Office of Clinical Experiences and Partnerships (OCEP)

Visit our Clinical Experiences Hub for students on our SOE Student Site for all the details you need about field experiences, student teaching and residency. The roadmap and corresponding links will take you to relevant information about each step of your clinical experiences journey. You will also find a calendar with events and deadlines that you can easily add to your own calendar. On the SOE Student Site, you will also find information about Praxis Exam and GPA requirements for student teaching and residency.

What is a Cooperating Teacher?

A Cooperating Teacher is an experienced educator who supports a teacher candidate during their clinical field placement. Placements are typically 30-65 hours throughout the semester. The cooperating teacher will support the development of teacher candidates by modeling instructional practice, providing feedback, and releasing some teaching responsibilities to the teacher candidates. This role spans a semester and is guided by the partnership between MSU Denver and the school district. There is no formal training or recommendation required when partnering as a cooperating teacher.

Are you interested in becoming a Cooperating Teacher for MSU Denver? If so, submit our form linked below.

What is a Mentor Teacher?

A Mentor Teacher is an experienced educator who supports a teacher candidate during student teaching or residency. Mentor teachers are selected in partnership with MSU Denver, District HR teams, and building principals. Placements are 8 weeks, 16 weeks, and 32 weeks long. The mentor teacher provides structured support, coaching, modeling instructional strategies, and supports goal setting and professional growth of pre-service teacher candidates. Mentor teachers often have a professional license (with 3+ years of teaching experience), leadership development, and ongoing professional learning to enhance their mentorship effectiveness. Mentor teachers also receive a stipend for their service.

Mentor teachers are typically identified through existing school partnerships but if you would like to inquire further about becoming a Mentor Teacher or engaging your school in a partnership with MSU Denver, please contact us.

Advertising Positions at your School or District

We’re happy to promote your open positions to our audience! Our Classroom to Career Hub manages all job opportunity posts through CareerLink, and any posting tagged as “Education” will show up on our Jobs for Teachers page. We can also link directly to your district’s hiring/jobs page. Visit our page below for details.

Professional Development and Additional Teacher Training

We offer a variety of programs relevant to in-service teachers – added endorsement programs, certificates, trauma-informed practices training, master degree programs and more! Browse some options below and feel free to contact us directly with any questions.

The University Supervisor serves as a coach, mentor and evaluator assigned to the teacher candidate by MSU Denver. In conjunction with the mentor teacher in the classroom, the University Supervisor provides support and guidance using informal and formal feedback on the teacher candidate’s progress toward programmatic and state licensure standards.

Are you interested in becoming a University Supervisor? Visit our Jobs in the School of Education page below and look for the Student Teacher Supervisor Adjunct/Part-Time position link.

Resources for current supervisors

Student teaching and residency supervisor forms and evaluation materials can be found on our OCEP Supervisor Forms and Resources page in SharePoint. Use the link below to access the page.

Teaching Jobs

Looking for work? Browse Colorado school district job boards and individual position announcements on our Jobs for Teachers page.

Teacher Licensure Program Verification Support

Are you seeking verification that you completed a teacher licensure program at MSU Denver to apply for a teaching license in Colorado or another state?

We can support you through our Teacher Licensure Program Verification Request process. Start by gathering the appropriate materials, then complete our request form and upload your documents. To complete this process, you will need the following:

1. PDF copy of required Praxis exam scores or proof of satisfaction of Colorado’s Multiple Measures requirements
2. Picture or scan of your government identification (driver’s license, state-issues ID or passport)
3. Program verification form provided by licensing state (in Colorado, this is the “Approved Program Verification” or “APV”, but other states use a variety of names).

Become a Cooperating Teacher

Are you interested in becoming a Cooperating Teacher and hosting field experience students in your classroom?

Learn more about Cooperating Teachers and how to submit your interest to become one.

Programs for In-Service Teachers

Are you considering returning to school to refresh and further develop your skills? We offer a variety of programs including added endorsements, certificates and a Master of Education degree.