Working With Your Cooperating Teacher

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Your cooperating teacher is one of the people who will greatly influence the nature and impact of your practice-teaching experience (Guyton and McIntyre 1990). He or she will support you in a number of ways during your teaching practice – as guide and mentor, as critical friend, as expert, as model teacher, as evaluator, as counselor, and as resource person – so developing a positive working relationship with your cooperating teacher will make your practice-teaching experience both fruitful and positive. When you start your practice teaching many of the crucial decisions involved in planning and teaching your lessons may be made principally by your cooperating teacher, but as you gain experience and confidence you will gradually assume greater responsibility for all aspects of your teaching. Often your practice-teaching experience will begin with observation of the cooperating teacher's class, and later you will take over different areas of responsibility for teaching. During practice teaching you are likely to be involved in a different kind of experience from those you had during your campus program. The latter will most likely have focused on an academic or theoretical understanding of teaching and language learning, drawing on academic research and theories. But your practice teaching will focus more on the practical experience of teaching and your cooperating teacher may feel that this is more crucial to your professional development than your academic studies. This may pose a dilemma for you at times since you may receive different kinds of messages from what you were taught during your campus or training center program and from your teaching practice experience.