Field Experiences and Student Teaching
in Secondary Education
College of Education

Students seeking Type 09 certification, whether as an undergraduate or a graduate student, must complete 100 hours of field work prior to student teaching. These hours are accumulated as part of several courses.  During their fieldwork, students participate in classrooms as observers, tutors, and participants in large-group activities. Field experiences involve both urban and suburban placements and must include schools with traditionally underserved populations.

Field Experiences: There are three field-experience courses in the secondary certification program; all three must be taken in sequence.  The standard special education course is also part of the curriculum. All four are offered as both undergraduate and graduate-level courses. Descriptions of each follow:

SPED 3/419   

An opportunity to work in various settings with students who have identified special needs.

SEED 3/401   

A set of experiences in several schools with different demographic profiles (socioeconomic) and sponsorship (public or private); also an opportunity to participate in a tutoring program, encouraging the development of mathematics and language arts abilities in middle and secondary students

SEED 3/450   

An observation experience designed to culminate in the teacher candidate taking responsibility for planning and teaching students the potential teacher has been observing

Both graduate and undergraduate students who have completed field experiences in other programs can petition the secondary education department to have these hours considered for meeting requirements of the secondary program.  Graduate students who are currently employed as full-time teachers at the time they are taking SEED 450 may petition to have this experience satisfy some of the fieldwork hours required for this course.

Student Teaching

Student teaching, for both undergraduate and graduate students, is open only to those who have completed all the requirements given below. Applicants are also expected to be in good physical health, free from severe or chronic difficulties that could impede their teaching, and well-prepared academically, this means holding more than the minimum academic standing.

Each student teacher is supervised by experienced classroom teachers, both their coop teacher and their university supervisor. In conjunction with student teaching, secondary students are required to submit an electronic portfolio that documents their growth and accomplishments in the secondary education program.

All course work in general education, the major field (for graduates and undergraduates), and the secondary education program, along with field experience hours, are to be completed prior to student teaching. The exception is, for graduate students, EDUC 485: Technology in Education and EDUC 480: Multicultural Perspectives on Education; both of these, which are required for the master’s degree, can be completed after student teaching and certification.

For further information, on both undergraduate and graduate fieldwork see Office of Field Placements and Partnerships or return to your program’s home page.