Overview of Student Teaching

Education is a life-long process of learning and Student

Teaching is the first and foremost learning situation that will help
us to be a real teacher. It is the time of trial and error and for
growing confidence and beginning expertise. It is not a time of
perfection but of striving for competence. This is the craft before
he or she has to put his/ her skills on the lime in his/her own
classroom. This is the time for him/her to find out an actual
teaching situation, the prospect teacher gain more experiences
that would serve as their credential in their path.

As we all know, teaching is a noble profession. It requires a

long preparation and more training sessions for them to be
equipped in facing the real environment that awaits them in near
future. Student teaching serves as an internship in the profession
education where theories, knowledge, attitudes and skills develop
through course work and observation are fused into more
meaningful interpretation through practical experience in actual
teaching situation.

The student teaching experience allows you to put

everything that you’ve learned about education and your subject
matter into action. You get to test the waters under the supervision
of an experienced teacher who can guide you along and help you
become the kind of teacher that you want to be. If you embrace
the opportunity, you can learn a lot from the experience.
Continuous professional development is an important component
of effective teaching. Student teaching is a learning experience.
The student teacher does not leave the student teaching
experience as a finished product--learning should continue
throughout one’s professional career.
 EXPECTATIONS
FROM A STUDENT
TEACHER
PUNCTUALITY
The student teacher should behave in a professional manner at all times, realizing that
punctuality, reliability, initiative, and attitude toward teaching are important aspects of his/her
evaluation as a perspective teacher. He or she should observe punctuality throughout the duration of
the school practicum. In order to complete each component of their Professional Experience
Program, Teacher Education Students must attend 100 per cent of their allocated days. Any missed
days must be made up.

Teacher Education Students are expected to arrive well before the beginning of school and
remain until the end of the day. Teacher Education Students are required to record the times they
teach and the Key Learning Areas covered on the Register of School Visits form. When not teaching,
they should be involved in other school-based activities; such as locating resources in staffrooms and
libraries, liaising with other staff and, above all, observing the Supervising Teacher and other willing
staff.

Regular attendance at school is vital. Put simply, absence means missed learning; without it
the learning process becomes fragmented and unsatisfactory. Irregular attendance leads to missing
important lessons and therefore not fulfilling their true potential. Therefore we take the issue of
attendance very seriously and do all we can to obtain very high attendance.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
All Teacher Education Students are expected to demonstrate a strong commitment to all
aspects of their work during the professional experience program. Teacher Education Students are
therefore expected to familiarize themselves with the key elements of their professional experience
program, including placement preconditions, conditions of placement, conduct during a professional
experience placement, and the criteria for assessment.
 EXPECTATIONS
FROM A STUDENT
TEACHER
When first meeting with their Supervising Teacher, the Teacher Education Students should seek
information on:

 the class timetable and weekly and daily routines;

 classroom layout and seating arrangements;
 the classroom program (themes, structure, students with special needs, parent involvement,
etc.);
 school and class discipline policies and practices;
 procedures and use of photocopy machine and ICT facilities;
 availability and storage of resources (including musical instruments, sporting equipment,
books, audio visual materials) within classroom; and
 Anticipated excursions, sporting or musical events.

Teacher Education Students are expected to have their lessons thoroughly prepared. They
should be ready to discuss the prepared lesson with the Supervising Teacher prior to the lesson
being taught. Teacher Education Students are also expected to reflect on the lessons they
teach. Reflecting on practice is an important way to highlight your strengths and identify areas
where you need to focus your energies in order to improve.

All Teacher Education Students have lesson plan pro-form as which they are expected to use.
The pro-forma includes a framework for evaluating their lesson. The Supervising Teacher and/or
Tertiary Supervisor may decide a less detailed plan is more appropriate as Teacher Education
Students gain experience. Teacher Education Students should accompany the Supervising Teacher
or other teachers, to rostered duties such as playground duty, roll call and assemblies. With your
Principal's permission, they should also attend some staff meetings and parent/teacher meetings.

An "extra" is a class assigned to a teacher because the usual class teacher is

unavailable. Teacher Education Students cannot be asked to take "extras". Legally, they cannot be
placed in charge of a class. If you know in advance that you will be absent,
 EXPECTATIONS
FROM A STUDENT
TEACHER
it is best to organize another day for the Teacher Education Students visit. In certain cases, Teacher
Education Students have taught classes supervised by relief teachers. Teacher Education Students
must keep a record of their teaching in a Professional Portfolio. A class timetable, seating plan and
relevant school policies must be included, followed by clearly presented and organized lesson plans
or units of work. These lessons and units should be evaluated by the Supervising Teacher.

WORK ETHICS
During professional experience placements, Teacher Education Students work closely with
teachers, students, and other members of the school community. It is therefore important at all
times to act ethically and with the utmost degree of professionalism. This includes respecting the
rights of individuals and always dealing with any information about the school and the members of
the school community in strict confidence. Appropriate professional behavior is an assessable
expectation of any Professional Experience.

Professional Experience requires preservice teachers to work closely with students, teachers and
school communities. At all times ethical principles need to guide their practice, in particular:

Respect for persons: Preservice teachers must respect the rights and beliefs of individuals. For
example, they should not make public judgements about the physical appearance or intellectual
abilities of students in classes and they should apply appropriate cultural sensitivities. A guiding
principle in all their interactions with other people in the Professional Experience should be respect
for the dignity and well-being of others.

Privacy and confidentiality: Preservice teachers are required to maintain confidentiality and
discretion with respect to information and opinion regarding students, teachers, the school or
center’s business as well as parents/caregivers and relevant community members.