How to foster a successful student-teacher and cooperating teacher relationship.

Do you want a student teacher next year? Next Semester? On Monday? On the very first day of school?!? 

It is that one particular question that seems to either spark excitement or dread for any teacher, whether they are a seasoned pro or just a newer teacher themselves. When I got asked if I wanted one on the very first day of school, I’m not going to lie, I panicked! 

Having a student teacher in your classroom can be downright scary, or it can be a blessing in disguise.   Think about it! 

• you already have an established routine
• you know how you want your classroom to run
• you know your students inside and out
• you like to be alone at some point in the day to decompress and run to the bathroom!  

Placing a student teacher in your room can change all of that.  Suddenly you have someone in your room all day, who basically is just as nervous as you are and having to do all the things they may or may not know how to do!  

I mean yes, sure they have a list from their university that they are required to do, but rarely does it match up with the reality and expectations of your classroom.  

This is where seasoned or newer teachers themselves may say “heck to the no”!  I do not want a student teacher! Or they may say YES! I finally can get the help I need or the break I “think” I can have! 

I’m here to say that there are pros and cons to having a student teacher and I am a true believer that the pros outweigh the cons and you have to remember that we all had to get our start somewhere.  

Pros and Cons of having a student-teacher:

Pros:  

You have help!   

 I mean come on you have an extra set of hands in your classroom!

They have brand new ideas and are fresh out of college! 

Their excitement for education can encourage you and spark your excitement that might be wearing off after 17 plus years of teaching.

They are efficient at technology.  

Hey, there student teacher how in the world did you do that thingy ma jig with Word? How did you get your PowerPoint slide to look like that? Where did that graph come from? You can do that on SmartBoard? (RIP my smartboard, man do I miss that thing!) 

 I mean the options are endless because I know I have learned a thing or a million from my student teachers and I wouldn’t change a thing. 

Cons:

Ok so here’s the negative…….

What if you and your student teacher aren’t really jiving?  

Like your personalities are not clicking and you have this person in your room, did I say it before? 

I’ll say it again!

 ALL DAY!

Just take a little break, it will be alright! 

They may not have a clear direction on what they are supposed to do.  

Did you give them all of the information that they need to be successful in your classroom? Don’t assume anything and definitely don’t try to make them read your mind.  If you think they should know what they are supposed to do, tell them your expectations. 

What is their teaching style? 

Are they following their lesson plans?  Do they have classroom management skills? How are the students responding to them? Are they being taken advantage of?

All of the previous questions can lead to negative results, but they don’t have to be!  All of these “cons” can be turned into “pros” and that my teacher friend is where you come into play.

How to foster a successful student-teacher and cooperating teacher relationship. 

So how exactly do you foster a successful student-teacher and cooperating teacher relationship? 

Here are 5 tips that will help ensure that your student teacher and you are both successful at your jobs.  Both the leadership and guidance will go hand and hand and you will not want to see your student teacher go.

5 tips to strengthen the student-teacher cooperating teacher bond. 

1. Give your student teacher a copy of your schedule, a seating chart, an old school grade book, your class rules and expectations, and textbooks.

Like I mentioned previously, don’t have them assume anything.  Be clear on your expectations of them and make sure they have all of the necessary materials that they need.  Tell them a little bit about each class you have and how you do any procedural items like homework etc.  

The old school grade book will be their friend.  If you are teaching anywhere in the 21st century, you likely do all of your grades online through a grading software program.  I do not keep an old school grade book but your student teacher should. You will likely not want them on your computer to enter grades daily.  However, teach them the system in case they work somewhere one day with the same program and they will thank you later.

#howdoIentergradesagain? 

2.  Give them access to all of your classroom materials

Nothing is worse than walking into a classroom where the cooperating teacher doesn’t share their materials with you. Trust me been there done that.  

During my first student teaching placement, I had access to all of the supplementals that my cooperating teacher used.  In my second student teaching placement, my cooperating teacher didn’t use a book and every material she used was in a locked filing cabinet.  

Imagine my dread when my cooperating teacher said that they wanted something done the exact way they did it, but wouldn’t share any resources with me.  They just gave me the topic and said do it. I definitely was scared because if it wasn’t exactly like how she did it, I was worried they wouldn’t like it! 

However,  being original and creative was the only option I had, which leads us to tip 3.

3. Let your student teacher be original and creative

Although you are giving them access to all of your classroom materials, they don’t need to copy your lessons by verbatim.  I always talked to my student teacher and told them how I taught a particular concept, but I always let them use their creativity to make it their own.  

This is where the magic happens my teacher friend! This is where the bond strengthens between the student teacher and the cooperating teacher and is how you learn from them!  This is where you get new ideas and activities for concepts that you have been teaching FOREVER!  

 It is almost like seeing something through a child’s eyes!  This is where the excitement for your love of teaching comes back and it feels like you just got hired at your dream teaching job!  

You take notes, ask questions, and ask your student teacher if you can have a copy of the activity so you can put it in your file cabinet!  

4.  Keep a journal for your student teacher

Write down positive remarks about what they are doing that you love!  Hey, I really liked how you told little Johnny or Suzie that you liked how their math brain was working today! 

Write down constructive criticism as well to discuss with your student teacher.  They are not perfect, neither are you. Giving them constructive criticism will not only help them grow as an educator, but it will help you as well.   

It will give you insight into your class that you may not be aware of as a teacher.

When you are teaching and you are in the heat of the moment, you may not notice little 

Johnny or Suzie doing some particular bad habit that you now notice as an observer.  

So not only are you writing it down to share with your student teacher, you are now aware of what to look for after they leave and are left to fend for yourself.  

Dear student teacher, please don’t leave! 

5. Write a professional letter of recommendation 

Your time with your student teacher is coming to an end and you now have university paperwork to fill out and as expected a letter of recommendation to write.  

This should not be difficult if you have kept a journal and you can reflect and thoughtfully write a letter recommending your student teacher to their future employer.  

Your student teacher will appreciate the kind words and will undoubtedly be ready to move on to their next placement or graduation more prepared because you took the time to strengthen your student-teacher and cooperating-teacher bond. 

Congratulations! You did it! You just made a future teacher’s teaching career that much better all because you said YES! I’ll take that student-teacher on the first day of school! 

A special thank you goes to my last 3 student teachers who have encouraged and motivated me to be the best teacher that I possibly can be.  

PS.  Do you need any help with motivating students in the classroom?

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Robin Cornecki

Hey there! My name is Robin and I am a secondary math teacher with over 19 years of experience! If you're a teacher looking for help with all the tips, tricks, and strategies for passing the praxis math core test, you're in the right place! I also create engaging secondary math resources for grades 7-12!

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