Mentoring Your Student Teacher

EdWeb Final Report

Submitted by Jill Perry
IT 5670, Summer 2008

The University of Colorado at Boulder School of Education has student teachers in

the fall and spring semesters each year. The student teacher is supervised and
mentored by one or two cooperating teachers. The cooperating teacher is an
educator with a professional license issued by the State of Colorado with the same
endorsement that the student teacher is seeking. The cooperating teacher must
also have at least three years of teaching experience. There are no additional
requirements to become a cooperating teacher.

Problem or Need

In the past, the quality of mentoring by cooperating teachers has been inconsistent.
Many of the master teachers have been wonderful mentors while others have been
inadequate and problems have arisen with the student teacher or the cooperating
teacher. The School of Education would like to ensure more consistency in the
student teacher experience. The “Mentoring Your Student Teacher” module will
provide additional support and guidance for mentors. This module will be referred
to as the “EdWeb” for the remainder of this report.

The United States is experiencing a shortage of highly qualified and effective

teachers. Emergent teachers need to feel supported and need to have strong
mentors to assist them in developing strong instructional skills as quickly as
possible. Without strong mentoring, new teachers may be less likely to stay in the
teaching profession longer than five years. This EdWeb training will be an
important tool in training cooperating teachers, who would in turn provide the
much-needed support to student teachers.

Providing the EdWeb training on-line benefits the cooperating teachers and
eliminates the need for them to attend face-to-face meetings. Face to face
meetings would require substantial travel for some of the cooperating teachers. The
travel distance and time required to travel to Boulder may be prohibitive for some
cooperating teachers to attend the training. In addition to the distance, the many
schedules of cooperating teacher would make it difficult to find mutually agreeable
times for meetings. The on-line web format would allow for a greater number of
cooperating teachers to participate because they will be able to select participation
time that work for their schedule.

Goal and Objectives

The goal for the EdWeb is to improve the effectiveness of the cooperating teacher
and improve the student teacher experience. Cooperating teachers who complete

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this module should be able to effectively mentor a student teacher through a better
understanding of the roles of a mentor, communication strategies, and a better
understanding of the teacher work sample.

This EdWeb will have the following objectives:

1. The cooperating teacher will be able to participate in an on-line class and use
on-line tools such as blogs, wikis and social bookmarking to effectively
communicate with other class participants.
2. The cooperating teacher will be able to define and perform the roles of a
mentor.
3. The cooperating teacher will be able to identify traits of each generation and
use this knowledge to communicate effectively with their student teacher.
4. The cooperating teacher will be able to define the requirements of the
Teacher Work Sample and direct their student teacher in successful
completion of this requirement.
5. The cooperating teacher will be able to identify professional development
tools/strategies and aid their student teacher in becoming successful
members of the education community.

Measurements of successful completion of objectives will include:

• Cooperating teacher completes module and provides positive feedback

on surveys and recommends module to new cooperating teachers (Objectives
1 and 2)
• Positive assessments by university supervisors, student teachers, and
cooperating teachers through Zoomerang surveys (Objectives 3, 4 and 5)
• Student teacher proficiency in the teacher work sample (Objective 4)
• Successful completion of student teaching semester (Objectives 4 and
5)
• Effective teaching practices and professional development of student
teacher (Objectives 4 and 5)
• Retention of new teachers beyond three years (Objective 5)
• Better partnerships with schools and districts (Objectives 2, 3, and 5)
• Improve the quality and employability of teacher candidates
(Objectives 4 and 5)
• A pre-survey will be taken from student teachers and cooperating
teachers that did not take this training module and will be compared with a
post-survey from cooperating teachers and their student teachers to assess
differences in outcomes from those that did not use training module
(Objectives 2, 3, 4 and 5)

With a better awareness and practice of mentor skills, the School of Education will
receive positive assessment from university supervisors, student teachers, and
cooperating teachers. The quality of the teacher work samples should improve and
the student teacher will complete the semester successfully. This improved
experience will create stronger relationships between the university, the schools,
and the cooperating teachers. The quality of and employability of our teacher
candidates should increase and with improved mentoring, more teacher candidates

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will be retained in the teaching profession.

Analysis of EdWeb Learners, Content and Setting

The audience for this EdWeb will consist of cooperating teachers that have agreed
to support a student teacher over the semester. These cooperating teachers all
hold professional licenses and have taught for a minimum of three years. All of the
cooperating teachers will have bachelor’s degree and many will have completed a
master’s degree. Some of the cooperating teachers will have mentored a student
teacher before and others will be new. The knowledge of the cooperating teachers
will vary and should provide for rich discussions about mentoring.

Cooperating teachers will be expected to spend a minimum of 15 hours in this

training. The first week of the course will introduce the cooperating teachers to an
on-line an environment and allow them time to get familiar with some of the tools
that will be used. The second week learners will explore what is mentoring and
examine their beliefs about the process. During week 3, learners will continue their
understanding of the roles of a mentor and why they are needed in the learning
community. The fourth week will begin the exploration of effective communication
through an examination of the values of each generation and how this affects the
way we communicate. Week 5 will continue building communication skills. Weeks
7, 8, and 9 will explore in details the components of the teacher work sample
through video presentations, examination of teacher work samples and discussion
forums. The final session will explore how to help the student teacher enter into
the professional world of teaching.

This EdWeb module will be a web based training program. This will allow the
learners to participate from home, work, or in a community setting. Most of the
learner’s are probably new to an e-learning environment. Scaffolding of technology
skills will be used to support these learners. This will include the on-line
discussions, a wikis, blogs, social bookmarking, and if necessary, phone or email
contact.

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Design Rationale

This EdWeb module was designed for on-line learning because this would best meet
the needs of cooperating teachers. This module will save them time and allow
them access to resources and community members. The EdWeb website is
designed for easy and consistent navigation for the user. Design components
include the prototypes, typography, instructional images, and design elements of
contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity.

Prototypes:

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Color Scheme: The color scheme for this project will follow the branding colors for
the University of Colorado at Boulder – School of Education website. These colors
include the following palette. These are monochromatic colors.

Monochromatic blue tones create a sense of comfort, loyalty and security

(www.sessions.edu). According to www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-schemes.html,
monochromatic colors create a clean and elegant look. The colors go well with each
other and create a soothing effect. The theme is easy on the eye. The
monochromatic colors can easily be mixed with other neutral colors such as black,
white, or gray. To add more impact and interest to the site, neighboring analogous
colors could be used (http://www.inspirationbit.com/dos-and-donts-colour/).

R 0 R 32 R 97 R 242 R 195

G 24 G 87 G 145 G 236 G 197

B 48 B 142 B 192 B 228 B 196

#011730 #20578E #6191C0 #F2ECE4 #C3C4C5

Navigation Scheme: The navigation for this project will consist of sparse
navigation. New activities and materials will be presented each week. The

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navigation will include a left-hand navigation for the weekly sessions. The top
navigation bar will include the home page, links to on-going blogs, handbooks, and
on-line resources. Within the weekly pages will be a sub-navigation for the weekly
topics. An added previous and next link will allow alternate ways to navigate. The
content below will be incorporated into the weekly blocks.

1. Week 1: Introduction to Online Course

a. How the course works
b. Instructions for Web 2.0 tools that will be use in the course
2. Week 2: What is Mentoring?
a. Introduction to Mentoring
b. Mentor beliefs inventory
c. Support and growth for mentors
3. Week 3: Need for mentors
a. Ask an Expert – a Q & A session with an induction specialist
b. Roles and Responsibilities of Mentor (coach, friend, subject knowledge
guidance, assessor)
c. What makes a good mentor (audio clips of university supervisors and
student teachers sharing their experiences)
d. Cooperating teacher reflects on their experience as student teacher
4. Week 4: Working with Different Generations
a. Characteristics of each generation
b. Implications of generations: how to communicate with each other
c. Understanding the needs of your student teacher
5. Week 5: Developing Critical Mentor Communication Skills
a. Building trust
b. Listening skills
c. Understanding requirements of program
d. Defining your professional relationship with your student teacher
e. Conferencing activity – identifying coaching skills
6. Week 6: Teacher Work Sample – Part I (Intro to the TWS, Context, Unit
Rationale and Unit)
a. Video of faculty (professors, instructors, and university supervisors)
b. Sample components from previous student teachers
c. Research forums to post information that is pertinent to this topic
7. Week 7: Teacher Work Sample – Part II (Assessment, Pre-assessment,
Formative Assessment, Summative Post-assessment, Analysis of pre-
assessment)
a. Video of faculty (professors, instructors, and university supervisors)
b. Sample components from previous student teachers
c. Research forums to post information that is pertinent to this topic
8. Week 8: Teacher Work Sample – Part II (Instruction, Analysis of Student
Learning, Reflection)
a. Video of faculty (professors, instructors, and university supervisors)
b. Sample components from previous student teachers
c. Research forums to post information that is pertinent to this topic
9. Week 9: Wrap Up
a. Preparing your student teacher for the next step

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 b. Resources scavenger hunt
c. Reflecting on mentoring module

Typography: The audience for this website are educators. I will make the
assumption that many of them use a Macintosh computer. I wanted to choose
fonts that were available on both a personal computer and a Macintosh. All the
main body headers will use the serif Georgia font. The main body text and
navigation links will use the san serif font Verdana. This font is available on both
platforms. Alternates will be listed in the cascading style sheeting.

Samples of Website Fonts

Header Graphic – font color #C34C4C5

Verdana Bold Italic 36

Adobe Garamond Italic – Size 24
Top Navigation –font color #C3C4C5 (off state), #20578E (over state),
#011730 (active state)

Verdana Regular 18
Side Navigation – font color #C3C4C5 (off state), #20578E (over state),
#011730 (active state)

Verdana Regular 14
Body Header – font color dark blue #011730

Georgia Bold 18
Body Sub-Header – font color dark blue #011730

Georgia Regular 18
Body Leading Text – font color dark blue #011730

Georgia Regular 14
Body Text – font color dark blue #011730

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 Verdana 12

Instructional Images:

1. Week 1: Introduction to Online Course

a. Comic (Decorative)
b. Power point welcome (interpretive)
c. Chart of tools to be used in module (organizational): wikis, blogs,
del.icio.us, Skype, voice threads
d. Screen shots tour of learning module (representative)
2. Week 2: What is Mentoring?
a. Introduction to del.icio.us video (representative)
b. Power point of what is mentoring (interpretive)
c. Comic (decorative) of Teacher/student
d. Mentor beliefs inventory – take survey – see on-line visual of
how others answered (organizational)
3. Week 3: Need for mentors
a. Synchronized Skype Video (representative) Ask an Expert – a Q
& A session with an induction specialist –
b. Flash Learning Object (representative) Roles and
Responsibilities of Mentor (coach, friend, subject knowledge guidance,
assessor)
c. What makes a good mentor (illustrative audio clips of university
supervisors and student teachers sharing their experiences) – use
either voice threads, flash, or PowerPoint (representative)
4. Week 4: Working with Different Generations
a. Characteristics of each generation (interpretive) - PowerPoint
b. Flash learning object (interpretive) Implications of generations:
how to communicate with each other –
c. Visual of survey results from previous student teachers
(organizational) - understanding the needs of your student teacher–
5. Week 5: Developing Critical Mentor Communication Skills – (a-d)
video presentation
a. Trust/listening - video (representative)
b. Chart of Requirements of program (organizational) – solo
experience/TWS
c. Video scenarios (representative) - three situations – participants
will explore their responses to situation– identifying coaching skills –
6. Week 6: Teacher Work Sample – Part I (Intro to the TWS, Context,
Unit Rationale and Unit)
a. Video of faculty (professors, instructors, and university
supervisors) TWS part 1 (representative)
b. Sample components from previous student teachers
(organizational)
7. Week 7: Teacher Work Sample – Part II (Assessment, Pre-assessment,
Formative Assessment, Summative Post-assessment, Analysis of pre-
assessment)

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 a. Video of faculty (professors, instructors, and university
supervisors) TWS part 2 (representative)
b. Sample components from previous student teachers
(organizational)
8. Week 8: Teacher Work Sample – Part II (Instruction, Analysis of
Student Learning, Reflection)
a. Video of faculty (professors, instructors, and university
supervisors) TWS part 3 (representative)
b. Sample components from previous student teachers
(organizational)
9. Week 9: Wrap Up
d. Next steps for student teaching (organizational)

Contrast, Alignment, Repetition, and Proximity:

1. Contrast:
a. Page elements have contrast to identify the
different areas. The header is a dark blue with contrasting gray text.
The navigation elements are a light blue with contrasting gray text.
Active links are dark blue. The main section is on a gray background
with dark blue text. Instructional Images are on a tan background
with dark blue elements.
b. Fonts provide contrast in size and type. Navigation
and text elements use a Verdana font and main (size 18) and sub-
headers (size 14) use a bolded Georgia font. Text elements are a size
12.
c. Instructional images provide contrast in type
(video, picture, cartoon, diagram), size and shape, and style
(interactive, motion
2. Alignment:
a. Left navigation elements are all left aligned with
the text of the main header and top navigation bar.
b. Text in the left navigation bar and the main body of
page are both aligned to each other.
c. Most graphic elements align with the left side of the
main body.
d. The elements in the top navigation bar are
distributed evenly among the elements horizontal centers. The left
and right text elements of the main header and the top navigation bar
are each aligned to each other.
e. The padding of elements within the blocks has
consistent left and right padding.
f. Graphic elements on home page images are
aligned with the vertical centers and centered within the box. The
elements are distributed evenly among the horizontal centers.
g. Video, still pictures, and Flash Learning Objects are
all left aligned with the body text.
3. Repetition:

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 a. Top navigation bar is consistent on each page.
b. Left navigation bar is consistent on each page.
c. Active links are darker than inactive links in all
navigation.
d. The Verdana font is used for all navigation links.
e. Main headers (size 18) and sub-headers (size 14)
all use a bold Georgia Font.
f. Left alignment is used for navigation and text
4. Proximity:
a. Main navigation elements are grouped in blocked
colors, which set them apart from other elements on the page.
b. Text elements are grouped with a header and text.
Spacing between the elements is consistent.
c. Related items are grouped together on different
backgrounds: navigation – light blue, main body text – gray,
instructional images – light tan.
d. Title of page and line below are both right aligned
to show proximity to each other and to show that they belong
together.

Instructional Plan

This course will be a 9-week group paced web module with a new week opened
each week. The course will begin with an orientation to the on-line learning
environment and the tools that will be used in each module. Week 2 will allow
participants to explore “what is a mentor” by exploring their beliefs. Week 3 will
further explore the roles and importance of the mentor. Week 4 will examine
generations and how they can incorporate this knowledge in communicating with
their student teacher. Week 5 will continue to explore additional areas that will
enhance their communication skills and give participants an opportunity to practice
coaching skills. Weeks 6-8 will provide information about the Teacher Work Sample
from university faculty and allow cooperating teachers to review and explore
teacher work samples. The final week will provide information to assist the
cooperating teacher in providing information and strategies to successfully enter
the teaching profession.

For mentors to be effective, it is important for them to obtain meaning from

materials by practicing the skills through various activities. Activities will be used
to reinforce knowledge learned and increase social values. Fictional students
and/or role-playing will help to reinforce skills.

Common Instructional Values:

The focus of this course is on letting participants explore how to become a

successful mentor. Learner centered values will be integrated into many of the

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activities in this course These activities would include readings, discussions,
reflection, story telling, sharing, videos, podcasts, case studies and role playing.

The social values are important to integrate into this course. This will be done
through threaded discussions, reflective blogs, brainstorming, story telling,
question/answer sessions, and co-creation of ideas. These activities will allow the
participants to increase their network and find other cooperating teachers who are
also mentoring students.

Contextual values will be addressed through selected readings and resources,

directed discussions, video/podcasts, story telling, case studies, role-playing. Each
mentor/mentee relationship will be different and the discussions will allow the
opportunity to get answers to their situation.

Through reflective journals, blogging, brainstorming, story telling and questions and
answer sessions the active values will be incorporated. The use of case studies and
real “what if” scenarios” should allow them to actively reflect on how they would
handle the present situation.

Supportive instructional values will be addressed through the development of

the course. Because of the differing needs of the learners some scaffolding must be
developed to make all learners comfortable in an on-line environment. Question
and answer sessions, discussion groups, del.icio.us resources should all support the
learners.

Type of Learning Activities:

Absorb Activities: podcasts, slideshows, readings, discussion with an expert,

videos, real-life examples, storytelling by learners, and Del.icio.us resources

Do Activities: practice applying knowledge through hands-on or guided

analysis, teamwork, case studies, and role playing or what if scenarios

Connect Activities: rhetorical questions, evaluations, summarize ideas,

brainstorming, scavenger hunt, and reflection through journaling/blogging

Accommodation of diverse learners: Diversity issues will be handled through

personal assistance by email or phone. If problems are discovered in the delivery
of the course, updates to the site will be instituted. Where possible, the site should
be designed to meet ADA standards. The site navigation will be consistent from
page to page. Areas have been developed in the design to add additional duplicate
navigation in the site. If the site has pages that need to be scrolled down, duplicate
navigation will be added at the bottom of the page. The design of activities will be
done with the participants in mind. Instructions will be designed to incorporate a
variety of learning styles when possible.

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The biggest challenge will be the computer skills of the learner and their ability to
use current technology. An introduction to the on-line experience and what to
expect could be useful to accommodate these users. Adding interactive activities
will give positive feedback to participants.

Sample Learning Plan for Week 4 - Working with Generations

1. The learning objective: The cooperating teacher will be able to identify
traits of each generation and use this knowledge to communicate effectively
with their student teacher.

The cognitive process this objective targets is “Remember”. Participants will

retrieve relevant knowledge from long-term memory that influenced their
value formation. Participants will identify the influences of each generation
and understand how their values were formed. They will be able to describe
the expectations of their generation and peer generations in regards to
communication and work values. Through an increased awareness of the
values of each generation, participants will be able to communicate more
effectively and revise their expectations in working relationships.

The knowledge dimension that this objective targets is “conceptual

knowledge.” Understanding of the values of each of our peer generations will
enable us to communicate better with each other and work more effectively
together. Participants will be able to describe the effects of their generation
and the values they have today. Participants will look at each peer
generation and interpret how they process and communicate information and
ideas. They will use knowledge of peer generation values to determine how
to communicate effectively. Participants will be able to explain why
understanding peer generation values are important for better
communication.

The objective will connect to the following outcomes:

• The quality of experience for all student teachers will improve

• Student teachers will successfully complete their placement and complete
licensure
• The number of student teachers that need additional support from the
Director of Field Experience will be decreased
• Classroom students will have a positive learning experience with
successful student teachers

Our department regularly communicates with our students, but has noticed
that they do not always “receive” the information that we send to them.
Through generations training we have come to understand that the way we
send the information may not be effective in communicating with the
millennial generation. The millennial generation comprises 80% of our

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 student teacher population. Most of the cooperating teacher population falls
in the baby boom or generation X sector. By increasing the cooperating
teachers knowledge of the differences, they will be able to improve the way
they communicate with their student teacher. This will significantly help to
achieve the outcomes listed above.

2. Assessment Strategies: The assessment of the student teaching

experience is a continual process. Each student teacher is assigned a
university supervisor. This supervisor works each week with the student
teacher in a weekly seminar. Through information gathered from these
seminars, classroom observations, phone and email communication, the
university supervisor will be able to assess the cooperating teachers. The
university supervisor will provide coaching to the cooperating teacher to
improve their communication with their student teacher. If necessary, the
Director of Field Experiences will also work with cooperating teachers to
improve the student teaching experience. The university supervisor,
cooperating teacher, and student teacher provide final evaluation of the
student teaching experience. These evaluations will be revised to reflect the
mentor training to help evaluate the effectiveness of this module.

3. Overall instructional approach: The instructional approach for this

module will be a constructivist approach. All participants in this course have
formed their values and their approaches to work based on experiences early
in their life. This module will explore how their values may have been formed
and allow participants to construct new approaches to communicating with
their student teacher. This will be done through self-exploration and sharing
of ideas and approaches with other participants. The information provided in
this module will provide information to practice in a real world environment.

4. Learning activities:

• Flash learning object on generations – an interactive presentation of

generations to improve how to communicate effective. This flash component
will present participants information about generations and how a better
understand of the differences may improve communication and working
relationships. Participants will find out how our values are formed in the first
twenty years of our life. Participants will examine each of the generations
and get a better understanding of what forms ones values, such as people,
music, icons, products, and events that occur. This information will be used
to look at how these values affect how we interact in the workplace and how
our peer generation interact. Through a better understanding of these
differences, the participant will be able to reformulate how they communicate
and how to modify or communicate their expectations to their student
teacher.

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 • Review survey results from previous student teachers to find out more about
what their student teacher wants from their student teaching experience.
Evaluate how generational values affect these needs in the threaded
discussion below.
• Articles – There are many articles and presentations on generations on the
Internet. Participants will start by reading one article to start their thinking.
Participants will then be asked to explore additional resources on the Internet
and provide links for other participants in the group to explore. These
additional resources will be posted in a Del.icio.us website created for this
learning module.
Threaded discussion - Participants will share their reflections on generation’s
information and how they will incorporate what they have learned when
communicating with their student teacher. This will be an opportunity for
participants to share ideas and strategies with each other.

5. Pacing, engagement, challenge, and support.

• Timeline: The generations information will be presented the fourth week of

the learning module. Participants will be expected to participate in the
current week and complete activities during the week.
• How to motivate: Exploration of generations training gives participants a
better knowledge of how their values were formed and how their
expectations may not be the same as others. Because of the differences in
our backgrounds and values, participants will want to share with others their
ideas and differences with others. A threaded discussion will be used to
motivate learners to explore this topic further. As needed, the Director of
Field Experiences or I will intervene to ask questions to increase participation
or broaden the exploration of this topic.
• Collaboration needs/opportunities: Participants will be given the
opportunity to collaborate in the threaded discussion and explore issues or
questions regarding generation differences. They will also be able to share
resources they have found on this topic in the group’s Del.icio.us site.
• Role of Instructor: The instructor will use the threaded discussion to
increase the participants understanding and further exploration of this topic.
• Scaffolding, guidance, and procedural support: Scaffolding will be used
to introduce this topic. First, the information will be presented in a flash
presentation, followed by a review of student teacher needs, a self-
exploration of articles on this topic, and participation in a threaded discussion
to share their ideas and questions. As needed, the instructors will provide
support in the threaded discussion.
Content, resources, and materials: The instructors will provide the
content for this topic and participants may also the use of the Internet for
further exploration.

6. Common Instructional Values demonstrated in this lesson:

• Learner centered value: this value is addressed by providing relevant

information to the cooperating teacher about generations, providing self-

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 directed learning by exploring the topic on their own, and allowing them to
self-reflect in a threaded discussion.
• Social Instructional Value: the threaded discussion and the Del.icio.us site
will provide social opportunities for the group to share their ideas and
resources with each other. Participants will have the opportunities to share
stories about their generation and their experiences interacting with other
generations. Instructors will provide reinforcement of ideas.
• Supportive Instructional Value: this value will be demonstrated in the
threaded discussion by providing feedback, support, and ideas for
participants to explore.

7. Prerequisite knowledge and skills: Participants will need basic

computer skills to participate in this module. Additional skills that are
needed will be presented in week 1.

8. Accommodations: This training module will be designed to

accommodate a variety of learners. The largest obstacles will be the
learner’s ability to use computers and participate in an on-line learning
environment. One of the important steps will be to build the learners on-line
skills. This will be done in week 1 by demonstrating how the on-line course
will work. Resources will be provided to allow the learner to obtain and use
information for their skills level. Steps will be taken to provide information in
a variety of formats such as text, audio, or visually through video
presentation. Personal assistance will be offered through phone or email to
assist participants as needed.

Formative Evaluation

Goals of Formative Evaluation: The goal of the formative evaluation is to provide

testing o the EdWeb training module to ensure that the module is user-friendly,
contains appropriate information, and allows users to easily connect with others in
the mentor community.

Resources and Constraints: The resources for the formative evaluation will be
limited to Jill Perry, Kanesha Baynard, and volunteer university supervisors and
cooperating teachers. This is a new module with implementation planned for fall
2009. This will allow for a trial run in spring 2009. Material for this module may be
adapted to meet the needs of the audience. The largest constraint for the formative
evaluation will be time and clear deadlines will be set for evaluators to provide
feedback. This project does not have monetary funding and will be created using
volunteer hours.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills learners need to be successful with your

EdWeb: A teacher certification and knowledge of Colorado Model Content
Standards and Performance Based Standards for Colorado along with basic
computer skills will be the prerequisite knowledge needed for this module.

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Learning Environments: The learning environment for this learning module will
be web based. Users will access the training through work, home, or community
computers. Access speeds and quality of computers will vary for users. Exploration
of the impact on speed of internet and specifications of computer systems should
be evaluated.

Media characteristics: A variety of media will be used in this EdWeb through an

internet connection. This will include video, Flash learning objects, text, PDF's,
social media websites such as Del.icio.us, blogs, and wikis.

Questions to be answered:
Learning Effectiveness
1. Will the mentors take advantage of the community building tools?
2. Will the student teacher’s experience be improved through mentor training?
3. Will cooperating teachers see this module as beneficial or too time
consuming?
4. Is the content sequenced correctly?
5. Are there enough hands-on activities?
6. Do community activities have good participation?
Learner interest/motivation
1. Will mentors be interested in this content or will they be more motivated to
receive recertification credit?
2. Will the information in the module be able to be put to instant use?
3. Will the mentors participate and contribute to discussions?
4. Will the mentors research and add topics to Del.icio.us or wikis?
5. Will the mentors use blogging for reflection and share their reflections with
others?
6. How can negative participants be beneficial to the group?
7. Will all levels of mentors find this material interesting/challenging?
8. Will mentors recommend this training to others?
Content Quality
1. Does website have consistent design elements throughout site?
2. Does the content add value to the mentor experience?
3. Are instructions easy to follow and clearly understood?
4. Is there too much content in some areas?
5. Is the content free of errors?
Technical Quality
1. Do all of the media elements function on both Mac and PC platforms?
2. Does internet speed affect the user’s ability to participate?
3. Will the content work on older computers?
4. Do the media components add value to the module?
5. Are all audio components easily heard and understood on user’s computers?
Implementability
1. Will users be able to navigate through the weekly lessons?
2. Will mentors have the time needed to complete this module?
3. How large a group could be supported by Field Experiences?

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 4. Is the introduction to on-line learn contain too much or too few instructions?
5. Will the School of Education support the module financially?

Parts of instruction to be evaluated: Because this is a new module, all parts of

the instruction will be evaluated.

Stages: The formative evaluation for this EdWeb will take place on a continual
basis following Martin Tessmer’s Layers of Formative Evaluation. These include the
stages of self-evaluation, expert review, one-to-one, small group, and a field test.

Self-Evaluation: Jill Perry and Kanesha Baynard, Director of Field

Experiences will do the initial stages of self-evaluation. This stage will look at
content and site development considerations on an on-going basis. Revisions
will be made continually. Development of content will begin in August 2008
and continue through December 2008.

Expert Review: The expert review will be done by select university

supervisors and cooperating teachers. Both of these groups will have
previous experience working with student teachers and will be able to solidify
the content that is being presented. The expert review will begin early in the
project development (September 2008).

One-to-One: To test the user’s ability to use module and to check

navigation, single users will be selected to test the website. Each user will be
observed for the methods they use to navigate the website. After
observation, necessary changes will be made to the website and a new user
will be selected to test the website. Selected users will be Cheryl White and
Johnna DeBella.

Small Group: A select small group of cooperating teachers will be used to

provide feedback on the EdWeb. The users will be given specific deadlines
and objectives for their review.

Field Test: In the spring 2009 semester, a small group will be used to field
test this module.

Data gathering tools and methods: Various tools will be used to collect
information and prepare reports. Tests will be performed throughout the
development to ensure the proper functioning of the website. Evaluators will keep
logs and field notes. During the one-to-one testing, observation of the user
experience will be recorded and discussed with the user. Data will be gathered
about the users to find out how much experience evaluators have using computers
and on-line training. Zoomerang questionnaires will be used to receive feedback
from cooperating teachers, university supervisors.

Reports of evaluation: Reports will be prepared by Jill Perry and reviewed by

Kanesha Baynard. Revisions will be made as necessary.

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Summative Evaluation

The summative evaluation of this workshop will be done through Zoomerang

Surveys to the cooperating teacher, university supervisor, and student teacher.

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