Student Teaching Expectations

Student Teacher Responsibility : 15-Week Timeline

The four phases of traditional student teaching are as follows:

The Orientation Phase (~1-2 weeks): the student teachers get to know the students, establish a professional bond with their cooperating teachers, and learn about the classroom environment and curriculum materials.

The Shared Responsibility Phase (~2-5 weeks): the cooperating teacher and student teacher engage in collaborative lesson planning, team teaching, and assessment of student work. The student teacher might begin this phase by following the teacher's plan or assisting in instruction. However, a major goal of this phase is to assist student teachers in developing skills necessary for planning. To this end, we recommend the following: team planning and teaching with the cooperating teacher; developing lesson plans to be reviewed and commented on by the cooperating teacher before implementation; studying curriculum materials; and observing other teachers (including teachers in other content areas) to learn pacing, transitions, and a variety of methods and strategies. Student teachers will slowly be building up to teaching a full load of classes, taking on an additional class/content area each week.

The Major Responsibility Phase: (~3-6 full weeks): the student teachers should take on a more extensive planning and instructional role during their full-time teaching experience. Student teachers must teach a minimum of 3 weeks full-time, per DPI requirements.

Winding-Down Phase: (~1-3 weeks): student teachers should be reflecting on what they have learned in this placement and establishing goals for continued professional growth. This is another good opportunity for observing other teachers (including teachers in other content areas) to learn pacing, transitions, and a variety of methods and strategies. 

Communication Protocol for Problem Resolution during Student Teaching

It is imperative that the communication protocol be consistently followed in all matters of the field experience.  If a student teacher (teacher candidate) encounters a problem while in the professional year placement,  they should address the issue by contacting:

1. Classroom Cooperating Teacher (CT)

2. College Supervisor (CS) should be contacted next if issue cannot be resolved.

3. Associate Director of Clinical Experiences should be contacted next if issue cannot be resolved by 1 & 2.

4. Director of Teacher Education is the next person in the communication protocol if issue cannot be resolved by 1-3.

5. If the situation requires further assistance, the Dean may be involved under the consultation of the Director of Teacher Education.