PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

Student teachers and cooperating teachers are reminded of the dual nature of the student teaching experience. The student teacher is both a student and a teacher. Facilitating learning among pupils while simultaneously improving one’s own teaching competence are the objectives of the student teaching experience and the mark of a professional teacher.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the cooperating teacher, and the student teacher share responsibility in providing planned, sequenced, systematic, and guided experiences for the student teacher that actively promote:

• The practice of teaching as articulated in the College of Education & Professional Studies' Conceptual Framework: The Teacher is a Reflective Facilitator;

• The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Teacher Standards (See Appendix A-1.);

• The development of cognitive, physical, social-emotional, ethical, and aesthetic abilities in the context of significant teaching responsibilities;

• The development of a philosophy of education that is sound, workable, evolving, articulated, democratic, and reflected in practice;

• The development and application of traditional and state-of-the-art instructional techniques, methods, and strategies that reflect the findings of research and the wisdom of practice;

• The facilitation of learning among all pupils in response to physical, cognitive, developmental, and behavioral needs, and cultural diversity;

• The assessment of teaching in terms of the needs of each individual pupil and the goals and objectives of school programs;

• The development of professional reflection, interests, attitudes, ideals, and accomplishments; and

• An understanding of the school as a learning community and as part of the larger community, the state, the nation, and the world.

The departments involved in teacher preparation programs have identified student objectives in the categories of knowledge, skills and dispositions to meet expectations of the UW-System and accrediting bodies. Varied assessment measures are utilized during student teaching to evaluate progress. In addition, the data collected are used in the on-going process of program improvement.