plans as well as useful external links http://illuminations.nctm.org
Maths is fun – primary maths games and puzzles as well as worksheets, dictionary & topic. www.mathsisfun.com
Interactive maths – middle year math & science lesson plans, activities, tools, dictionary www.shodor.org/interactivate
Coolmath 4 kids – primary & middle yrs math activities, games, flashcards etc. www.coolmath4kids.com
Rainforest maths – interactives arranged by year level and topic www.rainforestmaths.com
Principles and standards for school maths – online maths activities for early & middle yrs – http://standards.nctm.org/document/eexamples/index.htm#Pre-K-2
Maths miscellany & puzzles – over 800 maths puzzles and games exploring logic, fractals, chaos, fallacies, visual illusions, calculus and more – http://www.cut-the-knot.org/
Count us in – number concepts for early & primary www.abc.net.au/countusin
BBC maths games – 12 games to develop skills with algebra, number, shape, measurement and data – www.bbc.co.uk/education/mathsfile/gameswheel.html
Play kids maths – math games with adjustable levels of difficulty – www.playkidsgames.com/mathgames.htm
Subtangent maths – maths interactives, including “Who wants to be a (maths) millionaire?” – www.subtangent.com/maths/index.php
