The full-time student teaching experience shall consist of a minimum of 16 weeks of observing, assisting, and teaching for Elementary, Middle Grades, Secondary, and K-12 candidates, with at least five full-time continuous weeks of full responsibility for teaching. This means carrying the full load of classes and assuming all record-keeping duties of the host teacher.
Candidates with dual placements split their semester between their two placements by spending six weeks in one placement and ten weeks in the other placement. The student teacher should carry the entire teaching load of the clinical educator for at least three full weeks in one placement and five full weeks in the other placement. The sequence of the placements is determined by the student teacher, the clinical educator, and the university supervisor collaboratively.
In the full-time teaching semester, student teachers shall maintain the same schedule as regular classroom teachers (arrival and departure time). Exceptions to this regulation are customarily not allowed and must be approved in advance by the university supervisor and the clinical educator.
The student teacher is expected to be in his/her assigned placement all work days whether the clinical educator is in attendance or not.
Student teachers follow the host school calendar. The host school determines holidays, inclement weather days, and workdays. The student teacher is expected to participate in all workdays and to make up inclement weather days however the host school calendar dictates.
If student teachers are going to miss a day of school for any reason, they must:
notify the clinical educator in a timely manner,
notify the university supervisor in a timely manner,
notify the school principal in a timely manner, and
provide lesson plans for the clinical educator in a timely manner prior to the absence.
All absences are expected to be made up before the student teaching experience is completed. The university supervisor and clinical educator should be notified of how absences are being made up.
On-campus or off-campus required events (i.e. L-R Job Fair, Honors Convocation, Student Teacher Workshop or designated professional conferences) may be attended without penalty.