Admission to Professional Studies
Applying for a Teaching Certificate
In September, 1 to 1½ years before you plan to student teach, you will receive notification from the College of Education to apply for student teaching (Transfer students and second bachelor students need to verify that their name is on the Teacher Education Center mailing list to assure that they receive this and other notifications.). You should be admitted to Professional Studies (transfer students may still be working on this) in order to request a placement for student teaching. Questions concerning student teaching should be directed to Jackie Mitchell via e-mail.
To apply for Student Teaching follow the application process for Secondary student teaching on the web site. Your completed student teaching application packet must be turned in to the Teacher Education Center, 56 DeGarmo Hall (usually due the first week of October).
You should also begin completing the Gateway 2 Admission to Student Teaching PBA requirements. View the complete list of PBA requirements here.
Beginning with students enrolled in the LAN 319.11 methods course of Fall 2008, you must obtain an Advanced-Low (or higher) rating on the OPI before you can student teach.
On the student teaching application form you will list four geographical preferences for student teaching placement. You may list general preferences (e.g., northwest suburbs) or specific school districts (e.g., District 211) or specific schools (e.g., Fremd HS). Note that university policy does not allow student teaching in the high school from which you graduated. To find a placement for you we try to work with your geographical placement requests but that is not always possible. Our top priority is to try to place you with an excellent cooperating teacher. Your GPA is also important since many foreign language teachers expect that the student teacher will have grades above a 3.0 in the major. The cooperating teacher most likely will request an interview with you before accepting you as a student teacher.
During student teaching you are required to have health insurance through the university or through another source, usually your parents’ health insurance. This is not an issue if you student teach during the spring semester since you are registered for LAN 320 + student teaching and are therefore automatically assessed the university health insurance fee. However, if you student teach during the fall semester, you will be registered for 8 credit hours only and you may not qualify for your parents’ insurance. Nor will you automatically be assessed the insurance fee by ISU. It is important that you enroll in ISU’s health insurance plan prior to the first day of classes—even if you don’t begin student teaching until the fifth week of the semester. Contact the Student Health Insurance Office, Room 230 of the Student Services Building, or call 309-438-2515 for detailed information.
