FAQ

Student teachers follow the public school calendar once they begin their full-time student teaching placement up until university classes end for that semester. Thus, student teachers report full time in August or January when public schools reopen, and student teachers are expected to take the holidays or breaks that the assigned public schools do, not the university. Also, student teachers shall report daily at the time regular classroom teachers report and should stay the expected amount of time regular classroom teachers do, including participation in regular non-teaching duties.

Student teachers should spend a minimum of one week observing in the clinical educator’s classroom at the beginning of the student teaching semester. After the initial week of observation, student teachers should gradually assume teaching responsibilities during the initial weeks. The sequence varies depending on the grade level and his/her readiness to assume teaching responsibilities.

Overall, the full time student teaching experience consists of a minimum of 16 weeks (75 days) of observing, assisting, and teaching with at least five full-time continuous weeks of full responsibility for teaching for those student teachers with one student teaching placement. For those with DUAL placements, they do three full-time weeks at one and five weeks at the other placement. Click here for suggested gradual release models.

Under no circumstances shall teacher candidates in part-time internships substitute during their regularly assigned time at internship placements. The focus of the internship should be to observe, assist, and teach in their designated classrooms.

During the student teaching semester, the teacher candidate may substitute for their clinical educator with approval from their University Supervisor. They should not substitute before February 25.

Student teachers will submit lesson plans the university supervisor and clinical educator by 5:00 pm on the Friday of the week prior to the teaching of those plans. An earlier deadline may be established if needed by the university supervisor or the clinical educator. Copies of the final lesson plans should be kept in a notebook or electronic folder (in Canvas) set up by the student teacher that can be accessed by the university supervisor when he/she arrives at the school for observations.

Lesson plan templates are provided on the Forms & Documents page of this website (click here).

Interns are evaluated by both the university supervisor and cooperating teacher regularly. During the part-time internship, university supervisors conduct a minimum of three formal observations with written feedback provided to the student teacher following the observation. Additionally, university supervisors and cooperating teachers provide a dispositions assessment, a midterm evaluation, and a final evaluation. Cooperating teachers conduct one formal observation of part-time interns.

Similarly, student teachers will be evaluated by university supervisors and cooperating teachers using the dispositions assessment, the midterm evaluation, the final evaluation, the certificate of teaching capacity, and formal observations. University supervisors conduct a minimum of three formal observations for each student teacher. Cooperating teachers will conduct one formal observation of full-time student teachers.

More information about evaluation is found on the Assessment and Evaluation page of this website (click here).

An intern or student teacher’s university supervisor may require a time log (click here for the format) to be completed by a deadline established by the university supervisor.

Click here for examples of appropriate attire for internship and student teaching.