Preparation for Teaching
There are many things a novice teacher can do to become an effective educator. Simply stated there is nothing like hands-on experience in the classroom. As a college student there are many opportunities for some “real world” experience. Contact a professor in the education department of your college or university; they normally have good rapport with high school principals in the area. They can usually set up useful classroom observations. Make sure to take a wide range of courses in your content area and always research the profession.

Observations
Classroom observations are essential before entering and declaring secondary education as a major. Set up observations in several different schools with different student demographics. This may require some research by the student to ensure that the experience is diverse and insightful. Typically these observations will lead to opportunities to gain more experience later. Afterwards, make sure to send a letter of appreciation to the classroom teacher and school administrator for the opportunity for observation.

Content
Before entering teaching in the sciences it would be wise to take a wide variety of courses, especially in earth sciences. Often student teachers with a biology or chemistry major are asked to teach earth science and/or physical science. Taking several introductory courses in the sciences will prepare the student to enter the teaching field with a broad knowledge base. However, the student should still choose a specialty area of teaching. Student teaching will be much easier if the student is adequately prepared and feels confident in his/her ability to teach a wide variety of science courses. They will also be more marketable in the future job search. Since time is important to a college student, prior planning is very important in order to complete the necessary courses required to obtain this broad knowledge base. The prepared graduate needs to have a good, solid major in one science, with one or more courses in each of the other branches of science.

Career Planning
It is important to do basic research about the profession before you make the decision to enter. One should inquire about salaries, benefits, extra duties, professional organizations, retirement, job outlook in content area, and growth. Salary schedules, benefits, and retirement are typically posted on the department of public instruction websites for each state. Professional organizations exist for teachers at the national level and the state level for almost every content area and many of them allow college students to join for a reduced rate and can receive all the member benefits. These benefits usually include professional liability insurance. This is valuable if your take field trips or do lab experiments.

Setting up the Student Teaching Experience
The student teacher should request a school that will provide new experiences. This should be different from the student teacher’s own experience in high school. On prior observations during introduction to education courses it should be noted where the student teacher would like to complete his/her student teaching. Finding a supervising teacher that has had experiences with student teachers is a definite plus. A student teacher should call his/her school to confirm arrival date, time, directions, and to make a brief introduction.

Setting Goals for the Student Teaching Internship
A student teacher should develop a few fundamental goals that they hope to achieve from their experience. These goals should be objectives that specifically address some essential skills one needs to acquire and what one hopes to get from the experience. As a result of student teaching one hopes to gain critical skills in developing quality lessons and being able to implement them effectively. A good goal to set for yourself as student teacher is to become comfortable working with a diverse student population. Each student has unique talents, backgrounds, and personalities and it should be the goal of the teacher to understand each student and build instruction around that uniqueness and understanding. Another goal a student teacher should set before entering the internship is to build confidence in his/her ability to teach. After all, confidence and enthusiasm are the two qualities that help mold a student teacher into becoming a professional educator.

The Teaching Experience
The student teacher has many roles and obligations during a student teaching experience. Some of those roles are: observe the experienced teacher, prepare lesson plans, develop lessons in accordance with the Standard Course of Study, plan the curriculum, maintain discipline in the classroom, and being a role model.

The First Few Days
The first few days of student teaching should be devoted only to observation. The student teacher should be able to observe the first week of the term, since the tone of the classroom is set at this time. During this time, the student teacher gets the opportunity to view the master teacher at work. Also this is an opportunity to observe the students that you will be teaching the rest of the semester. It is important to write down significant observations about classroom management, student interaction, and what the student teacher thinks are effective or ineffective practices of the supervising teacher. After school, the supervising teacher and the student teacher should discuss they day’s activities and what both observed. The goal during this time should be to become comfortable in the high school classroom, to allow the students to see you and become comfortable with your presence, to build a good rapport with your supervising teacher, and to be creating your lesson plans.
Classes should be picked up gradually after a short observation period. This technique works well because it doesn’t overwhelm the student teacher and allows time to teach a class and then observe the master teacher teaching the same lesson with a different class. Both the student teacher and the experienced teacher can discuss the effectiveness of each lesson.

The supervising teacher and other teachers in the school are a good source for lesson ideas and help. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. It is okay for a student teacher to feel nervous at first, but it should give way to an undue sense of ease. The supervising teacher should be able to point out strengths and weakness in the student’s lessons. The student teacher should be receptive to criticism from experienced teachers and professors, but should not tolerate excessive negative criticism. Being in the right teaching environment and being surrounded by true professionals can make a significant difference in the outcome of the student teacher experience.

Developing Lessons
Lesson planning is critical to the success of the student teacher. Obtain a copy of the Standard Course of Study and develop a pacing guide for the entire course during the first weeks of student teaching. A pacing guide and the Standard Course of Study will be a road map that will guide the student teacher toward becoming a successful educator and it will be valuable during the first year of teaching. The planning period can be a very useful time to develop lesson plans, however, be aware that many non-instructional duties often need to be fulfilled during this time(eg. return phone calls, make copies, etc). A good practice is to arrive early and/or stay late to prepare for the next school day. The supervising teacher should assist the student teacher in developing lessons in the beginning and provide critical feedback. Additionally, department members, and college faculty can often offer suggestions for planning and implementing lessons.

Implementation of the Lesson
The first day of teaching often seems overwhelming for a student teacher. There are sixty or so eyes watching your every move. This definitely causes a little anxiety in the most complacent of individuals. With a little confidence and assurance from other teachers, the anxiety begins to fade as the student teacher gains more experience. Prior to the delivery of the lesson, the student teacher should have a game plan detailing specific policies he/she will enforce. Typically, these are directly aligned with what the supervising teacher already has in place. The student teacher should respect and enforce all school and supervising teacher policies.

Typically, student teachers are often very concerned about dealing with misbehavior in the classroom. Successful classroom management techniques help to minimize problems and assist in providing instruction. Student teaching is a good time for learning and experimenting by the student teacher. They will improve in technique over time. A couple of suggestions for student teachers to minimize behavior problems and have a smooth running classroom are to provide instruction for the full class period, have a seating chart, have established rules, and have a pacing guide. One important goal of the student teacher should be to teach from bell to bell. Providing instruction for the full time minimizes the occurrence of classroom misbehavior. Have an assignment for the students to get started on as soon as the bell rings. Seating charts can be wonderful tools for taking attendance quickly and easily. There is no need to call roll verbally when a teacher has a seating chart. Attendance can be taken while students are working and they don’t even realize that roll has been taken. This minimizes interruptions in teaching lessons and also reduces the time students have to misbehave in a classroom. Having established rules are of upmost importance. Design and enforce them to treat each student fairly. Be consistent or otherwise students will lose respect for the teacher. A pacing guide for the entire course should be developed and used frequently. Planning for daily lessons should be kept in alignment with the yearly pacing guide to ensure all the objectives for the course are covered.

The Outcome of a Successful Experience
Student teachers typically enter the profession with little or no previous experience in teaching. The internship experience should be designed to maximize learning and prepare the novice teacher for entry into the profession. The maximization of this experience depends on key factors that interact to shape a professional. By the end of the internship, a student teacher should be confident in his/her ability to teach, have a game plan for class management, a set of lesson plans for the entire course(s) taught, be knowledgeable about the profession, and most importantly should have a desire to educate all children. In order to achieve all of these things, it takes the full participation of the student teacher, the supervising teacher, college or university faculty, and the students. A positive, successful student teaching experience can inspire and equip the teachers of tomorrow to invigorate the hearts and minds of young people.

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Dennis L. Stockdale is a National Board Certified Teacher who resides with his wife in Swannanoa, N.C. in the mountains of western North Carolina. He holds a B.S. degree in biology from North Carolina Wesleyan College, an MA.Ed. in Biology from East Carolina University, and an Ed.S. degree in biology from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. He has been teaching since 1964. He currently teaches Honors Biology, Honors Biology II, and occasionally Earth/Environmental Science at Asheville High School.

Joshua C. Allen hold a B.A. degree in Biological Education from Mars Hill College. He teaches at J.H. Rose High School in Greenville North Carolina.