Student Teaching Guidelines
General guidelines
- Study the Handbook for Student Teachers of the Division
of Teacher Education and become thoroughly familiar with its
contents. Note especially the following:
- Do's and Don'ts, pp. 12-13.
- What to Expect, pp. 14ff.
- Meet with the Science Education Supervisor (me) before your
first week at the assigned school.
- Prepare yourself to work hard during this short time of
Student Teaching. Think of it as a boot camp:
- Tell your loved ones you will be able to telephone them
each week for 5 minutes, but otherwise kiss your social life
goodbye. Your assigned school will be your social life, your
intellectual life, your family life, your leisure life, etc.,
for the remainder of the semester.
- Be the first to arrive and the last to leave each day.
- Never be tardy. Get at least two alarm clocks and a wake-up
service.
- Do not wear jeans. Dress professionally.
- Refer to your Cooperating Teacher and other school faculty as
Mr., Mrs., or Ms. Do not use first names unless they suggest that
you do so.
- Organize! Alert yourself to the organizational techniques of
your Cooperating Teacher and follow them religiously.
- Communicate! Talk often with your Cooperating Teacher, with
me, and with other student teachers.
- Participate! Your responsibilities will include lunchroom
duty, bus duty, hall monitoring, parent-teacher conferences, etc.
- Do not maintain outside employment. Student teaching is
equivalent to three or four full time jobs.
- Accommodate yourself to your Cooperating Teacher's style,
class rules, and expecations.
- Follow your school's disciplinary policies, classroom
management procedures, and other professional guidelines.
- Bad news: Student teaching often is more difficult than
teaching!
- Good news: Teaching often is easier than student teaching!
Student Teaching Journal
- Maintain a student teaching journal with entries on at least a
weekly basis.
- Put this journal in your portfolio.
- Email your entries to the Science Ed Supervisor each week.
- If you like, we may discuss them by email, conference at my
office, or conference at your school during one of my visits.
- The student teaching journal allows you to reflect regularly
upon your experiences. Make time to settle your thoughts, escape
from the hectic daily schedule, and assess what you are doing.
- Sample student teaching journal.
Science Ed Supervisor Visits
- It is your responsibility to schedule four visits by
the Science Education supervisor (me).
- Contact me with enough lead time to arrange the visits
according to the timetable provided in the Handbook for Student
Teachers.
- Contact via email or office appointment is best; please do
not expect me to play phone tag.
- Visits are scheduled in advance because:
- Their purpose is as much a resource to help you improve
your teaching and make the most of the opportunity as an
evaluation; therefore I want to see you at your best.
- I do not want to come to your school only to find you
showing a video, giving an exam, occupied with a school
assembly, absent due to illness, etc.
- Before the first visit provide me with each of the following:
- Written schedule of classes indicating room numbers,
subject, grade, cooperating teacher, planning period.
- Reliable written directions with a map to the school.
- Accurate measurements of the number of miles from OBU to
the school and the required travelling time to get there.
- Sketch of the building plan of the school showing the
location of your classroom(s).
- Directions for visitor parking. If I need a sticker or a
sign for my vehicle, please provide it in advance if possible.
- Other information about the school: Do they have block
scheduling? What are their disciplinary policies? Are there
special collaborative or team-teaching arrangements? Etc.
- The day before each of my visits:
- Inform receptionist staff in the main office so that they
will be expecting me (and will know how to direct me to your
room, if necessary).
- Review the Student Teacher Observation report form to
remind yourself what I will be looking for.
- There's no need to time my visits for unusually
teacher-oriented days (e.g., notetaking). The four visits
should sample a variety of learning activities. The cardinal
rules are to make sure lessons are active and participatory,
and that there's variety, not just seatwork!
- During each of my visits:
- Arrange an out of the way place for me to sit and observe
the class.
- Provide a copy of the lesson plan and of all student
handouts.
- I will ask to see your unit plan and your gradebook and
other signs of administrative organization.
- With your Cooperating Teacher:
- Discuss my role with the Cooperating Teacher who has the
main responsibility for your assessment.
- It is your responsibility to provide the Cooperating
Teacher with a copy of my observation reports.
- It is your responsibility to organize opportunities for
discussion between us and your Cooperating Teacher(s). Whenever
necessary, please arrange these in advance of the visit for the
mutual convenience of your Cooperating Teacher(s) and myself.
- If you have more than one Cooperating Teacher, make sure
that they consult together to write the midterm and final
evaluations. Discuss the evaluations with your Cooperating
Teacher(s) and sign them. At an appropriately scheduled visit I
will read, discuss and sign each evaluation, and carry it back
to OBU to turn in to the Education Division Office.
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