Bridging and Building Communities of Learners

The mission of student teaching at the Colorado State University - Pueblo is to create an environment for the beginning teacher in which the practice of teaching and learning is the explicit focus of the experience. In such a community, teaching and learning are publicly discussed, researched, and reflected upon by all participants. This community includes the student teacher, the cooperating teacher, the university supervisor, the building principal, and K-12 pupils. With the assistance of the cooperating teacher and university supervisor, the student teacher will create a learning community for his/her pupils in which all learn and achieve. A critical component upon which the success of student teaching depends is the development of participants' abilities of self-reflection and evaluation. For the student teacher, this requires forming habits of continuous analysis of teaching and its effects on student learning. For the cooperating teacher, this requires refinement of skills of observation and the analysis of teaching development. And, for K-12 students, whose opportunities for achievement are the ultimate purpose of our efforts, reflection and selfevaluation will result in improved learning. Knowledge Base upon Which This Course Has Been Developed The knowledge base upon which the student teaching experience was developed include educational research and theory concerning the concepts community of learners and reflective teaching, the state and national standards for beginning teachers, and research on effective roles for the cooperating teacher and university supervisor. The following references were important in the development of the requirements and evaluation procedures: