Student Teaching
Student teaching is the culmination of all degree programs. Successful completion of student teaching requires success in both seminar and classroom teaching experience This immersion in the real world of schools will prepare you, in the same way as an apprenticeship would, to meet the challenges of your own classroom. With Manhattanville's support, encouragement and guidance, you will prepare yourself for a profession that is as satisfying as it is demanding. Professional behavior and deportment are critical to successful teaching and will be assessed during the student teaching experience. Inappropriate behavior may result in dismissal from the education program. Student teaching is the culminating experience of a teacher education program leading to a state teaching certificate.
Student teaching is the culminating experience for undergraduate students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts program at Manhattanville College, and as such must be completed in the final semester enrolled in the college after the teacher candidate has completed the required Education courses, the three required workshops, and 90 credits of liberal arts courses which include a Liberal Arts major and the college general education requirements. The coursework outlined above prepares candidates to be successful in this culminating experience that is the final stage in their undergraduate teacher education program and is thus a prerequisite.
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 and the most suitable seminar group. ALL student teaching must be pre-approved. Therefore, candidates for student teaching in Fall semester must meet first with the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and secondly with the Office of Field Placement by March 15 of the preceding Spring semester. Candidates for student teaching in Spring semester must meet first with the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and secondly with the Office of Field Placement by October 15 of the preceding Fall. Students who do not meet these deadlines must postpone student teaching. Fingerprinting must be completed after acceptance into the program.
Student teaching is a rigorous full-time internship experience that requires teacher candidates to assume the responsibilities of a classroom teacher. It consists of minimally 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 completed as assigned. Students who pass only seminar will not receive a passing grade in the student teaching course and vice versa. Student teaching may be repeated only once 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 Bachelor’s degree may not be achievable.
For additional information, please refer to the Student/Supervised Teaching Handbook in the Field Placement Office.