Student Teacher Responsibilites

It is imperative that student teachers demonstrate enthusiasm, initiative, a willingness to learn, an application of educational theory, the ability to accept and utilize professional advice, and, most importantly, a genuine interest in the students that they serve. These dispositions and skills are reflected in the following list of student teaching responsibilities.

Student Teachers Should:

Conference with the mentor teacher prior to the actual student teaching experience. This conference will allow the mentor and the student teacher to explore logistical issues, share teaching philosophies, discuss expectations, walk through the planned graduation of responsibilities, gather materials needed for the student teaching experience and more. It also lowers anxiety for all!

Complete the "Student teacher Orientation Checklist" and all other requirements of student teaching and student teaching seminar in the time provided.

Be a listener and a learner. Listen carefully to your mentor, supervisor and your students. The teacher’s ultimate concern is for his/her students’ well-being and meaningful growth.

Constantly reflect on what you are learning. Always evaluate the means you employ in light of the ends you work toward. Consciously seek to find connections between what you have learned in the education program and what you are discovering in the student teaching experience. To this end we ask that you keep an ongoing reflective journal throughout each placement (your supervisor will read and respond during observations).

Plan units, lessons, and activities in a manner that is consistent with district policy and best practices in education. These plans need to be completed far enough in advance that the mentoring teacher(s) and/or the college supervisor can review them and make recommendations (two days minimum).

Identify individual learning styles and the variety needs of your students and adapt strategies/approaches based upon these learning styles and needs. Draw upon the multiple intelligences in designing a wide variety of pedagogical possibilities for your students.

Facilitate learning using a student-centered, constructivist approach, and involving engaging, worthwhile materials, media, and technology.

Motivate students authentically and manage classroom activities effectively using a student-centered philosophy and research-based approach.

Assess student learning, both informally and formally, and use the results of this assessment to ascertain student progress and develop curriculum and instruction.

Carry out the expectations the host school has for its faculty. These include but are not limited to: observing the daily arrival and departure schedule for faculty; conducting oneself professionally with students and colleagues by demonstrating appropriate language, dress, and demeanor; and involving oneself in activities of the entire school. (Note: the student teacher is committed to the school calendar of the host school, not that of Simpson College.)

Notify both the mentoring teacher and the college supervisor in those rare cases where an absence is absolutely necessary. The student teacher should obtain the home number of the mentoring teacher(s) and let them know at the earliest possible time if the student teacher will be absent. (More than two absences will likely result in extension of student teaching by a week). Make sure all instructional materials are fully prepared and in the classroom so that the mentor may utilize them to continue the curriculum.

Respect the confidentiality of faculty, students, their families, and their colleagues.

Refrain from irresponsible criticism of the mentoring teacher, the host district, and its staff and students.

Demonstrate the professional ethics of an educator.

Assist with and monitor students when they are not in the classroom, e.g. recess or passing time.

Serve to facilitate extra- and co-curricular activities, e.g. clubs, assemblies, and so on.

Communicate and participate with the community of the host school, e.g. taking part in open houses and parent-teacher conferences.

Facilitate and augment the performance of other school personnel, e.g. assuring that students arrive for "specialty classes" on time, releasing students from class to visit the nurse, and so on.

Develop a complete student teaching notebook following the guidelines established by the education department and explicated by your college supervisor.

Complete the mid-assignment and final evaluation forms as a means of self-assessment (students use final page only), and share this information with the mentoring teacher prior to "three-way" conferences with the student teacher, the mentoring teacher, and the college supervisor.

Receive satisfactory evaluations from the college supervisor who will work with the mentoring teacher in forming formative and summative assessments and evaluations.

Finalize your competency portfolio for licensure application. You must have all competency indicators completed with cover sheets and artifacts in a well developed and organized format. This must be reviewed and accepted prior to you being considered for licensure.

* Some student teaching placements and experiences may have additional/modified requirements (e.g. P.E., Special Education Strategist I, PreK). Communicate with your college supervisor to see if there are additional requirements.

The Graduated Experience--Increasing Scope of Responsibilities

For an optimal experience the student teacher is best served by taking on a gradually increasing load of the teaching responsibilities. Thus, the student teachers graduate into a role that closely approximates that of the mentoring teacher. The following is presented as a recommendation for possible time lines to be followed. Some placements and students may need to be integrated into full time teaching sooner or after additional observation time.

Graduated experience for elementary-level student teachers:

During the first week observe reflectively and journal frequently. Do assist the mentor wherever possible. Push yourself to get actively involved in supporting the students’ learning. Get to know students, staff, and vital procedures. Work with individuals and with small groups when it is appropriate. By the second week you should assume at least one teaching responsibility (often you start with opening/morning activities) and maybe two. Move gradually/steadily to pick up more responsibilities.

By mid-placement you should be teaching full-time and have responsibility for all aspects of teaching/learning (including assessments, record keeping, etc.). You should remain full-time teaching for a minimum of two weeks (in a full semester placement).

After completing your full-time teaching, gradually turn back planning and instructional responsibilities to the mentor teacher. Perhaps give back one responsibility every few days so you work you mentor back into full-time teaching.

Begin planning out this graduated experience at your earliest meeting.

In the last few days of a full semester placement it is appropriate but not required that you observe other teachers and classes in the building.

Graduated experience for secondary-level "academic," art, music, and P.E. student teachers:

The first fourth of time at a placement: get to know students, staff, and procedures. Work one-on-one and with small groups when it is appropriate.

Second fourth of a placement: begin picking up classes as their main teacher. At first it is appropriate for you to "mirror teach" if your mentor has multiple sections. ("Mirror teaching" refers to the practice where the student teacher studies the mentor's lesson plans, observes the mentor conducting that lesson, then carries out the same lesson with a later section of students.) Add teaching and planning responsibilities gradually.

Last half of placement: Teach full time, however your host district defines that. Graduate into planning most or all of the instruction under the guidance and tutelage of the mentor.

In the last few days it is appropriate but not required that you observe other teachers and classes in the building.

Graduated experience for student teachers at the early childhood (PK-3) level

Five Week Placement in a Preschool Setting

First Week

The student teacher should observe and assist in his or her assigned classroom (three-, four-, or five-year-olds); assume as many teaching responsibilities as possible; work as an associate or a team member.

The student teacher should work cooperatively with the lead teacher to determine her or his specific teaching responsibilities in the future; if the next week has already been planned, the student teacher should look for ways to incorporate some of his or her own ideas and activities.

The student teacher should complete the "Student Teacher Orientation Checklist."

The student should contact the college supervisor in order to schedule an observation for the next week.

Second and Third Week

The student teacher should assume some teaching responsibilities; work as a team member.

In conjunction with the mentor teacher, the student teacher should develop a unit plan for the third or fourth week of the placement. During that unit teaching, the student teacher will assume full responsibility for all planning, teaching or co-teaching, communication with parents, etc. During the third of fourth week, the student teacher should create an attractive and interactive bulletin board that enhances some of the content from the unit. Student teachers will also create one learning center that relates to the unit plan. Be sure to show your bulletin board and learning center to your supervisor

The student teacher should ask the mentor to complete a mid-assignment evaluation or at least write a summary of his or her strengths and weaknesses. The student teacher should complete his or her own mid-assignment revaluation and discuss it in detail with the mentor (last page only). A three way conference between the student teacher, mentor, and college faculty supervisor will be conducted to review the mid-assignment assessment information. At the conclusion of that meeting, the supervisor will distribute copies to the student teacher, mentor, and keep one copy for the student’s permanent file.

Fourth and Fifth Week

The student teacher should teach the unit and assume lead teacher responsibilities.

The student teacher should ask the mentor to complete the final evaluation and the student teacher should complete his or her self-evaluation. Again, these documents should be shared. They will be the focus of the discussion when the college supervisor facilitates the final conference.

The student teacher should write a reflective summary (two to five pages typed) for the college supervisor, and submit it with all of the prekindergarten teaching materials (lesson plans, parent communications, samples of student work that you have assessed, unit plan, etc.) Materials are due to the college supervisor no later than 4:30 PM on the Monday following the completion of this assignment. AT the end of the semester, student teachers should submit their completed portfolios to Dr. Carole Richardson.

Graduated experience for student teachers at the early childhood (PK-3) level

Three Week Placement in an Infant or Toddler Setting

In rare cases, students will be allowed to complete a student teaching placement in a child care center where the focus will be on working with infants and toddlers. Please contact the Early Childhood Coordinator, Jackie Crawford, to discuss this option and the requirements.

Graduated experience for elementary-level instructional strategist I student teachers:

First two weeks: Get to know students, staff, and procedures. Work one-on-one and with small groups when it is appropriate, adding responsibilities cumulatively. Familiarize yourself with students’ educational programs (respecting legal confidentiality).

Third – sixth week: Begin facilitation of all responsibilities, including teaching and monitoring of students’ educational programs. Take over various subjects and activities so that the Student teacher teaches “full day” for at least a week and preferably more.

Last week at placement: Gradually turn back planning and instructional responsibilities to the mentor teacher.

Lesson and Unit Planning

Effective, engaging teaching does not come about by chance. All master teachers engage in reflective planning, even if part of that planning is choosing to be flexible and to shape the lessons along with the students according to student needs and interests. Inexperienced teachers such as student teachers need to devote considerable time to planning, and this planning is likely to be more extensive and formal than that of mentoring teachers. The college supervisor or mentor may require certain formats and elements in the student teacher's plans.

You must have a lesson plan for all lessons that you teach. (See appendix of student teaching handbook online.) A rough draft of each plan must be to your mentor at least two days in advance. A final draft must be to your mentor by the morning of that lesson. You should be in charge of planning original learning experiences; not simply following the mentor’s past plans (although you may start off this way). Be innovative and creative. Try out the best practice you have learned. Mentors love new ideas and they love to see student teachers show passion and initiative! All plans are to be compiled in a notebook organized thematically and chronologically. This notebook must be available to your mentor and supervisor each day.

MINIMALLY, plans must include detailed objectives (affective, cognitive, and psychomotor), teaching/learning activities (must be written out in a detailed fashion), and learning assessment (how will you know if you have attained your objectives?).

Some key questions in planning are these:

What resources are available primarily for the student teacher's use, and for the students? These resources should be located as early as possible. Professional literature, educational methods textbooks, notes and handouts from education classes, the area media center, and libraries can prove very valuable. Resources in the form of community members who are experts on one subject or another are also invaluable.

What is the purpose of this learning experience/why is it important and meaningful for the learners? All learners?

Will the students be engaged? All students?

What activities will be included and why?

Are these plans based on the district-adopted curriculum and outcomes?

How will student learning be assessed?

How will the success of the lesson/my teaching be assessed?

What should have occurred prior to the instruction that is being planned, and what will happen after?

Will these plans meet the developmental characteristics and special needs of all the students involved?

The student teacher should review her or his plans with the mentoring teacher and plan to revise accordingly. See appendix items for documents that more fully describe unit and lesson planning. Additional appendix items list a variety of web sites that can assist with planning and other educational concerns.

Classroom Management

Most master teachers believe that management issues in the classroom are strongly related to their efforts to provide engaging, worthwhile learning activities. This is the position of Simpson College's Education Program: "Management" is not an aspect of the teaching activity that is ever separate from other concerns. However, inexperienced teachers are strongly concerned with management issues, and understandably so. In addition to the primary concern that student teachers provide worthwhile, engaging learning experiences that will allow all students to experience meaningful success, we believe that a student teacher should:

Create a safe, caring, and supportive learning community within which ALL children/students can flourish.

Utilize positive, proactive management and high expectations. Empower students and engage their voice/ideas in creating a community in which all students can learn…in which all feel safe and supported enough to grow through taking intellectual risks.

Conduct/create a system of classroom management that is consistent with that of the mentoring teacher and the host school and district policy – but that remains true to the goals for ALL students.

Be equitable in the treatment of all students.

Recognize that all individuals have special needs, and these needs must be considered in creating management plans.

Promptly and completely report problems to relevant school personnel.

Communicate between the school and home in an objective, positive manner, using a collaborative problem-solving approach to focus on the ways that all parties can improve the situation for any student having difficulty.

Student Teaching Duration and Attendance

The timelines for the student teaching "semester" are somewhat variable, given the nature of specific student teaching experiences, but fourteen full weeks of student teaching is the minimum requirement, even though this time may be split between more than one setting. In cases of students seeking more than one endorsement, the student teaching experience may be longer. The education department reserves the right to determine minimum requirements for student teaching. Education students hoping to student teach in two or more widely divergent areas, e.g. self-contained elementary and a content specialty at the secondary level, will be assigned to experiences of considerably longer length. If a student teacher misses a significant part of the student teaching experience (typically defined as three or more days) due to illness or circumstances that can not be avoided, the student teacher will be required to extend the experience, regardless of the Simpson College calendar.

The student teaching experience will be of at least fourteen weeks' duration and few or any absences should occur. If student teachers must be absent, they are to communicate this need to the mentoring teachers and college supervisors at the earliest opportunity (calling at home). If a student teacher is in doubt regarding the reasonableness of an absence, the student teacher should ask the mentoring teacher and college supervisor. We would like to reiterate our position that the student teacher needs to follow district attendance timelines and the district's calendar. Attendance is defined as being present for the full school day as required of a teacher employed in a given school. Simpson College campus activities should not negatively impact the student teaching experience. Excessive absences are very likely to lead to the early termination of the student teaching experience and thus a refusal on the part of the college's educational program to recommend licensure.

There are certain professional experiences that fully allow a student teacher to be absent, e.g. a teacher's workshop, because such experiences are akin to those that master teachers engage in to increase their knowledge and skills. The Simpson College student teaching seminar (to be described later) may cause a student teacher to miss some of the regular experiences of student teaching, and we ask the mentoring teachers' and host schools' support, hoping that they understand that we are providing the student teachers with experiences akin to the in-services provided for professional educators.

If the mentoring teachers or host administrators have any concerns or questions whatsoever regarding student teachers' attendance, they are urged to communicate immediately with the college supervisor assigned to the specific student teacher and the student teaching coordinator.

Overview of Student Teaching Academic Requirements

Student teaching, while being very field-based, is still part of your academic program at Simpson College. This program is based on the "reflective educator" model which requires that practitioners not only practice effective pedagogy, but also reflect upon that practice and seek opportunities to improve that practice and their understanding of the profession. Thus, we require that you maintain a notebook and journal and attend the student teaching seminars that meet most weeks on our home campus. Following are descriptions of the student teaching notebook assignment and some of the seminar requirements. After those assignments' descriptions is a checklist that should help guide you in completing these assignments as you progress through your student teaching experience(s).

The Student Teaching Seminar

Faculty from the Simpson College Teacher Preparation Program facilitate seminars for the Student teachers. These seminars occur on most Tuesdays at 4:00 p.m., but a few seminars are scheduled on different days at different times, e.g. a field trip to Heartland A.E.A. and Iowa Public Television. These seminars generally include these topics and possibly several more: preparation of the materials needed for Counseling and Career Services to help you in a job search, the achievement of an teacher's license and the appropriate endorsements, interviewing techniques school administrators, blood borne pathogens training, a discussion of professional ethics and responsibilities, creating a professional portfolio, Iowa New Teacher Standards, Iowa REAP, and so on. These seminars, also, and perhaps more importantly, allow the student teachers to discuss their particular experiences with their peers. The faculty involved will attempt to focus these concerns into issues such as professional ethics, teaching strategies, curricular design, management issues, and assessment of student learning. Student teachers will receive a schedule of these seminars during the first such seminar.

Graduate level student teachers will engage in conversations and writings that lead them to synthesize their in-collegiate-class learnings with their real-classroom experiences. They will meet about four times as a graduate-only seminar. These meetings will typically take place after the combined undergraduate/graduate seminars.

The Student Teaching Notebooks

As part of the requirements for the student teaching semester, the Simpson College Teacher Preparation Program requires student teachers to complete a student teaching notebook. The following describes the required student teaching notebook. For student teachers with more than one placement, a separate student teaching notebook is required for each placement. Note that the requirements for secondary-level student teaching (middle- and high-school) and art, music and physical education notebook are different than those required of an elementary or early childhood experience.

The Early Childhood (PK-3) and/or Elementary Student Teaching Notebook

Student teachers need to include the following items in order to successfully complete student teaching. Again, complete one notebook for each placement, and submit that portfolio to your college supervisor immediately after each placement is ended. Please use dividers that clearly mark where each section of the portfolio begins and ends.

1. A completed "Simpson College Student Teaching Orientation Checklist." (See this handbook's appendix if you do not have a copy.) You should complete a checklist for each student teaching placement.

2. A collection of all of the student teacher's lesson and unit plans (organized thematically and chronologically).

3. In each setting, at least one unit should be fully developed as a unit, and not merely a collection of daily lessons.

4. In each setting at least one interactive bulletin board and one learning-activity center should be designed and utilized with the students. A learning-activity center is a visually appealing station located in the classroom where an individual child (or a group of 2-3, if student interaction is necessary for the center) can quietly work and learn at his or her own pace. It invites student interest as a well-defined area containing multi-media materials, manipulative materials, resource materials, pictorials, games and/or activities relating to a central theme. All the materials needed by the child are provided at the learning center station, including clear instructions for operation at the center. Some tasks at the center may be self-checking so students can experience immediate feedback. A choice of two or more activities at each center is one way to provide for varying ability and interest levels of children.

Learning-activity centers can be divided into three types:

a. Direct-learning center, where performance expectations are specific.

b. Open-learning center, where the goal of the teacher is to provide opportunity for enrichment, motivation of interest, and creative discovery.

c. Skill center, where the focus is on the development of a particular skill, such as block manipulation.

5. Please designate a separate notebook/section for your ongoing student teaching journal. Here we ask you to record and reflect upon your joys, accomplishments, difficulties, disappointments, questions, etc. in an ongoing manner. When your college supervisor visits the notebook should be placed with the copy of your lesson plan for that day. She or he will read your journal and respond to you in that journal (as well as verbally during the conference as is appropriate). Please also place your lesson plan notebook (with all lesson plans and materials to date) with the journal so that your supervising professor can review and respond to this as well.

6. Please write a three to five page reflective summary of your entire experience for each setting. Review of your journal should be helpful. In your reflective summary you may reflect on your best lessons and what made them so successful as well as lessons that did not go as you had hoped. You may reflect on what you've learned during your experience and how you have changed or grown, what aspects of the experience were most valuable, and why and how your philosophy of education has changed and what factors have contributed to this change.

* While not required, we encourage you to take pictures and make copies of sample student work throughout your semester to chronicle significant experiences and events. Videotaping of one or more lessons can also be useful. Please check with each school for their policy on photos or videotaping.

** Check with your college supervisor to see if he or she has any additional requirements for your portfolio(s). It is the prerogative of the supervisor to add to this list of requirements.

Student Teaching Notebook for the Special Education Instructional Strategist I Placement

1. A completed "Simpson College Student Teaching Orientation Checklist." (See this handbook’s appendix if you do not have a copy.) You should complete a checklist for each student teaching placement.

2. A collection of all of the student teacher's lesson plans and evaluations.

3. At least one of the following:

a.) If you are in a setting that employs a collaborative model, plan and teach one unit in a general education classroom in collaboration with the classroom teacher. Show how the unit was developed collaboratively, and how co-teaching responsibilities were decided. Include overall design and goals for the unit, a collection of plans for the learning activities, and an evaluation of the unit as implemented.

b.) Identify one academic goal and one behavioral/social goal for a student (may or may not be the same student). Develop and implement strategies for facilitating progress toward that goal. Include methods for monitoring, instruction, and transfer of skills to the general education curriculum and/or setting.

4. Prepare an in-depth case study analysis of an individual student. Trace the student’s educational history, including the assessment procedures that led to development of the current educational program. Analyze the individualized educational program in terms of coordination with the general education program, student’s areas of strengths, and areas of concern. How was the students’ present level of performance determined in each area of concern? How were the goals developed? How is each goal being monitored? What strategies are being used? Reflect and describe how this student’s educational program is tailored to make an effective, appropriate “fit” with the total school program. (Again, you must respect legal confidentiality – please do not use any names or identifying information in your written work.)

5. Please designate a notebook for your ongoing student teaching journal. Here we ask you to record and reflect upon your joys, accomplishments, difficulties, disappointments, questions, etc. in an ongoing manner. When your supervising professor visits the notebook should be placed with the copy of your lesson plan for that day. She or he will read your journal and respond to you in that journal (as well as verbally during the conference as is appropriate). Please also place your lesson plan notebook (with all lesson plans and materials to date) with the journal so that your supervising professor can review and respond to this as well.

The Secondary Level "Academic" and Art, Music, and P.E. Student Teaching Notebook (Graduate and Undergraduate)

Student teachers need to include the following items in order to successfully complete student teaching. Complete one notebook for each placement, and submit that notebook to your college supervisor immediately after each placement has ended. Please use dividers that clearly mark where each section begins and ends. Your notebook, as well as that lesson's lesson plan, should be provided to your college supervisor each time you are observed.

1. A completed "Simpson College Student Teaching Orientation Checklist." (See this handbook's appendix if you do not have a copy.) You should complete a checklist for each student teaching placement.

2. A collection of all of the student teacher's unit and lesson plans. (At least one unit should be set apart and be fully developed as a unit, not merely a collection of daily lessons.) This should be a unit that the student teacher actually facilitated. If she or he worked off the mentoring teacher's lesson plans, one should include copies, but make sure to attribute the source and remember that we would expect that the student teacher added some of his or her own ideas to these plans as you implemented them.

3. A "Best of" section should include a brief summary (or photocopy if you worked off one of the lesson plan templates included in this handbook) of the eight to ten lessons designed and facilitated by the student teacher that worked particularly well. After each summary the student teacher should reflect on the lesson, attempting to explain why the lesson seemed to be effective. Please type the reflections.

4. The notes and reflections the student teacher compiled throughout the student teaching experience. We realize that student teaching is a busy time, but we also realize that reflection makes for better teaching. These notes should be made at lest weekly. They must be typed for the final version of each portfolio.

5. A well-written, one to three page reflective summary for each student teaching placement. Review of the student teaching notes and reflections should be helpful. The student teacher should reflect on what was learned during the experience and how he or she has changed or grown, what aspects of the experience were most valuable and why, and how his or her philosophy of education has changed and what factors have contributed to this change.

6. Feedback. Simply include your copies of the "Observation Forms" your college supervisor completed while watching you teach and the "Student Feedback" ("three-way") forms your mentoring teacher and you completed. You should include the yellow forms in this section. Your mentor should keep the pink ones.

* Check with your college supervisor to see if he or she has any additional requirements for your notebook(s). It is the prerogative of the supervisor to add to this list of requirements.

What Do I Do With My Competency Portfolio?

Level III:

In order to be recommended for licensure, you must demonstrate—through your portfolio and student teaching performance—that you are competent in all areas. Please give your portfolio to Carole Richardson. Be sure to pick up your portfolio after it has been reviewed from Linda Jermeland in W104B.

The Professional Portfolio

Professional portfolios are not a requirement for the successful completion of student teaching, but an increasing number of prospective employers are expecting professional portfolios from teacher applicants. There is no simple recipe for the professional portfolio. The materials and artifacts from your competency portfolio can be used to develop an interviewing portfolio. Different employers have different expectations, and different types of teaching may require different components, e.g. an art teacher's portfolio might include a set of photographs illustrating her or his students' work, an aspiring teacher with a coaching endorsement might include letters of appreciation from parents, and so on. Still, here are some general suggestions that a student teacher might want to address when designing a professional portfolio.

1. A copy of the student teacher's resume, making sure that the teaching endorsements for which they will be qualified are prominently displayed. It is also important that your resume contain a "references" section complete with phone numbers and addresses for those references.

2. A compelling and concise statement of your teaching philosophy.

3. A description of the student teaching responsibilities, including co- and extra-curricular activities. This should be considered a companion to the resume.

4. A sampling of the student teacher's best planning. This should include unit plans, lesson plans, activities, materials, or any combination thereof. The key here is that the student teacher show the prospective employer what she or he can do, but not drown the prospective employer in paper.

5. A DVD/digital recording of the student teacher teaching. Ask your mentoring teacher or a student to facilitate this.

6. Appearances do count for something. Thus, everything possible in this portfolio should be typed and attractively formatted.

* Many of the components the student teacher developed for the student teaching notebook and competency portfolio can find a place in the professional portfolio. A student teacher might be wise to make two copies of the professional portfolio so that she or he can leave one with a prospective employer and still have the other on hand for another prospective employer.

* * Any time that one includes the work, writing, or image of a student or parent/guardian, one needs to get written permission from that person. In the case of a student who is a minor, one also needs to get permission from the parent/guardian. In many cases, the school district has already obtained this permission. This would apply directly to the items mentioned above: student artwork, letters of appreciation and the video. Often, school districts have already acquired this permission. Check with the mentoring teacher or school office to see if this is the case.

Timelines for Completion of Student Teaching Requirements:

The following checklist is in part repetitive of the requirements just described. However, we included it to make it easier for student teachers to mark their progress with these requirements, as well as student teaching in general. Follow this checklist for each placement. Because of the complexity of K-12 schools, we have not included reference to all the things that actual teachers attend to, just those things somewhat unique to student teaching.

Each Week

Complete your weekly journal reflection (two entries per week). Do not worry about taking extensive notes because you should be too active to do so, but take time to reflect on this experience at least weekly and preferably more so.

Update your student teaching notebook in terms of lesson plans, units, etc.

If you are secondary, art, music, or P.E., decide which lesson(s) from that week you may wish to include in the "Best of" section of your portfolio and write your reaction to that lesson.