Preparing Resilient Teacher Candidates

Each community, school, classroom, and student is diff erent. Consequently, the most eff ective teachers begin the day, the week, the year with a Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C. Th ey can assess the situation and adjust quickly to ensure each student has what they need to learn.

Th e College of Education recognizes the importance of preparing its teacher candidates to be fl exible and resilient. As expected, the required courses include practice preparing lesson plans and managing a classroom, but the college support doesn’t stop at coursework. It off ers supported fi eld placements, student teaching, and ongoing professional development.

NO OTHER YEAR HAS TESTED OUR COLLECTIVE RESILIENCY MORE THAN 2020.

Courtney Shoemaker is a FACS teacher at Le SueurHenderson. She has been teaching for 12 years and has supervised 6 student teacher candidates from Minnesota State Mankato. Th is year was not typical.

Th e ever-changing public health situation, the change to online learning, and the frequent transitions from in-person to hybrid to full time online required more interaction with parents and students outside of the classroom. It was a challenge for everyone to fi nd time to help students and parents understand schedules, troubleshoot technology, and deal with the challenges of COVID-19.

“It is always a challenge for new teachers to manage their time to create lessons, complete grading, and connect with parents,” said Shoemaker. “Th is year was especially challenging. In addition, we needed to create lab lessons that could be done at home.

“Student teachers from Minnesota State Mankato have always been willing and able to adapt to new situations. Th ey have been knowledgeable, tech savvy, and willing to share their ideas. Several of my student teachers hosted professional development days to show experienced teachers how to use various technology platforms.” “My 2020 student teacher did most of her teaching online. And, although she may have seen a black screen instead of a student face at times, she rolled with it and was able to build relationships with students. She was really open to anything, which helped her adapt to the situation presented.”

In addition to supporting students and parents, Shoemaker had to fi nd new ways to support her student teacher. One of the ways they adapted to this new online environment was with shared online offi ce hours. “We were on zoom together three hours a day, planning and adapting. During that time, we were also available for student questions.”

“Th is year, we expected more out of our students and, consequently, more out of the student teachers,” said Shoemaker. “Honestly, I am a little nervous for her to leave—then it will all be on me.”

PARTNERS SCHOOLS PROVIDE CRITICAL SUPPORT AND TRAINING

Kalley Hellman was Shoemaker’s student teacher. She feels fortunate to have had the experience she had at the Le Sueur-Henderson district. “Courtney is an experienced, well-rounded, resilient teacher,” said Hellman. “She taught me so much.”

In addition, Hellman said the district provided workshops on new online education platforms and helped teachers learn how to use them in the classroom. “Th e district was great,” said Hellman. “All the teachers helped each other, and the principal checked in with us regularly.” She described the Le Sueur-Henderson district as a very uplift ing environment, which was especially important this year.

“Aft er my student teaching, I feel really well-prepared to teach in a traditional, hybrid, or completely virtual environment.”

THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION ARRANGES MORE THAN 1,200 PLACEMENTS EVERY YEAR. Th rough the Offi ce of Field and International Experience (OFIE), the college provides more than 1,200 fi eld experiences as well as a series of professional development seminars for teacher candidates and fi eld supervisors each year.

OFIE Director Elizabeth Finsness said, “Th e professional development seminars provide an opportunity to expand on prior learning of culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy as well as becoming an anti-racist educator.”

As part of the college’s continuous improvement, Finsness hosts a World Café each semester to learn from the teacher candidates completing their teaching licensure requirements. She described the purpose of the event, “Faculty and supervisors listen to the candidates and ‘harvest’ their ideas as they respond to fi ve questions designed to address the candidates’ entire teacher preparation experience.”

COMMENTS, LESSONS, AND WORDS OF WISDOM ABOUT RESILIENCY SHARED THROUGH THE WORLD CAFE

“You have to be fl exible; take it as it comes, and truly learn from it.” “You will make mistakes; they are great learning and growing opportunities.”

“Experience with the standards and lesson plans helped, but nothing prepares you for the full experience, having to think on your feet, making quick decisions, and modifying lessons on the fl y.”

“Online experience is an opportunity for new teacher candidates to have an additional tool to use in the future.”

“We learned consistency, communication, and fl exibility are necessities.”

“Th e fl exibility and insight are what we need to keep in mind moving forward.”

ASKING QUESTIONS ISN’T ENOUGH.

Finsness shares the harvested notes with her colleagues. She noted they use the information, “to improve our practices, change our procedures, or consider policy change.” It is one of the ways the college ensures its teacher candidates are resilient and one of the reasons they were successful in a year as challenging as the last.