Student Teaching
In order to receive an initial teaching certificate in the state of Illinois every candidate (with some exceptions) must complete a minimum of ten weeks of student teaching.  In the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Northern Illinois University the length of student teaching assignments varies by program, with anywhere from ten to sixteen weeks being required.  Student teaching is not a paid experience.

Student Teacher Responsibilities
Student teachers assume the class schedule and supervisory responsibities of their cooperating teacher(s).  A full-load for a student teacher usually consists of five classes with two or three preparations per day.

There is usually a phase-in period, when the student teacher initially observes the classes of his or her cooperating teacher(s) and then is gradually given more responsibility.  Usually by the second or third week the student teacher assumes full responsibility for all of his or her classes.  At the end of the student teaching assingment there is usually a "phase-out" period as well, so that the students can again be acclimated to their regular teacher.

University Supervisors
University supervisors have prior teaching experience and expertise in their content field and are hired by the college to act as liasons between the secondary school personnel and the university.  They visit the student teachers in the schools five to six times during the candidate's experience.  The length of these visits varies, but the university supervisors always complete a visitation report and usually meet with the student teacher and/or the cooperating teacher(s) to give feedback and offer advice and encouragement.

 Christopher Heath

Applying for Student Teaching
Certification candidates must submit an application for their 401/ student teaching assignment to their discipline coordinators the semester before their 401 clinical (or discipline-based equivalent).  Our program attempts to place students in the same school for their last clinical and their student teaching, in order for candidates to acclimate themselves to the school and classroom environments prior to their student teaching.  Candidates may request to be placed at specific schools and with specific cooperating teachers, but placement decisions are ultimately made by the secondary schools.  Many factors affect the placement decisions, such as the qualifications of the teaching candidate, the availability of qualified cooperating teachers in the school, and the number of student teachers and clinical students currently or previously placed in a school and/or department.
 

401/Student Teaching Application
Student Teaching Handbook
Student Teaching Webboard

 
Exemplary Student Teaching Award
 University Supervisor's Visitation Report Student Teacher Evaluation Matrix

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