Student Teacher
Application Information and Procedures
To be eligible for Student Teaching, you must be admitted to the Educator Preparation Program (EPP), have passed all of your state certification exams, and have completed all other degree courses outside of Student Teaching. If you have met all requirements, but are currently registered in the final pending coursework prior to Student Teaching, your enrollment in Student Teaching is dependent on the successful completion of those courses. If you have met all coursework requirements, but you are scheduled to attempt one or more state certification exams, your application will be placed on hold until your test scores are verified. Upon your submission of the Student Teaching application, the above-mentioned requirements will be verified by the Field Experience Specialist and the Testing Coordinator.
Once verification of all requirements is complete, you will receive an acceptance email and the Field Experience Specialist will register you for the six semester credit hour Student Teaching course. Prior to the start of your Student Teaching semester, you will receive, via your UTEP email, a placement letter, which includes your assigned school and Cooperating Teacher), as well as instructions on how to complete a background check.
6 Frequently Asked Questions about Student Teaching
Text Version:
1. What is the Process That Leads to a Placement for Student Teaching?
- Confirmation email from Testing Coordinator - applicant has completed/passed all state tests
- Assigned Advisors will perform degree evaluations for applicants - courses, substitutions, and observation hours (30) were completed and documented in the file.
- Cleared applicant's file will be sent to the Office of Student Teaching:
- Notify student
- Student Teaching Course Registration
- Placement
Please allow at least 3-4 weeks to get notified by the Office of Student Teaching in regards to your ST application.
2. How do students get placed?
- Placements are made by the Office of Student Teaching.
- Student teachers are placed in partnering schools that have established agreements to host student teachers with the College of Education. It will take a while for students to be notified of their placement. This is because school districts and school campuses have to be notified first of the placement assignments.
- Students are not permitted to contact potential host schools or cooperating teachers to make arrangements for placements. This is to respect our relationship with our partner districts who have asked us to communicate with them through consistent district representatives.
3. How long is the Student Teaching experience?
Student Teaching is a 15-week experience
- Beginning and end dates will be provided to you immediately after they have been confirmed by the school districts. Special Education, Music, Art, and Physical Education Student Teachers will have placements in two different grade levels to provide them a broader range of exposure as is required for all-level teaching. This means that students pursuing all-level certification will complete the first 8 weeks of their experience in one level and campus and the last 7 weeks in another level and different campus.
- The Student Teaching semester lasts 15 full weeks, Monday through Friday for the entire school day. District schedules vary slightly, but most schools are in session between 7:30 AM and 4:00 PM.
- Plan to work the same hours as your assigned Cooperating Teacher (CT).
- Any partial or full days missed, with the exception of observed holidays and any mandatory College of Education events/seminars reserved for Student Teachers, will have to be made up at the end of your Student Teaching semester. Student Teachers must work with their assigned CT and make arrangements to make up any missed days.
4. How do I register for Student Teaching?
- The Office of Student Teaching will register you for Student Teaching. It is a 6-hour course and will appear in your Goldmine and Blackboard.
5. Do I have to attend orientation?
Students are required to attend two mandatory orientations:
- The College of Education Student Teaching Orientation;
- The School District Orientation
- District orientations provide specific information regarding the district's rules and regulations. All districts require that all student teachers attend their orientations before reporting to any campuses.
Students will be notified by email of the date, time, and location of the orientations.
6. Do I have to do a background check?
- Pursuant to the Texas Education Code TEC, §22.0835, candidates must undergo a criminal history background check prior to student teaching; pursuant to the TEC, §22.083, candidates must undergo a criminal history background check prior to employment as an educator. A candidate may be ineligible for issuance of a certificate on completion of the EPP if an individual has been convicted of an offense.
- Pursuant to the Texas Education Code TEC, §22.0835, candidates must undergo a criminal history background check prior to student teaching; pursuant to the TEC, §22.083, candidates must undergo a criminal history background check prior to employment as an educator. A candidate may be ineligible for issuance of a certificate on completion of the EPP if an individual has been convicted of an offense.
- A person who is enrolled or planning to enroll in an educator preparation program or planning to take a certification examination may request a preliminary criminal history evaluation letter regarding the person's potential ineligibility for certification due to a conviction or deferred adjudication for a felony or misdemeanor offense.
- Effective August 1, 2015, MorphoTrust, the Texas Department of Public Safety fingerprinting vendor, can no longer utilize P-numbers in place of social security numbers for completion of the fingerprinting process. As a result, candidates attempting to be fingerprinted using a non-valid 9-digit social security number will not be allowed to complete the fingerprinting process, which is required for the background check necessary for teacher certification in Texas. Information for international students is available at the Social Security Administration and at the UTEP Office of International Programs.
- Please refer to the respective school district's background check procedures in the Resources section on this Website.
Responsibilities
Student Teaching is a combination of professional development and field experience intended to enrich your depth of knowledge and skills to prepare you for your career as a teacher. As a Student Teacher, you will share teaching responsibilities with your cooperating teacher (CT) that includes:
- lesson planning and delivery for small and large groups of students;
- using assessment to analyze students’ strengths and needs;
- implementing classroom management;
- preparing materials;
- collaborating with other teachers;
- establishing a classroom climate that fosters learning, equity, and excellence;
- participating in school activities related to parental and community involvement;
- completing all teaching requirements;
- assisting your CT in ways that provide experience with the complex work of teaching and learning.
Please refer to the Student Teaching Handbook for a detailed Student Teacher’s responsibility.
You will attend the Student Teaching Professional Learning Seminars, and Teacher Job Fair. In addition to the above-mentioned responsibilities, you will be required to follow the guidelines set in the Student Teaching Handbook.