The student teaching semester is one of the most
important elements in a student’s development as a teacher. Grove City College
gives students the best experience possible, attempting to match each student
to a particular school and cooperating teacher according to his or her
personality and teaching style. The Department also tries to honor student
requests for particular types of schools such as inner-city or suburban, high
school or middle school.
During their student teaching, education majors are
supervised by Grove City College staff and faculty who focus on teaching skills
and classroom management. Students are usually visited at least six times in
their classrooms. After each observational visit the professor meets with the
student to discuss the effectiveness of his or her lesson and suggest those
areas in need of improvement.
Student teaching lasts 14 weeks. Secondary students primarily
stay in the same classroom for the duration of the semester unless their host
school decides to split the experience. Elementary students always have two
seven-week experiences, one at the primary level (grades K-3) and one at the
intermediate level (grades 4-6). Students who are being certified in early
childhood education, which can be a stand-alone major but is often coupled with
elementary education, have preschool experience along with the elementary
experience.