Student Teaching Experience

Student Teaching Application Process Once admitted to teacher education, candidates become eligible to student teach when they meet the following criteria:

1. Apply for student teaching in the Office of Student Teaching (Combs 425) according to the published date, usually during a six-week period at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters.



2. Return the application by the published deadline.  The application includes an information sheet, a CARES report detailing the candidate’s progress in completing his/her program, a “Fitness Declaration, “ noting any moral/ethical indiscretions, a physical/TB test form, information on areas where students are placed in schools, an interview sheet, to be used by the interviewer to recommend placement that asks the student where he/she would like to be placed and whether relatives work at the school(s) requested.  Candidates sign up for an interview date.  Candidates must return a transcript with their application.  Candidates are instructed on completing an application for a state and FBI criminal background check.



3. Candidates receive several “Updates” mailed to them that advise them of their status for becoming eligible to student teach.



4. Candidates interview with a specialist in their teaching area who makes a recommendation on where to place the student teacher, sometimes with a particular cooperating teacher or school.  These recommendations are forwarded to the Director of Office of Student Teaching who reviews evaluation data on cooperating teachers, calls the schools, and gets a written confirmation of the placement.  Student teachers are notified of the placement during the last week of the semester prior to their student teaching.

Evaluating Student Teaching

During the student teaching experience, candidates are evaluated weekly by their cooperating teachers who report the findings to the supervisors.  Candidates reflect upon their experiences daily by means of a journal.  A mid term evaluation is completed by the cooperating teacher, and the cooperating teacher and the university supervisor complete a final evaluation.  Classroom observations are completed using a variety of observation instruments, but at least two observations should be completed using the Kentucky Teacher Internship program(KTIP) instrument.  A growth plan is completed using KTIP guidelines early in the student teaching experience to guide the student teaching experience.  Student teachers receive a Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory, or Incomplete grade.

 At a seminar near the end of student teaching, candidates evaluate their particular programs, their cooperating teachers, and their university supervisors.  They complete an assessment of the courses and faculty who have been most helpful  to them and give suggestions for improving student teaching or their preparation programs.  Cooperating teachers are asked to complete an evaluation of student teacher(s) they have supervised noting areas of program strengths and growth. These data are shared with each department and analyzed by the department assessment committees, according to the college’s assessment plan.  The Director of Office of Student Teaching keeps information about the efficacy of cooperating teachers and supervisors confidentially.  Data regarding the quality of work perfomed by university supervisors is shared with department chairs.  Faculty may view their evaluations privately.  Cooperating teacher data is kept in a database to assist in making decisions about the placement of student teachers.  The college avoids placing candidates with cooperating teachers who receive consistently poor ratings.