Student/Supervised Teaching
Student/supervised teaching is the culmination of all certification programs. Student teaching consists of one complete semester of 14 weeks, following a full-time school schedule, and includes a weekly seminar. The weekly seminar is an integral part of student teaching and all course assignments for the seminar must be successfully completed. Professional behavior and deportment are critical to successful teaching and will be assessed during the student teaching experience.
Successful completion of student teaching requires success in both seminar and classroom teaching experience. Students who pass only seminar will not receive a passing grade in the student teaching course and vice versa. Student teaching may be repeated once only for a single program only if a student receives a grade of “C” or below. If a host K-12 school removes a student from a student teaching placement, the college will attempt to find one additional placement, after which, the Masters degree may not be achievable.
Placement of teacher candidates in classrooms for student teaching is a complex process, necessitating finding appropriate schools and grade levels to fulfill certification and degree requirements. Considerable time is also required to ensure that each candidate will be placed in the most suitable seminar group. ALL student or supervised teaching must be pre-approved.
Therefore, candidates for student teaching must schedule an appointment with the Office of Field Placement. Candidates for student/supervised teaching in Fall semester must meet with the Office of Field Placement by March 1 of the preceding Spring semester. Candidates for student/supervised teaching in Spring semester must meet with the Office of Field Placement by October 1 of the preceding Fall. Students who do not meet these deadlines may have to postpone student teaching.
Candidates for student/supervised teaching must also schedule a review by Graduate Advising before meeting with the Office of Field Placement. With approval of the Office of Field Placement, students who are employed as teachers in an accredited school and teaching in the area of their degree or post-masters program may be able to use their own classrooms as their student teaching sites.
Students must be fully matriculated prior to beginning their student/supervised teaching.
Virtually all graduate Education courses, NYS liberal arts requirements for certification, and required NYS workshops and certification exams must be completed before student/supervised teaching, except in exceptional circumstances. Those who are not candidates for NY teaching or leadership certification do not need to meet NYS certification requirements.
All students undertaking student teaching will complete an electronic portfolio, the “edTPA,” or, for those already certified or not seeking NYS certification, a substantial equivalent, as a requirement for successful completion of student teaching. For those seeking their first NY State teacher certificate, the edTPA must also be submitted to NYSED for evaluation, as a requirement for certification in NY State.
Student teaching can be completed only in the Fall or Spring semesters; exceptions for student teaching in Summer session for full-time, in-service teachers completing a Masters degree in a subject or grade level other than the one they are currently teaching are sometimes possible. No summer placement can be guaranteed.
Students must provide their own transportation to and from student teaching sites. Student teaching must be completed within a twenty-five mile radius from the college within Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Fairfield, Bronx or New York Counties.
Successful completion of student teaching does not automatically entail that the candidate is eligible for certification.
For additional information, please refer to the Student/Supervised Teaching Handbook in the Field Placement Office.