Student Teaching Experience
We provide teacher candidates with real-world experiences in classrooms both close to home and around the globe. Because they contribute to the learning experience by co-teaching with mentor teachers, our students are prepared and confident in the classroom and ready to have an immediate impact on the students they teach.
A major component of professional education coursework involves field experiences in various settings. During pre-student teaching, a teacher candidate will have extensive field experiences. These experiences are gradual in expectation, time commitment, and skills practice.
Teacher candidates play an important role in achieving a meaningful field experience. Placement in partner schools brings with it a great responsibility to the P-12 students and schools at which teacher candidates are placed. All teacher candidates should consider the impact of their behavior on their own success as well as future placement potential and ongoing relationships with mentor teachers, administrators, school sites, and districts.
The Student Teaching Handbook provides critical information about:
- Expectations for Teacher Candidates
- Planning and Preparation for Field Experience
- Professional Relations with Staff and Students
- Professional Dress
- Field Experience Evaluation
- Other Considerations
Course instructors may provide additional information that is pertinent to other field experience requirements. All teacher candidates should be aware of and comply with these policies, procedures, and expectations.
The College of Education is committed to excellence in teacher preparation. Student teaching is the capstone field experience for the teacher education programs at Minnesota State University, Mankato. During student teaching, teacher candidates experience the role of the professional educator and demonstrate their ability to successfully enter the induction phase of teaching. The teacher candidate uses this opportunity to produce evidence of their teaching competence in four domains: planning and preparation, the classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibilities.
Student teaching is a results-oriented, performance-based program requiring the demonstration of a satisfactory level of teaching performance using co-teaching strategies, supported by a strong teacher/mentor relationship, and provides a time for learning, experimentation, critical analysis, practice, and reflection. Candidates are expected to develop and demonstrate through performance, assessment, integrated knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to become committed professional educators.
The College of Education supports long-term placements for teacher candidates during their final two semesters, when possible, within one school or within the same school district.
Begin the process by clicking on "Student Teaching Application" in the right-hand menu.
