Tips for Communicating with Your Partner Teacher
1. We will have a meeting on the University of Arizona campus sometime in October where we will introduce you to your partner teacher and allow you to begin planning for your partnership.
Some information it may be helpful to get from your partner at this time includes: contact information, the way your partner prefers to be contacted (email, phone, etc), information on your partner's school culture and student population, an overview of the class(es) your partner is teaching (including texts and major assignments), your partner's teaching schedule, number of students in each class and section, what kind of technology your partner has (or will likely have) in the classroom or is able to reserve, the nature of computer access for students, and some initial ideas about how to structure the partnership.
2. It may be helpful (at the meeting or afterwards) to exchange course curricula, syllabi, and assignments so that you can locate assignments that could be included in the partnership.
3. Some teachers have enjoyed visiting their partner teacher's classes to get a sense of what happens on a daily basis, classroom dynamics, etc.
A note on visiting: Be sure to check in with your partner about parking, where to meet, and whether or not a visitor's pass is required (as it is in many high schools).
4. Decide who will assign partners and how you wish to pair students. You can match students randomly, with the help of interest surveys, or by letting students chose their partners after reading a bio.
Some information it may be helpful to get from your partner at this time includes: contact information, the way your partner prefers to be contacted (email, phone, etc), information on your partner's school culture and student population, an overview of the class(es) your partner is teaching (including texts and major assignments), your partner's teaching schedule, number of students in each class and section, what kind of technology your partner has (or will likely have) in the classroom or is able to reserve, the nature of computer access for students, and some initial ideas about how to structure the partnership.
2. It may be helpful (at the meeting or afterwards) to exchange course curricula, syllabi, and assignments so that you can locate assignments that could be included in the partnership.
3. Some teachers have enjoyed visiting their partner teacher's classes to get a sense of what happens on a daily basis, classroom dynamics, etc.
A note on visiting: Be sure to check in with your partner about parking, where to meet, and whether or not a visitor's pass is required (as it is in many high schools).
4. Decide who will assign partners and how you wish to pair students. You can match students randomly, with the help of interest surveys, or by letting students chose their partners after reading a bio.