Student Teaching

[LeslieAGD]

For all the education majors out there...what does your pre-student teaching and/or student teaching consist of?

[dzsaigirl]

For Music Ed:

One semester of education classes with required 30 hours of classroom observation (where we go out to a school and watch).

One semester of the second half of those education classes with more observation required, as well as team teaching with a partner one day a week at a local underpriviledged school (little or no English spoken here...Thank God for knowing Spanish...). This semester you also start doing lots of "portfolio items" like philosophy of education, classroom management, etc. We also had to prepare lessons and teach them in front of our education class while being video taped and then had meetings to discuss, also meetings to discuss the inner city school thing.

The last semester of school: 14 weeks of student teaching. For me, since I am All-level certified, I spent 7 weeks in Elementary and then my second 7 weeks had to be Junior High or High school. I chose Junior High. You gradually take over the classroom, teaching completely alone for at least 2 weeks at each placement, or a month if you only have one placement. All the while, you are writing lesson plans, doing papers, keeping a journal, meeting at campus once a week for a meeting in the afternoon to meet with your faculty supervisor. You get observed by your faculty supervisor who, in cooperation with the teacher whose classroom you are taking over, decides your grade for the semester. We were also required to go to a job fair and seminar on our college campus, which was of no use to me since I am moving states, but was really useful for others.

I hope that this helps. Unless you are all-level like me, you will probably just be at one school for the whole time. I dunno though. Every school and state has their own requirements.

Also, we were encouraged to "make student teaching our full time job". Well, that would be impossible! They are crazy! I think they wanted us to just be poor, or kill ourselves working. I student taught from 7:30 to almost 4 each day and then taught music lessons every day starting at 4 after school. I think that student teaching is the most tired I have ever been, however I really liked it, and you are sure to know whether or not you REALLY are cut out for teaching once you do student teaching. Lots of people find out that they are not, just because it is pretty hard.

Okay, now I am really finished!

[KappaStargirl]

I too was a music major!! It was not fun. It's a 4.5 year major that I did in 3.5 and I don't recommend it. But anyway, I adored student teaching and here's what I had to do prior, for a secondary instrumental music ed degree, I am NOT a certified general music teacher:

1) Gen eds. Too many English, bio science, history, physical science, foreign languages, etc.

2) 1 semester conducting

3) 1 semester each of String, Woodwind, Brass, and Percussion Techniques

4) 2 semesters of Rehearsal Techniques, culminating in directing the graduation band on the piece of your choice plus a band arrangement of a Stravinsky string quartet. DYOT--Do your own transpositions. Complete with portfolio.

5) 4 education classes, each with 25 hours of observation

6) The standard ensemble requirement: One major ensemble every semester, plus at least 6 semesters of chamber ensembles

7) at least 9 credits of private lessons on your major PLUS a senior recital, 45-60 minutes. My school believes in turning out teachers who are musicians first, which I liked a lot.

Phew!! I think that's it!

[dzsaigirl]

I took all that crap too, but i thought she was just interested in the student teaching part? I dunno...

[LeslieAGD]

Dzsaigirl...I was curious either way.

We have FETE classes (Field Experience - Teacher Education) that are only one credit. FETE 201 is 5 pre-student teaching hours, 302 is 25+ hours, and 402 is 30+ hours. It's supposed to help you accumulte your hours, but they are a major pain in the butt and more work than my three credit classes.