Cooperating Teacher Role

As mentors, cooperating teachers are in a unique position to directly support the development of observation and reflection skills required for the edTPA performance assessment. As this mentorship occurs, three important principles include:

• edTPA is real! Candidates should complete assignments in cooperating teachers’ classrooms (including lessons, informal inventories, and observations) that are relevant to SIUE teacher preparation coursework.
  
  
• edTPA should benefit the cooperating teacher! Candidates should complete assignments in ways that complement the cooperating teachers’ instruction. Together, teacher candidates and field supervisors will coordinate the SIUE assignments with the current classroom activities.
  
  
• edTPA is a licensure exam! Candidates may not use cooperating teachers to edit the work they do on the edTPA licensure exam or take credit for ideas that belong to the cooperating teacher.

For more information about appropriate support for teacher candidates completing edTPA tasks, Please see the Guidelines for Supporting Candidates. You may also click on the password protected links at the right side of this website to access password-protected sites describing each program’s edTPA course assignments.