Student Teaching

Student Teaching Handbook (PDF)
(Obtain during Orientation week)

The student teaching program is intended to serve two basic purposes. One important purpose is for the prospective teacher to learn how to plan for, coordinate, and teach in a classroom of diverse students. Although it is the purpose of methods courses to provide the academic foundation for these actions, the actual application of principles of learning requires additional training. It should not be expected that individuals entering student teaching be fully prepared to assume responsibility for teaching. Rather, Student Teachers are considered to be “beginning teachers;" therefore, the assistance of and instruction from Master Teachers and University Supervisors is integral to their success.

Providing Student Teachers with this guidance requires they be placed in exemplary classrooms under the supervision of highly skilled Master Teachers and University Supervisors. Student Teachers need a supportive, professional environment that serves as a model of excellence in order for them to best learn important skills that provide the foundation for their continued professional growth.

A second major purpose of student teaching concerns the evaluative function of the Master Teacher and University Supervisor. Fulfilling this function can be difficult, as only those Student Teachers who demonstrate high skill, commitment, responsibility, and professional ethics should be allowed to become credentialed teachers. Therefore, Master Teachers and University Supervisors must have an understanding of the elements of good teaching along with strong supervisory, observational, and evaluation skills.

The following information on the Multiple Subject Credential Program requirements is included in order to inform Master Teachers and administrators about the preparation of Student Teachers prior to their final student teaching experience.  It is important to remember that the purpose for student teaching is to prepare “beginning” teachers.  Although they have had some fieldwork experiences, it is during student teaching that they are able to take what they have learned in their coursework and “put it to the test” in the actual classroom.  For some Student Teachers, this transfer of learning is relatively easy; for others, the dissonance between the university learning and the realities of teaching can be quite difficult.  The supervisor who understands the knowledge base that the Student Teacher brings to student teaching can best assist in making this transition.

For further information about California requirements for teacher education, you may wish to read, “Standards of Program Quality and Effectiveness for Multiple and Single Subject Credentials,” from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.  The California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP), upon which the Summative and Formative Evaluation forms are based, are included in Section V of the Student Teaching Handbook.  The CSTP provide a common language for educators to examine the broad scope and complexity of teaching.  They should be utilized by the Student Teacher and Master Teacher on a regular basis to facilitate the development of goals and to assess ongoing practice and progress.

MSCP Student Teaching Office, ED1 -62
http://www.ced.csulb.edu/fpo
(562) 985-4508 or mscp-studentteach@csulb.edu

Last update: 8/8/08