Choosing My Student Teaching Placement

Hopefully as a teacher candidate you have input into your student teaching placement. Here are some tips when choosing the placement and things to think about for the placement:

1. Teaching at your former elementary, middle or high school: many teacher candidates have fond memories of their former art experience and they want to work with their former art educator. A couple of things to consider; this will not be a young student versus your former art teacher, the art teacher will expect you to take the reigns of the class and teach art. Also, some institutions require that you have an extended period of time [7-10 years] between your school age experience and your student teaching.

2. Visit the student teaching site and observe the art educator teach a lesson. Reputations for wonderful schools start early and die a slow death.  You want to make sure the art educator is interested in taking a student teacher. You want to make sure that your ‘teaching style’ [even though you are just starting you probably have your own expectations at this point] will compliment your cooperating teacher.

3. Visit the school to give you an idea of the climate of the school. Is this the type of teaching environment that will nurture you as a young professional? You will learn many things during student teaching and many of those tips and strategies will come from other professionals in the school.

4. Ask questions during your visit to the site. If you love to integrate technology, art history, multicultural themes, etc. into your lessons ask about how that might work in the school. You may want to adjust your intergradations of these concepts on a different level and still experience a wonderful internship.

5. Be flexible and open to this wonderful experience.

Galbraith, L. (Ed.). (1995). Preservice Art Education Issues and Practice. Reston, VA: The National Art Education Association.

-Anne L. Becker, EdD