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WRITTEN STATEMENT
OF REFERENCE:
SUGGESTIONS
FOR COOPERATING TEACHERS
Cooperating
teachers are required to provide the Office of Field Experiences
with a signed written statement of reference for each student
teacher, as required by the Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction. These statements are filed for five years and
then destroyed.
Most
student teachers will also request that you provide them with
a signed written statement of reference because the Office
of Career Services at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
does not store written statements of reference or letters
of recommendation as part of a "placement file" that is mailed
to prospective employees. It is now the obligation of students
to obtain and keep statements and letters. This also
means that all statements of reference are "open" documents
to which students have access.
In
composing your statement, you are encouraged to review the
interim and final evaluation forms that you have completed
for the student teacher, noting especially areas of strength,
weakness, and improvement.
In
organizing your statement, it is recommended that you include
three sections:
SETTING
Describe the nature of this placement,
including number and size of classes, and characteristics
of students (e.g., socioeconomic status, gender, race and
ethnicity, general ability level). Also include information
about student teacher's involvement in any co- or extra-curricular
activities.
TEACHING
Include information reflecting the Wisconsin
Teacher Standards
ABILITY
(Appendix A-1)
and provide specific examples whenever possible
Standard
1: Central concepts, tools of inquiry, structures of discipline(s)
Standard 2: Student
learning and development
Standard 3: Student
differences, student diversity
Standard 4: Instructional
strategies
Standard 5: Individual
and group motivation, learning environment
Standard 6: Communication
skills, use of media and technology
Standard 7: Instructional
planning
Standard 8: Formal
and informal assessment strategies
Standard 9: Reflective
practice, professional growth, professionalism
Standard 10: Understanding
of school organization, relationship to community
POTENTIAL
AS TEACHER This
is the place where you indicate whether or not you can recommend
the student teacher as a viable candidate
for a position. The statement
should indicate the intensity of your recommendation
(e.g., recommend, strongly recommend, very strongly recommend;
adequate, fine, good, excellent, outstanding candidate). If
appropriate, you may want to include the level of position
for which you are recommending this person (e.g., early elementary,
intermediate grades, middle level, high school). You may
want to indicate the quality of this student teacher among
all the student
teachers you have
supervised (e.g., among the top 25% of the 12 student teachers
I have supervised). It is also appropriate to indicate if
you believe the success or effectiveness of the student teacher
as a beginning teacher will be enhanced by beginning teacher
induction support through a department chairperson, team leader,
or mentor.
Your participation
in teacher preparation is indispensable. Your acceptance of
the responsibilities involved in serving as a cooperating
teacher and your expenditure of time and energy in working
with a student teacher testify to your commitment to the profession
of teaching. The time and energy required to write a statement
of reference is equally important. Thank you for contributing
to the profession of teaching in such an important way.
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