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Student Teaching Overview
Contents:
Collaborative Approach
Collaborative Teaching
Strategies & Examples
Student Teacher Placement
Mentor Teacher - Student Teacher - Coach work together to help students learn.
Collaborative Teaching Strategies
Active Engagement from Day One
With this model, it is expected that the Student Teacher is actively engaged at the start of student teaching, even if the placement begins intentionally with the role of observation and/or assisting. The Student Teacher naturally should move toward more responsibility as the student teaching placement proceeds.
Co-Student Teaching Model
Co-teaching is defined as two or more teachers (Mentor Teacher and Student Teacher) working together with groups of students and sharing the planning, organization, delivery, and assessment of instruction. It is a way to maximize the human resources needed for the successful instruction of students.
Co-Teaching Benefits
Supports a lower student-to-teacher ratio.
Aids in student-teacher problem solving via the Student Teacher
supporting students behaviorally, emotionally, and academically.
Allows for potentially more effective small groups to occur (e.g., reading/math rotations or interventions, scaffolding for high-ability students, English Learner (EL) students, Special Education students, etc.).
Encourages collaboration between the Student Teacher and MT on lesson planning, assessments, backward-planning using data, behavioral, emotional, and academic support, etc.
Provides students with various styles of instruction and support. Should result in increased student engagement.
Enhances collaborative skill development in the school setting.
What Co-Teaching is Not
A less rigorous teaching experience.
Implemented to teach every lesson.
Student teacher sitting while MT instructs.
Student teacher acting as a full-time tutor.
Rationale
Schools of education across the country are moving toward the collaborative teaching model (Heck & Bacharach, 2016). The purpose is to increase the support that Student Teachers receive during student teaching. Mentor Teachers have the unique opportunity to provide individualized modeling and coaching throughout the student teaching experience. The collaborative teaching model provides the opportunity for students in the classroom to benefit from two teachers. This helps assure a high quality of instruction while providing opportunities to differentiate to meet student needs.
Examples:
One Teach, One Observe
One teacher has the primary instructional responsibility, while the other teacher gathers specific observational information on students or the (instructing) teacher. The key to this strategy is to focus on the observation - where and how the teacher is doing the instruction and observing specific behaviors.
Example: One teacher can observe students for their understanding of directions while the other leads.
One Teach, One Assist
This strategy is an extension of One Teach, One Observe. One teacher has the primary instructional responsibility, while the other teacher assists students with their work, monitors behaviors, or corrects assignments.
Example: While one teacher has the instructional lead, the person assisting can be the “voice” for the students when they don't understand or are having difficulties.
Station Teaching
The teaching team divides the instructional content into parts/stations. Each teacher instructs one of the groups. Groups then rotate or spend a designated amount of time at each station. Often independent stations will be used along with the teacher-led stations.
Example: One teacher might lead a station where the students play a money math game and the other teacher could have a mock store where the students purchase items and make change.
Parallel Teaching
Each teacher instructs half of the students. The two teachers address and present the same instructional material using the same teaching strategies. The most significant benefit of this method is reducing the student-to-teacher ratio.
Example: Both teachers are leading a question-and-answer discussion on specific curent events and the impact they have on our economy.
Supplemental Teaching
This strategy allows one teacher to work with students at his/her expected grade level while the other teacher works with those students who need the information and/or materials retaught, extended, or remediated.
Example: One teacher may work with students who need re-teaching of a concept while the other teacher workds with the rest of the students on enrichment.
Differentiated or Alternative Teaching
This strategy provides two different approaches to teaching the same information. The learning outcome is the same for all students. However, the avenue for getting there is different.
Example: One instructor may lead a group in predicting prior to reading by looking at the cover of the book and the illustrations, etc. The other instructor accomplishes the same concept but with his/her group, the students predict by connecting the items pulled out of the bag with the story.
Team Teaching
This strategy incorporates well-planned, team-taught lessons, exhibiting an invisible instruction flow with no prescribed division of authority. Using a team-teaching approach, both teachers are actively involved in the lesson. From students' perspectives, there is no clearly defined leader, as both teachers share the instruction, are free to interject information, and are available to assist students and answer questions.
Example: Both instructors can share the reading of a story or text so that the students can hear two voices.
The strategies are not hierarchical—they can be used in any order and/or combined to best meet the needs of the students in the classroom. Copyright 2011, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center; Research Funded by a US Department of Education, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant
The School of Education does not accept individual requests for student teaching placements.
IU Indianapolis has established partnership schools who are aligned with the School of Education's vision for equitable and just school experiences for children. We work with schools and district partners to carefully screen and select qualified teachers as mentors. We also aim to keep Student Teachers together in small groups so they can support one another, and Coaches can understand school contexts to better support students.
If you have a special circumstance surrounding your student teaching, an appeal form is available via this link: https://go.iu.edu/8t9c
Job Opportunity:
If you are offered a job at your placement site while student teaching with work hours during the school day, the following criteria must be met:
You have completed 10 weeks of your 16 weeks of student teaching satisfactorily, and your Midterm Evaluation reflects this.
The school that extends an employment offer must be a partnership school. - The Partnership School list is updated annually and only the schools on the most recent list are applicable.
There is another teacher who is the Instructor/Teacher of Record for the assigned classroom associated with the employment offer.
The Coordinator of your program will communicate with the partnership school administration about specific details concerning completion of the student teaching internship.
Formal observations will still occur and participation in Seminars is still expected.
The additional responsibilities associated with employment cannot jeopardize the completion of the program and licensure requirements.
The Partnership School list is updated annually and only the schools on the most recent list are applicable.
Additional License in Special Education or English as a New Language
When pursuing an additional license in ENL or Special Education, the 16-week student teaching experience will be split in half, usually with 8 weeks General Education with a General Education Coach. The following 8-weeks in the license addition area with a License Addition Mentor Teacher and Coach.
Length of Student Teaching Experience
80 school days is the minimum requirement for each 16-week
placement.
Student teachers should progressively assume responsibility for the entire teaching day.
See Appendix: Week by Week Guide for Student Teachers and Mentor Teachers