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The Best Advice for Student Teachers

March 6, 2020 By Rachel

The Best Advice for Student Teachers

Student teaching is one of the most exciting times in the journey to becoming a teacher.  I can still remember waking up on my first morning of student teaching and thinking about how I was finally a real teacher!  My cooperating teacher was amazing and shared a lot of advice with me during my student teaching.  I’ve also hosted several student teachers of my own and I’m here to share some real advice for student teaching that will not only help you while you’re student teaching but will also help you during those first years as a new teacher.

Write everything down

One of the best pieces of advice for student teachers is to write anything and everything down.  You will be doing so many things that there is no possible way to remember them all.  Get yourself a cute notebook, or create a Google Doc, whatever works for you, and just take great notes.  Write down things your cooperating teacher does, says, questions she/he asks students.  Write down how lessons went, how you felt during observations, dealing with student behavior, etc.  As you think about questions to ask, write those down too.  And speaking of that…ask all the questions!  Ask why your cooperating teacher did or said something.  Now is your chance to get all your questions answered.  So ask away!
student teacher binder
Student Teacher Binder

Take pictures of everything

This goes along with writing everything down.  Taking pictures will allow you to remember things when you’re in your own classroom.  Take pictures of bulletin boards, student projects, the different ways things are organized, and different rooms set up.  Don’t just take pictures in the classroom you’re student teaching in.  Ask other teachers if you can take pictures of their classrooms too.

Observe as many classrooms as you can

Take your notebook and your phone (to take pictures) and go sit in other classrooms.  Observe all different grade levels.  The more classrooms you see, the more ideas you’ll get for what you like and what you don’t like.  You’ll see different teaching styles, methodologies, and even classroom management styles. Use your planning time to do observations, even if it’s just a walkthrough.  Most teachers won’t mind you coming to observe, all you have to do is ask.

Do as much as your cooperating teacher will allow

The best part of being a student teacher is this is the time to learn as much as you can about how things work in the classroom from an experienced teacher.  If you are allowed, sit in on parent conferences, IEP meetings, Grade level, faculty, committee meetings, etc.  Again, use that notebook and write down things you want to remember when it’s time for you to do this on your own.  When I student taught, I had to plan a field trip for the whole grade level.  I filled out the request forms and contacted the museum.  It was a great learning experience for me!  You can also attend after school clubs or programs that are facilitated by teachers.  Doing these types of things will give you experience on how to run these when you’re on your own but also give you great talking points when you start interviewing for jobs.

Build relationships with students

The best thing you can do is get to know the students you’ll be working with.  Most of the time, before you start taking over the teaching responsibilities, you are observing the class you’ll be in.  This is a great time to take notes on what you observe about each student, but also a time to get to know them on a personal level.  Talk with them during lunch or play with them at recess.  This will help strengthen those relationships, so when it’s time to teach them, you have already formed that bond.

Be firm, be fair, and be consistent with classroom management

Since you will be teaching in someone else’s classroom, you will be using whatever classroom management system they use.  It may not be what you would want to use, so don’t be afraid to ask for help or if you can try something different.  As long as you are firm, fair, and consistent with your expectations, students will do what is expected of them.

Be yourself

Remember this is your time to learn and practice how to be a teacher.  Now is the time to try new things when you have the support of another teacher.  In the words of the infamous Ms. Frizzle, “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”
Looking for ways to rock your classroom management?  Download the guidebook now!

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  • Rachel
  • Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: New Teacher

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    msrachelvincent

    Rachel | 4th Grade Teacher
    How long is your students’ attention spans? I o How long is your students’ attention spans?
I only have about 10 minutes before I lose them! 🤪
And I don’t know about you but my lessons are typically longer…so I try to mix it up every 10 minutes with a Think-Pair-Share or some kind of movement
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#teachersofig #iteachtoo #iteach4th #iteach456 #teachersofinstagram #teachingelementary #attentionspan #minilessons #thinkpairshare
    6 ways to get your students participating in your 6 ways to get your students participating in your lessons!
1️⃣ Think Time - giving your students time to think about the answer keeps your over achievers from answering all the questions 
2️⃣ Movement - Stand/Sit if this is your answer
3️⃣ Turn & Talk - Everyone shares their answer with a partner
4️⃣ Hand Signals - Perfect for multiple choice questions
5️⃣ Think-Pair-Share - Combines the think time with turn & talk 
6️⃣ Repetition - repeat important information to help it stick
🗣🗣Which number are you trying this week?!
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#teachersfollowteachers #igteachers #iteach #teachergram #iteachfourth #iteach345 #teachingstrategies #studentparticipation
    Do you have these 4 teacher goals?! 1️⃣ Instr Do you have these 4 teacher goals?!
1️⃣ Instructional Goal - How are you improving your instruction?
2️⃣ Relationship Goal - How are you building relationships with students or coworkers?
3️⃣ Balance Goal - How are you trying to have a better work-life balance?
4️⃣ Non Instructional Goal - What other area are you trying to improve?
Here’s my 4 goals!
1. Vocabulary Instruction 
2. 2 Positive Notes a Week
3. Leave by 3:00 3 out 5 days
4. Clean off back counter once a week
What are your goals?
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#teachersfollowteachers #igteachers #iteach #teachergram #iteachfourth #iteach345 #teachergoals #teachergoals🍎
    Coming back from break is a lot easier than the fi Coming back from break is a lot easier than the first day of school!
Less teacher talk 🗣
More student talk 👥
1️⃣ Give your students time to catch up with each other. Even adults like to chit chat about what we did during break!
2️⃣ Review procedures by playing a fun game. Charades is a great way to act out procedures to see if other students can guess what they’re doing!
3️⃣ The halfway point of the school year is a great time for students to set goals!
What’s your favorite thing to do after a break?!
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#teachersfollowteachers #igteachers #iteach #teachergram #iteachfourth #iteach345 #studentgoals #classroomprocedures #classroomideas
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