FAQs for student teaching

Where do I turn in the material from the Intent to Student Teach meeting?
All materials are due by 5:00 p.m. on the due date. You may turn in the materials to 208 JRP (The Welcome Center) or 214D JRP (Field Experience Coordinator).

If you are required to have a "split placement", in which you are placed in two different districts during one experience, can you be placed in whatever districts you choose?
No, you must be placed in two districts on the same side (i.e. Lawrence side and Edwards side). Therefore, you could not be placed in Shawnee Mission (Edwards side) and Ottawa (Lawrence side). This is especially important for MEMT and HSES students who all complete split placements within a given semester.

Is it against regulations or requirements to be paid for an internship or student teaching experience?
Yes. The Kansas State Board of Education does not allow students to be paid. However, students may work as an "emergency substitute" in the periods before or after student teaching and internship.

If my clinical supervisor is absent, can I be called upon to substitute teach in the classroom? State mandate requires the presence of a certified teacher or system authorized substitute with the student teacher at all times. With one of those individuals in the room, and depending on the level of self confidence, the student may accept responsibility for instruction. The authorized substitute or certified teacher holds responsibility for supervision of the students. Should this situation occur during your placement, let your university supervisor know ASAP. Student teachers cannot be used as substitute teachers. Even if the student has been listed on the system’s certified substitute list, they may not serve as a substitute during the student teaching/internship semester.

Is it true that you cannot work while you are student teaching?
Student teaching and internship are full-time responsibilities. Therefore, student teachers and interns are strongly encouraged to devote all of their energies to the internship experiences. Employment during the internship semester could seriously jeopardize an intern's performance.

Is it possible to student teach in an Edwards Campus district one semester and the next in the Lawrence Campus area?
Yes.

What is the difference in Edwards Campus fees and Lawrence Campus fees?
This information is available at www.timetable.ku.edu.

If I am getting an ESL minor do I need to do my student teaching or internship in an ESL classroom? If so, how do I specify this on my application?
You may be able to do part of your student teaching or internship in an ESL classroom, which would replace the required ESL practicum for certification. However, this is not always possible. Please request an ESL placement when you fill out your online placement request; if we cannot arrange it, you can usually do the practicum in the summer.

Do we student teach on Fridays?
Yes. The student teaching placement is a full time Monday through Friday position. Sometimes you may be asked to attend meetings and programs not held during the regular work day. You are also expected to attend these.

What school districts fall under the Edwards Campus jurisdiction as compared to the Lawrence Campus?
This information can be found on our campus selection page.

What is a Courtesy Placement and/or a DoDDs Placement?
Please visit our Courtesy Placement/DoDDs page. If your questions remain unanswered email the Field Experience office at mherm@ku.edu.

How should I register for the PDS program?
If you are a C&T student, you may choose to apply to complete the student teaching experience and/or internship in a PDS school. If you choose to do only the internship in a PDS, you begin in your PDS site and the collaborative program in October, after the student teaching experience ends. Please refer to the website for more information: http://soe.ku.edu/pds. If you need any additional information concerning the PDS program, please contact Dr. Nancy Petersen at npetersn@ku.edu.

What do I need to get certified in other states?
Requirements for certification vary from state to state so if you intend on teaching in a state besides Kansas refer to soe.ku.edu/students/licensure/checklist.php. If you need additional details you may contact Alisa Branham at abranham@ku.edu or by phone at 864-9602.

When will I take the Subject Area exams?
Alisa Branham will post a list of required Subject Area exams on the Certification site by August. She will send you an email to tell you when and how to register for these exams at that time. She suggests you budget approximately 100 dollars for each exam.

How much is the PLT exam?
This information can be found at www.ets.org/praxis.

What is the Graduate Licensure Program?
The Graduate Licensure Program is designed for the non-traditional student seeking certification in Math, Science, Foreign Language, or P.E. All GLP students have completed an undergraduate degree in some field other than Education. They have also completed the standard sequence of teacher education courses and have fulfilled course requirements in their subject area(s). The GLP student has only one major field experience and is required to be in the field for 13 weeks. The GLP student should gradually assume all responsibilities of the clinical supervisor. At the conclusion of the field experience, the GLP student should have a realistic understanding of the nature of the teaching profession.

I am a Professional Year Student. Should I enroll in my courses before submission and approval of my Graduate School application? No. You will want to wait until your Graduate School application has been accepted before enrolling in graduate level courses. If you should enroll in these courses prior to submission of the Graduate School application you will have to drop and reenroll.

My school is asking for my student teaching certificate. Where do I get one? The field placement coordinator is responsible for making you a student teaching certificate. One copy is sent to the appropriate district office and kept on file. If your school administrators need a copy of this certificate, have them contact the district office. Another copy is kept in your file and yet another sent to the Kansas State Department of Education.

What do I do if I missed the Intent to Student Teach meeting and I am going to do my student teaching and/or internship in the next academic year? Please contact Melissa Robinson at mherm@ku.edu, and she will send you a packet of important information and forms. The majority of these are due at the beginning of March unless you are doing your student teaching in the spring so please contact her ASAP. If you wait too long, you could miss your chance entirely and will have to wait another semester and/or year.