Letter+to+CTs

September 15, 2010

Dear Cooperating Teacher,

Thank you for agreeing to work with and mentor a teacher assistant this semester. I am looking forward to meeting you and sharing this responsibility with you. I will conduct two observations of your teacher assistant teaching a full class. Observations also will be conducted by College of Education (COE) personnel.

Some cooperating teachers wonder what their teacher assistants are supposed to do, how much they’re supposed to teach, and so on. The English Department at Grand Valley has put together a brief list that should help you understand our expectations for your teacher assistant. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

The English Department expects that all teacher assistants will: • gain significant experience in planning lessons in literature, composition, and language study; teacher assistants should go over lesson plans, tests, and/or quizzes used in the lesson with the cooperating teacher on a timeline requested by the cooperating teacher but at least one day prior to teaching; • gain significant experience in working with students individually, in small groups, and in large groups; • gain significant experience in responding to students’ writing; • gain significant experience in leading classroom discussions of literature; • receive regular, substantive feedback from the university supervisors and the cooperating teacher; • begin, after a brief period of observation, to interact with students on a regular basis (taking attendance, giving assignments, checking work, presenting mini-lessons, leading entire class sessions) and, depending upon the desires of the cooperating teacher and the readiness of the assistant, be allowed to “take over” daily teaching responsibilities for whole classes. The GVSU COE requires at least three weeks of “lead teaching” in at least one class. Some assistants will lead a class for the entire semester, taking over after a brief time of observation and partial responsibility. Some assume responsibility for one class initially and then move to a different hour. Others assume responsibility for one class initially and gradually add other classes.

Again, thank you for working with a teacher assistant this semester. If you have any questions, feel free to send an email message or call me at anytime. I am on campus on Wednesdays, so calls to my cell phone, given my work at home and in schools on other days, are welcome.

Sincerely,

Lindsay Ellis, Assistant Professor of English Education 616-331-2994 (office), 616-340-6937 (cell) ellisl@gvsu.edu