About Student Teaching
The student teaching internship is designed to be the culminating professional clinical experience for candidates in teacher education. The primary purpose of the student teaching experience is to provide interns with a carefully mentored experience to help them develop and enhance the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to have a positive impact on student learning and development. This is a professional development experience during which the intern works in a public school setting with students. It provides an opportunity for the intern to assume major responsibility for the full range of teaching in an approved school setting under the guidance of qualified supervisors from The Citadel’s Zucker Family School of Education and the cooperating schools.
Student Teaching is a full-semester, full-time, full-day, clinical component of the teacher preparation program for students seeking initial teacher certification. All MAT programs require 6 credits of internship. It requires full commitment and dedication. No other coursework is permitted. Candidates should not plan to enroll in any online or regularly scheduled coursework during the internship semester in which s/he is completing the internship. Interns are discouraged from holding jobs in order to have sufficient time for full participation as well as planning, preparation, and reflection.
For more information on student teaching, refer to:
- Pre-Student Teaching Handbook
- Student Teaching Handbook for Student Teaching Interns, Cooperating Teachers, School Administrators, and College Supervisors
Applying to Student Teach
Teacher candidates must carefully review the Application Checklist and take part in one of the onboarding information sessions scheduled each semester. Applicants must file an application for a student teaching internship with the Office of Internships and Field Experiences two semesters prior to the semester s/he would like to complete their internship. Applications for all teaching internships are downloadable from this link: internship applications.
Teacher candidates must also complete the SC Department of Education’s Application for Student Teaching Approval and Initial Certification form along with the electronic fingerprint process. Both requirements should be completed two semesters prior to the semester s/he would like to complete their internship. Links for both requirements can be found here.
Failure to file on time could delay and/or prevent the candidate from entering the internship.
Two semesters BEFORE student teaching:
- Complete The Citadel’s Application for Student Teaching Internship.
- Complete the SC Department of Education’s Application for Student Teaching Approval and Initial Certification.
- Complete the electronic fingerprint process.
- Meet with the Directors of Student and Enrollment Services and Internships and Field Experiences.
- Requests for FALL assignments must be turned in by the FALL semester one year prior to the student teaching internship.
- Requests for SPRING assignments must be turned in by the SPRING semester one year prior to the student teaching internship.
Three to Six Months PRIOR to student teaching:
- Successfully complete the Praxis II and Praxis PLT Exams. – Praxis
- Meet with the Directors of Student and Enrollment Services and Internships and Field Experiences.
During your Student Teaching
Interns will be placed with an ADEPT-certified Cooperating Teacher who is willing to share their experience and expertise. Cooperating teachers will have at least three years of experience and the recommendation of their principal. Interns will complete a student teaching portfolio and attend mandatory weekly seminars. The purpose of the seminar is to facilitate reflective teaching, and to enhance the learning that is taking place in the field.
Calendars
The student teaching internship is a culminating experience in all teacher certification programs, and the internship assignments aim to provide interns with an opportunity to reflect on their work and to promote personal and professional development. The timeline for completing specific tasks and assignments is intended to provide a realistic working environment where interns progressively assume full teaching responsibilities. The cooperating teacher will consult regularly with the student teaching intern to make decisions about assuming teaching responsibilities as outlined on the calendar. Cooperating teachers will consider such factors as the academic needs of students and the capabilities of the student teaching intern. The following calendars offer some guidelines for the student teaching intern, cooperating teacher, and college supervisor.