Appendix H: Hints for Mentors: Student Teacher Assessment
The following suggestions may be useful to the mentor teacher and University Supervisor as a guide in writing comments and/or letters of reference as required in completing the narrative section of the Final Assessment Summary.
- Describe briefly the setting of the placement assignment—grade, subject, or any other unusual facts which greatly affected the work of the student teacher
- Give both strengths and areas of need, being careful not to overdo either.
- Be careful to avoid blunt statements in presenting the areas of need of the student teacher.
- Make an honest judgment of student teacher presently and a reasonable prediction of his or her probable future development.
- Identify the type of situation in which the student teacher is most likely to succeed.
- Recall the student teacher’s most outstanding achievement and try to make brief reference to it.
- Align comments to the PSU performance framework.
The following open-ended statements (Sandefer & Hinely, Peabody Journal of Education, January, 1966) may prove helpful:
- The learning activities that ________ seem to direct most effectively were…
- The students’ response to _________ was…
- _________’s ability to maintain effective classroom behavior was…
- _________ was particularly strong in his/her ability to…
- _________ could improve by strengthening competence in…
- Some activities ________ participated in other that student teaching were…
- _________’s ability to work effectively with other professional staff was…
The following global scale from the same source may offer additional help:
- ________ is making progress and shows promise; for his/her own good, however, it would probably be best if in his/her first position he/she could continue to receive close supervision and support for a while longer.
- ________ has done a reasonably good job, and I feel he/she is now competent to handle a classroom of his/her own satisfactorily.
- ________ has done a very good job. I am convinced he/she will be an asset to whatever school system may hire him/her; he/she may even become outstanding in time.
- ________ has done an unusually good job; with a little more opportunity for professional growth which will come from having a classroom of his or her own, he/she is almost certain to become an outstanding teacher.
- ________ has done such an outstanding job that I believe right new he/she could step into any elementary/secondary school in this area and be considered an outstanding teacher.