Glossary

Candidate – LSU student accepted into a teacher preparation degree program.

Mentor Teacher – the classroom teacher responsible for the education and well-being of PK-12 pupils.

Observation - watching and recording impressions of teaching methods/practices used in an educational setting involving a teaching-learning situation.  Areas for observation include not only the assigned placements, but also other classes and related areas/activities in the assigned school and in other schools (outside observations).

Participation - activities in which the candidate participates in instruction by delivering the teacher’s planned lessons. Other activities may include duties in which the resident is fully engaged as a faculty member. Participation may be related to the improvement of the educational environment. Some examples include assisting students during independent practice, facilitating a group of students in a discussion, or helping individual students on projects or computer-based work. Planning with the teacher or others, attending professional meetings (cohort and seminar), and attendance at conferences must be delineated as participation.

Resident – LSU candidate participating in a year-long residency or student teaching experience.

Teaching - is defined as times in which candidates are directly responsible for instruction. The expectation is that when one is “teaching” he or she has and follows a lesson plan created by the candidate. Although the ultimate goal is for each candidate/resident to assume full responsibility for classroom instruction (planning, instructing, disciplining, evaluating), teaching is not restricted solely to a full-class setting.  

University Supervisor – LSU instructor or faculty member responsible for the learning experiences of the candidate off-campus.