FAQ | wsuct

Frequently Asked Questions

What do the different phases of teacher candidates mean?
What should my teacher candidate be doing while in my classroom?
What does WSU expect from a cooperating teacher?
How do I log onto Watermark Student Learning and Licensure to evaluate work and time logs?
When are things due for my teacher candidate?
How do I request a letter from OPFE to document my CT experience?
What is edTPA and what is my role in edTPA as a CT?
What do I do if I have a concern about my teacher candidate?
Are candidates expected to make up time for any days they miss from the classroom?
Do I get paid for hosting a WSU teacher candidate?
Can my teacher candidate substitute teach for me?

1. What do the different phases of teacher candidates mean?

Phase 1 indicates a teacher candidate who is early in his or her experience. Some programs have only one phase 1 experience, while other programs have two phase 1 experiences. These teacher candidates are ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS, not observers. They are learning what it means to be a teacher. This is a great time to be helping the teacher with regular duties and working one on one or in small groups with students. We evaluate their professional dispositions in this phase. This year, we are strongly encouraging all phase 1 candidates to teach a brief lesson for their second supervisor informal observation.

Phase 2 indicates the teacher candidate is taking methods classes and learning more about pedagogy. Most programs have only one phase 2 experience. They are learning about lesson planning and classroom management strategies. These candidates can benefit from co-teaching and leading lessons. They are learning about diverse needs of students and how to meet these needs. Many programs have a Phase 2 YL or yearlong semester. This indicates a phase 2 candidate who is planning to remain in the same classroom for the next term for the final student teaching phase. They attend between 2 and 3 days a week, depending on their programs. We evaluate them on professional dispositions and pedagogical skills.

Phase 3 indicates an actual student teacher, attending 5 days a week. These teacher candidates are discovering what kind of teacher they are. They need to gain as much experience as possible in the role of teacher. They need intense experience in planning, managing, organizing, and assessing instruction. We ask our cooperating teachers to work with our candidates and supervisors to design a teaching schedule that makes sense for all. We evaluate them on professional dispositions and pedagogical skills. They are also completing edTPA in this phase.

We do have Phase 3 practicum candidates as well. These candidates already hold a teaching license and need 75 hours of participation in the license area that they are seeking.

2. What should my teacher candidate be doing while in my classroom?

We have detailed expectations and suggestions for each phase listed in our handbooks and sent to cooperating teachers at the start of each semester. Look for the chart that is broken down by the Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession (OSTP). This is full of examples. If you need a copy of this, check out our Resource page and look for your candidate's phase.

3. What does WSU expect from a cooperating teacher?

See an explanation of your role on our home page. In summary, we would like a cooperating teacher who is enthusiastic about teaching and learning and willing to share his or her wisdom about teaching and learning with others.

4. How do I log onto Watermark Student Learning and Licensure to evaluate work and time logs?

Please see our Resource page for WMSLL Support. To log onto the system, go to https://sll.watermarkinsights.com (Google Chrome and Firefox are the recommended browsers). Enter your user name (your email address) and your password. If this is the first time you have visited the site or you have forgotten your password, you can click on "forgot login" to create a password.

5. When are things due for my teacher candidate?

Please visit our timelines page for a list of due dates by phase. Your supervisor can also help with this question and is responsible to schedule meetings with you.

6. How do I request a letter from OPFE to document my CT experience?

We do our best to send these letters automatically at the end of every semester. If for some reason you did not get one, email cheh-opfe@wright.edu and request the letter. Be sure to let us know the name of your teacher candidate and the dates of experience.

7. What is edTPA and what is my role in edTPA as a CT?

edTPA is a summative performance assessment expected of all of our phase 3 student teachers who are working toward their first license. Candidates are asked to plan, teach, and assess learning for a cycle of about 3-5 lessons. They are also asked to reflect on their educational decisions and data. The faculty in the programs at WSU are assisting the candidates with edTPA. We ask that our cooperating teachers support the teacher candidates by allowing them to complete the edTPA during student teaching. For a list of acceptable support examples and nonexamples, please look here.

8. What do I do if I have a concern about my teacher candidate?

Please talk to your teacher candidate and let your university supervisor know if you have any concerns. We know these conversations can be difficult, but it is important to have them so your candidate may improve. Your supervisor will likely hold a site concern meeting at the school so that goals can be established for your candidate. Another option is to hold an OPFE concern conference. These are held when the site concern meeting has not yielded improvement or when the concerns may lead to a failure of the experience. These can be held at the site or on campus, depending on your wishes; measurable objectives will be designed and reviewed.

You may ask that we remove your teacher candidate at any time if you think working with the candidate is taking away from P-12 learning and/or your classroom community. We tell our teacher candidates that we are guests in your classroom.

9. Are candidates expected to make up time for any days they miss from the classroom?

The different phases and courses require different amount of classroom time. The amount of time your candidate is expected to fulfill is explained in the CT packet. All candidates are requred to meet a certain nuber of hours by phase and program. We encourage all phases to attend any teacher in-service or professional days that you have if they are normally at the school when these are happening. Phase 3 candidates have 8 hours of career fair attendance and 16 hours of edTPA working time they may log for this final term of student teaching. They are responsible for leaving you with "substitute teaching lesson plans" if they are absent for any reason and in charge of instruction.

10. Do I get paid for hosting a WSU teacher candidate?

The 2011 Ohio Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion prevents universities from paying cooperating teachers directly for mentoring teacher candidates. We are able to send school districts payments. The school district determines if and how this money is used. As a guideline, we do not offer any stipends for phase 1 students. At the end of each term, we send $100 for each early phase 2 student, $150 for each phase 2 yearlong student, and $150 for each phase 3 student teacher. We also send a detailed thank you letter citing student hours. Many teachers use this as evidence for their IPDP.

11. Can my teacher candidate substitute teach for me?

All candidates are required to hold an Ohio Preservice Teacher Permit. Ohio accepts this as a substiute teaching license. Candidates who meet their assigned school district’s substitute teacher qualifications and have completed the required employment steps may substitute for their assigned cooperating teachers on days that they normally attend their placements. They may log field hours if subbing for their assigned cooperating teacher on these placement days. Candidates should not leave their assigned classroom to substitute teach in other classrooms on assigned placement days. Rather, we suggest their cooperating teachers "sub" in the needed classroom, while the candidates remain in their assigned placements. On non-placement days, candidates may substitute teach as they wish. These “extra” days may not count toward field placement attendance unless they are subbing for their CT. Substitute payment, in each scenario, is determined by the school district. Candidates are not required to substitute teach and may decline these offers if they wish. Long term substitute positions must be approved by the OPFE Director and require a signed agreement with the school district.