Student Teaching Eligibility for Level-Based Certification
Student teaching is the culminating experience in a candidate's teacher preparation that provides scaffolded opportunities under the guidance of a mentor/cooperating teacher and university supervisor, leading to teacher certification.
In order to be eligible to student teach, please work with your academic advisors and Field Placement Office personnel to navigate the pathway to student teaching.
- Acceptance to UM-Dearborn with expressed interest in teacher certification
- Progress of Phase II coursework (general education, pre-educational studies, and major/minor requirements)
- Complete Phase III Form (must have earned 55 credits, have a 2.75 GPA, taken the English Placement Exam, and completed COMP 227 if prescribed)
- Complete Educational Professional Sequence (methods courses)
- Submit required application by deadline (students must have a GPA equal to or greater than 2.75 in their major, minor, and Educational Professional Sequence at time of application and going into their student teaching semester) NOTE: Each application is for the upcoming semester only. If you are denied permission, ineligible, or otherwise do not student teach for the upcoming semester, you must resubmit a student teaching application by the deadline stated below to be considered for student teaching in another semester.
- Fall Student Teaching Application Deadline: April 1
- Winter Student Teaching Application Deadline: October 1
- Students are notified of their placement and connected with their cooperating teacher by the CEHHS Field Placement Manager.
- Students review Student Teaching Orientation by invitation in June or December prior to the semester of student teaching. Confirmation of review is required in order to register for student teaching.
- Students start in their placements on the first day of the K-12 school in the location they are placed (Fall: First day of school, Winte: First day following winter break).
- Take and pass MTTC Subject Exam (NOTE: Students are not required to have their MTTC completed by the application deadline in order to student teach, but in accordance with the Michigan Department of Education, they must complete the MTTC requirement before they can be recommended for certification)
Applying for Student Teaching
Failure to complete and submit the Student Teaching Application by the required application due date will delay student teaching until a future semester. Please click on the links below to access and complete required forms. Late applications will not be accepted.
- Fall Student Teaching Application Deadline: April 1st
- Winter Student Teaching Application Deadline: October 1st
Application for District Partners
The application is a fillable PDF form that needs to be completed and attached to the Student Teaching Application. This form should be downloaded and saved to a computer prior to entering your information. These two pages are sent to the district for placing students for student teaching and should be considered a resume and cover letter.
Video Recording Consent Form
Students in education clinical experiences may be required to record themselves in the classroom. These recordings will be used to provide feedback and help students develop as educators. Please select and complete the Video Recording Consent form using the link above.
Criminal Background Check Consent
In order for a background check to be conducted by the Field Placement Office, students must select and complete the criminal background check consent form using the link above. Although Livescan fingerprints are not needed to meet University requirements, fingerprinting may be required by the specific site where your field experience is scheduled. Your site supervisor or other site personnel will inform you of such a requirement.
Bloodborne Pathogens Certificate Upload
Please review the Bloodborne Pathogens Training Video and complete the quiz using the links below:
Bloodborne Pathogens Training Video
Bloodborne Pathogens Quiz
Once complete, you will receive a confirmation document with your score, which should be submitted through the Bloodborne Pathogens Upload link for review. You must receive a score of at least 16/20 to pass.
Please Note: The confirmation may take up to 1 hour to receive after quiz completion.
Professional Dispositions
The College of Education, Health, and Human Services at the University of Michigan-Dearborn aims to develop educators who demonstrate professional behavior and ethical standards in their coursework and professional activities. Professional dispositions are required by external accreditation agencies which include the Michigan Department of Education and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (previously Teacher Education Accreditation Council). Students agree to disposition guidelines within the Statement of Understanding on the Student Teaching Application.
Michigan Test for Teacher Certification Exams (MTTC not required prior to Student Teaching)
- Students in Elementary Education programs must pass the MTTC Elementary Education exam
- Students in Secondary Education programs must pass the MTTC subject area exam for each area in which they are to be certified
- MTTC Subject exams have a five year expiration meaning that students much have current (less than 5 years old) passing MTTC scores.
- Students are not required to have their MTTC completed by the application deadline in order to student teach, but in accordance with the Michigan Department of Education, must complete the MTTC requirement before they can be recommend for certification
Student Teaching Application
The student teaching application is submitted through SalesForce. Students must have completed the criminal background check consent, video recording consent, bloodborne pathogens training, and submit the CPR & First Aid certification prior to application submission. You will not be able to move forward in the application without first submitting all required clearances. Please review your application prior to submitting. If errors are made, we are not able to send it back to you and a new application must be submitted. The application includes the following pages:
- Student Teacher Correspondence Sheet: The information you submit on this form is what the Field Placement Office will consider when selecting your placement. Any requests can be entered here but are not guaranteed.
- Statement of Understanding: Please read this page thoroughly. You will be expected to know and understand the information provided. If you have any questions about what you read in this document, please contact the CEHHS Office of Student Success.
- Moral Turpitude Statement: This page asks students to disclose information about any legal or criminal background. It is extremely important that the questions be answered honestly. Failing to disclose accurately for these questions could result in removal from student teaching.
- Pre-Student Teaching Advising Audit: This document is to be completed by an advisor. Once the student sections are completed and the document is submitted, it will be routed for review by your advisor.
For Our Education Partners
Cooperating teachers are professional educators who choose to mentor teacher candidates. Cooperating teachers support and evaluate teacher candidates in planning and preparation, classroom management, implementation of pedagogical content knowledge, and professional development and dispositions. As professional educators, they provide feedback and engage in reflective conversations with teacher candidates to support professional growth. They fulfill an irreplaceable role in the teacher candidates’ career trajectory.
Field Experiences include the following per the Michigan Department of Education’s Clinical Experiences Requirements:
- Intentional observation of masterful teaching with accompanying reflection and debriefing of how the activities connect to the teacher preparation curriculum
- Co-planning and co-teaching with a masterful mentor teacher
- Co-assessing and analyzing resultant student work
- Participating in guided and supervised teaching of individual students as well as small groups and whole classrooms
- Collaboration with education professionals
Per the Michigan Department of Education’s Clinical Experiences Requirements, “Mentor Teachers [of student teachers completing their internship] should hold a clear credential in the content area or grade level they are mentoring, have completed at least 2-3 years of successful PK-12 teaching experience (also preferably in the content area or grade level), and have recently demonstrated exemplary teaching practices. They should be intentionally matched to a candidate through a collaborative process that is co-constructed by the school, mentor teachers, and preparation program. The mentor teacher must provide ongoing and actionable feedback to the candidate throughout the Internship, working with both the candidate and the clinical instructor to set goals, examine practice, and provide frequent formative feedback modeled after a data-based feedback cycle. The mentor teacher also must observe the candidate providing a summative evaluation of the candidate’s performance at the conclusion of the Internship.”
If you wish to request a student teacher, please email us at [email protected] by October 1st for Winter student teaching and April 1st for Fall student teaching.
For any questions, please reach out to the field placement office at [email protected].