The purpose of evaluating the student teacher is to recognize areas of strengths as well as areas where improvement is needed with an aim toward continued professional growth. This evaluation form and accompanying rubric has been created to provide a more complete and accurate description of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions expected of UNK student teachers. The cooperating teacher and student teacher should carefully examine this form during the first week of student teaching to become familiar with expectations. Questions about this evaluation form, rubric, or any aspect of this process that are unclear should be addressed to the university supervisor during his or her first visit.
Please note that there is a box under each subsection marked "EVIDENCE." Evaluators are expected to give some verification or illustration of one or more of the marked competencies, especially if the assessment is extremely high or extremely low.
The mid-term evaluation has 3 parts.
- First, the student teacher needs to complete a copy of the evaluation form as a vehicle for self-reflection. The cooperating teacher is also asked to complete a copy of the evaluation.
- Secondly, the cooperating teacher and student teacher discuss the results in a formal or informal conference.
- Finally, the student teacher, with the assistance of the cooperating teacher, sets goals for the remaining weeks and communicates those to the university supervisor. The university supervisor can also suggest areas for growth.
If the student teacher is in an 8-10 week placement, mid-term process should be completed by the 4th-5th week. If the student teacher is in a 16-week placement, mid-term process should be completed by the 7th-8th week. If the student has more that one cooperating teacher in a placement, each teacher may fill out a mid-term evaluation, but emphasis should be given to the evaluation of the primary cooperating teacher. The student teacher should sign, and be given a copy of, the cooperating teacher's mid-term evaluation during the second step of this process.
Since the mid-term is a formative evaluation, it will not become a part of the student teacher's permanent record. Evaluators should refrain from unrealistic ratings that give no room for improvement or fail to challenge the student teacher. Conversely, evaluators are reminded that student teachers are at the beginning of their careers and should not be compared to experienced teachers.
At the end of the student teaching experience, both the cooperating teacher(s) and the university supervisor(s) will assess student teacher performance by completing a copy of the evaluation form, using the accompanying rubric. The final evaluation should give student teachers a clear picture of their strengths and limitations as beginning teachers. The student teacher should sign, and receive a copy of, the final evaluation from both the cooperating teacher and the university supervisor. Another copy of the evaluation needs to be sent to the KASE Office using the post-paid envelope.
If the student teacher is completing two 8-10 week placements, both the cooperating teacher and the university supervisor should complete a final evaluation at the end of each placement. If the student teacher is completing one 16-week placement, both the cooperating teacher and the university supervisor should complete the final evaluation at the end of week 15.
Student Teaching Rubrics: