How to prepare for student teaching — that’s one thing I wish they would have taught during my college courses! Student teaching is a transformative chapter in a teacher’s journey. You’ll see many of the strategies, ideas, and practices you learned about in your courses live and in action. You’ll learn what works and what doesn’t. There will be days with a rush of confidence and the excitement of tomorrow. There will be days when you feel like nothing you did was right. Those days will crush your determination and your confidence. But you don’t have to do it alone, and there are steps you can implement to guide you through student teaching and even into your first years in your teaching job!
If you’re starting your student teaching semester and you’re looking for guidance on how to prepare for student teaching, download this Student Teacher Success Guide by clicking on the image below!
This is your time to collect ideas, implement practices, and get a real glimpse into the everyday life of a teaching career. Know that there will bumps along your journey. But think about all the things you will love that you have learned over time. You can’t surf without waves, you can’t ride a mountain bike without skinned knees, and you can’t play an instrument without missing a note or two. Student teaching is just one of the many exciting doors that will open in your future – remember, when things get hard, it is just a bump in the beautiful path ahead.
As educators, we come from a heart of service – where helping others is what fuels and feeds our souls. We get excited at the thought of shaping the minds of the future. Beyond just teaching reading, writing, math, science, and social studies – we help children build healthy social-emotional relationships and nurture manners and empathy; we are their person, and we give them a safe space every day, any time they need it. You may be physically, mentally, and emotionally spent some days. But you don’t have to do it alone. There are steps you can take to prepare you for (and get you through) student teaching, even your first years in your teaching job! Today, let’s talk about preparing for student teaching and the responsibilities that are part of the student teaching experience.
What is Student Teaching?
First, what is student teaching, and why are we here? Student teaching is a major milestone in a student’s journey to becoming an educator. In a weird way, it’s like a long job interview for a full-time teaching job; it’s a culmination of observations, in-service hours, and coursework. Student teachers are also called pre-service or future teachers. The experience is a pivotal opportunity to observe seasoned educators for an extended period of time and use this on-the-job training as a means to implement what you’ve learned in your college courses. It is nerve-wracking and comes with its own set of ups and downs, BUT from the experience, you will learn more than you thought possible!
You’ll see first-hand strategies and ideas that actually work and, equally, things that don’t work that you *know* you don’t want to try when you’re in your own classroom! And if we’re going to keep it real here (because that’s just who I am) – it isn’t always going to be rainbows and butterflies. You’ll meet passionate, kick-butt teachers, and you’ll meet teachers that you just don’t vibe with or agree with. But that is life, amiright? No matter who you are paired with and what happens during your student teaching semester – use every opportunity (good, bad, ugly) as teaching moments for you!
It’s likely that your college supervisor will place you at a school with a mentor teacher, also called a cooperating teacher. This mentor teacher will work with and support you throughout your student teaching experience. The college supervisor will come in and observe you teach. Both will be instrumental in giving you feedback on your performance and growth.
Ideally, the placement would align with your certification track at your college; if not, you may be required to find your own placement. Depending on your state and/or university requirements, your student teaching frequency and length of program may vary. Some student teachers will be assigned to the same class for five full days for an entire semester. Others might only attend three half days a week for two semesters with different classes. Regardless of how your experience looks – maintain a positive outlook, remain professional, and attempt to cultivate strong relationships with your mentor teacher and colleagues. Ok, NOW… let’s talk about how to prepare for student teaching & what to expect!
Preparing for Student Teaching
Prep Tip #1: Introduce yourself to your mentor teacher as soon as possible. Keep it professional, but share a little about yourself. If this initial introduction is not in-person, ask questions that you hope you’ll discuss in the future to show you are interested in learning about them and working with them.
Prep Tip #2: Be professional. This applies to every aspect you can think of – dress professionally, speak professionally, act professionally – communicate professionally. This includes when extenuating circumstances occur – communicate with your mentor teacher as a professional would, especially when you are facilitating lessons or collaborating with the mentor teacher. This also means being early, not just on time! Treat student teaching as if it were your teaching job. Always take into consideration potential parking, traffic, and other issues.
Prep Tip #3: Be prepared. Life happens, so be as prepared as you can be so that lesson materials are ready in advance. If you have a meeting to attend, be sure to review relevant information before. If you are simply observing, jot down ideas you hear or that come to mind while you listen in on the meeting or watch the lesson.
Prep Tip #4: OVER-prepare. It takes time to understand how long lessons take and how to plan for misconceptions and interruptions during your lessons. This kind of experiential knowledge can only be learned with practice and over time. Always have activities students can work on IF they finish their work early to avoid interruptions while keeping students engaged. It is better to give students choices on what they can do rather than have students make their own choices.
Prep Tip #5: Be open to feedback, but don’t allow the feedback to stifle your growth. Yes, you read that right – don’t let feedback stop your growth. You’ll observe many teaching styles. Take from the feedback what you think will help you improve. Not every piece of feedback will align with your style and your practice. It’s easy to feel discouraged when something doesn’t go the way you planned (after planning for hours). But instead of internalizing and harping on these rough patches, turn them around to push your growth.
What Does a Student Teacher Do?
Your responsibilities may vary depending on your certification track. For example, there may be varying responsibilities for Special Education and English as a New Language student teachers. The responsibilities of any student vary from day to day. In a comprehensive student teaching learning experience, you would engage in most, if not all, of these responsibilities:
- Review and follow schoolwide and district-wide policies.
- Collaborate with the mentor teacher to deliver engaging lessons.
- Plan lessons that align with state and/or common core standards.
- Implement research-based teaching strategies.
- Instruct large and small group lessons; support students 1:1.
- Differentiate instruction for students based on need.
- Provide feedback to students.
- Attend professional development opportunities (and meetings when possible).
- Build relationships with students, mentor teachers, and colleagues.
Prep Tip #6: Ask questions, every question – no matter how big or how small. You’re learning. You are passionate. You’re not annoying, and you are not incompetent. Get those thoughts out of your head! Now! There are always bumps along the road, but there will also be great celebrations and success! But ask any question you have. If you don’t feel comfortable speaking with your mentor teacher, chat with another staff member or an online mentor like me who can support you. This point in your journey is the time to get your questions answered as they pop up!
Prep Tip #7: Ask for Feedback, Ask for Help. Feedback is crucial in helping you grow in your teaching practice. Your mentor teacher, other colleagues, and even building administrators can offer valuable feedback. And when you’re not sure of how, when, or what to do something – go ahead and ask!
Psstt, you ARE going to have questions. I promise you, you will. So ask them! Student teaching is about learning. Interns in medical school ask their attendings questions. Don’t worry about sounding silly – you’re there to learn from your mentor teacher (who, by the way, has been in your shoes).
To book a free 20-minute session with me to talk about your upcoming or current student teaching experience, click here.
Prep Tip #8: Get Involved Right Away. Ask to lead an icebreaker to get to know the students and mentor teacher. Offer to check an assignment or read a book to the students each day after lunch or first thing in the morning. No matter how big or how small, jump in.
Prep Tip #9: Reflect. Analyze your lessons – what went well and what didn’t. How can you improve it for next time? Reflect on conversations with students and then tweak your lesson plans to improve clarity and conciseness.
Here are some additional reads about student teaching you may be interested in:
- How to Get the Most Out of Student Teaching (and 4 Things to Avoid)
- 10 Tips for Student Teachers
- What Advice Would You Give a Student Teacher?
- 13 Awesome Student Teaching Survival Tips
You don’t have to do it alone! You don’t know what you don’t know. And support can really make or break your student teaching experience. Click here to book a FREE 20-minute call. I can help!”
Download the Student Teacher Success Guide if you’re about to start your student teaching semester so you’re ready to walk in on Day 1! This guide will take you step-by-step on how to prepare for student teaching!
Student teaching was one of my favorite experiences in my education career journey. There was a feeling of exhilaration to try ideas I had but also the safety net of having a seasoned teacher as a backup. But not every experience felt that way – I once had a mentor teacher who wasn’t quite sure what to do with me. I took the opportunity to observe her teaching style closely and write down things I KNEW I wanted to implement and things I would NEVER do in my classroom… she had taught me without even realizing it.
Now that you know how to prepare for student teaching, take a deep breath and embrace this exciting time in your educational AND professional journey! Congratulations! 🎉
Let me know in the comments: How are you feeling about your upcoming student teaching experience? And if you’ve completed your student teaching placement, what did you think about the experience overall? I’d love to hear from you!
3 Responses