Simple Advice
The advice and tips you see here have been collected over the years from student teachers. ACOE Student Teacher is pleased to make them available to you in hopes they will make your student teaching experience more enjoyable. Once you have been in student teaching for a period of time, you too might have some advice or tips to share with other Alabama student teachers. If so, please click on the submission button at the bottom of this page and share your thoughts. Thanks and I hope you have a great student teaching experience.
- You can never be over PREPARED!!!
- Open up communication with the cooperating teacher as soon as possible. Know what they expect.
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Learn quickly the cooperating teachers organization and management system and use that system.
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Dress professionally, you are looked at as a role model.
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Have an attitude of being a life-long learner.
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Be a member of professional organizations, local, state and nationally.
- Find out what units you are expected to be responsible for and gather the materials needed to cover each unit. Create “unit boxes”.
- Get plenty of rest during your student teaching experience (at home that is, not at school).
- Eat a well balanced diet. You will be surprised at how tired you will get during this time.
- Be organized.
- Take your student teaching very serious. It is the gateway to your first professional teaching career.
- Be active in as many extra activities as you can. Go to the PTO/PTA meetings, board meetings, ball games, and dances.
- Let your face become familiar with as many of the staff as possible.
- Don’t call in sick or be late unless it is an absolute emergency.
- Be polite to all the faculty and staff.
- Meet as many of the staff as possible.
- Ask your cooperating teacher if you can make copies of their lessons and units. Gather as much information as possible.
- Treat everyone, including students, with respect.
- Stay away from the teacher lounge gossip as much as possible.
- Be creative in the classroom.
- Keep a positive attitude about everything.
- Smile a lot.
- Keep a journal of your experiences.
- Share your ideas and don’t be afraid to ask for advice from the other teachers.
- Don’t think that everything you do is going to go perfect. No matter how prepared you are things could go wrong. Learn from your mistakes and improve from them.
- Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help.
- Learn to laugh at yourself and enjoy the moment.
- Enjoy the different personalities of the students and faculty.
- Don’t take correction personal, but do take it seriously.
- Know that there is life after student teaching.
- Know that at one moment you will be on top of the world and then the next, the bottom of the sea.
- Create a network of teachers you admire and respect. Politely ask them to write you letters of reference.
- Develop a portfolio you can bring with you to interviews.
- Ask the assistant principal or principal for a mock interview.
- DO NOT discuss students with anyone other than the cooperating teacher, privacy is utmost importance.
- Special Education students confidentiality should be in highest regard.
If you have a Simple Advice or a Proven Tip that you would like to have added and shared with student teachers, please submit here.