4 answers
Gabriella
Student
Levittown, New York
6
Questions
Asked
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If you could do student teaching over again how would you do it differently and what is the most useful advice you could give to someone about to go through it?
I have student teaching my senior year of college (two years) and I am super anxious about it. What's the best way to prepare and what should I expect?
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4 answers
Majid Kamal
Indian Army
6
Answers
Gurugram, Haryana, India
Updated
Majid’s Answer
How I Would Do Student Teaching Differently
1. Spend more time understanding effective teaching methods and classroom management upfront.
2. Build stronger relationships with mentor teachers to learn from their experiences.
3. Focus on creating engaging and interactive lesson plans.
4. Seek feedback regularly and use it to improve quickly.
5. Reflect daily on what went well and what needs improvement.
Advice for Someone Starting Student Teaching
1. Be flexible and open to adapting your teaching methods as you learn.
2. Stay organized—time management is key to balancing planning, teaching, and personal life.
3. Build good relationships with students and colleagues—it makes the experience smoother.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or seek help; you’re not expected to know everything.
5. Stay positive—mistakes are part of the learning process.
How to Prepare
1. Familiarize yourself with the curriculum and the specific needs of the students you'll teach.
2. Practice delivering lessons to friends or family to build confidence.
3. Gather teaching materials and resources ahead of time.
4. Learn about the school environment and the students you'll be working with.
5. Connect with other student teachers or mentors for support and advice.
What to Expect
1. You’ll feel nervous at first, but it gets easier with time.
2. You’ll face challenges like managing different types of students and handling unexpected situations.
3. Feedback from mentors will help you grow—it’s not criticism, it’s guidance.
4. You’ll learn a lot by watching experienced teachers and trying things on your own.
5. By the end, you’ll have grown both personally and professionally.
1. Spend more time understanding effective teaching methods and classroom management upfront.
2. Build stronger relationships with mentor teachers to learn from their experiences.
3. Focus on creating engaging and interactive lesson plans.
4. Seek feedback regularly and use it to improve quickly.
5. Reflect daily on what went well and what needs improvement.
Advice for Someone Starting Student Teaching
1. Be flexible and open to adapting your teaching methods as you learn.
2. Stay organized—time management is key to balancing planning, teaching, and personal life.
3. Build good relationships with students and colleagues—it makes the experience smoother.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or seek help; you’re not expected to know everything.
5. Stay positive—mistakes are part of the learning process.
How to Prepare
1. Familiarize yourself with the curriculum and the specific needs of the students you'll teach.
2. Practice delivering lessons to friends or family to build confidence.
3. Gather teaching materials and resources ahead of time.
4. Learn about the school environment and the students you'll be working with.
5. Connect with other student teachers or mentors for support and advice.
What to Expect
1. You’ll feel nervous at first, but it gets easier with time.
2. You’ll face challenges like managing different types of students and handling unexpected situations.
3. Feedback from mentors will help you grow—it’s not criticism, it’s guidance.
4. You’ll learn a lot by watching experienced teachers and trying things on your own.
5. By the end, you’ll have grown both personally and professionally.
Lisa Macyda
Client Relationship Rep
2
Answers
Monroe Township, New Jersey
Updated
Lisa’s Answer
Taking on something new can often stir up a bit of anxiety. Remember, you're only a novice once! This nervousness is a positive sign - it shows you're invested and passionate, and that's something you can't really learn from a book. Have you considered reaching out to some of your favorite teachers from the past? I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help ease your worries. Alternatively, you could seek out a mentor in your field. Do any of your friends or family have connections in education?
Start gearing up for the goal you aim to achieve. If you don't quite hit the mark, don't worry! You're still learning and you can always add more depth or switch things around for the next time you tackle the subject. Embrace the anxiety, don't shy away from it. The greatest learning experiences often come from stepping out of our comfort zones, and it's NEVER as daunting as you imagine! Best of luck!
Start gearing up for the goal you aim to achieve. If you don't quite hit the mark, don't worry! You're still learning and you can always add more depth or switch things around for the next time you tackle the subject. Embrace the anxiety, don't shy away from it. The greatest learning experiences often come from stepping out of our comfort zones, and it's NEVER as daunting as you imagine! Best of luck!
I appreciate this, thank you for the advice.
Gabriella
Siya Kunde
Research Scientist
1
Answer
Yorktown Heights, New York
Updated
Siya’s Answer
This is a great opportunity to connect with fellow students, and the first thing I might suggest to anyone is to try putting yourself in the shoes of your audience. You've already been there, so it's a matter of recalling what methods helped you learn best.
Here are a few things that help me:
- Be prepared - I get anxious about public speaking as well. What helps me overcome the anxiety is to focus on the topic and all that I plan to excitedly discuss, rather than the sea of people looking up at me. Prepare good supporting materials (handouts, presentation, quizzes), and focus on the wealth of knowledge you bring to the discussion.
- Set the stage - Create an agenda for what you plan to discuss. You can start by telling a story, posing a question or laying out a scenario.
- Interaction - Have a god mix of knowledge sharing and interaction.
- Gamification - It's great if you can gamify a concept. Students might earn badges or answer quizzes as part of your teaching structure.
- Examples - Concrete examples help bring the theoretical concepts to life and make for great teaching tools.
- Collaborative learning - Students can team up and learn together, solve problems and discuss topics. This creates a supportive environment by providing additional resource to the students apart from help from instructor.
Other people might have other tools that help them, so definitely talk to other experienced teachers.
Here are a few things that help me:
- Be prepared - I get anxious about public speaking as well. What helps me overcome the anxiety is to focus on the topic and all that I plan to excitedly discuss, rather than the sea of people looking up at me. Prepare good supporting materials (handouts, presentation, quizzes), and focus on the wealth of knowledge you bring to the discussion.
- Set the stage - Create an agenda for what you plan to discuss. You can start by telling a story, posing a question or laying out a scenario.
- Interaction - Have a god mix of knowledge sharing and interaction.
- Gamification - It's great if you can gamify a concept. Students might earn badges or answer quizzes as part of your teaching structure.
- Examples - Concrete examples help bring the theoretical concepts to life and make for great teaching tools.
- Collaborative learning - Students can team up and learn together, solve problems and discuss topics. This creates a supportive environment by providing additional resource to the students apart from help from instructor.
Other people might have other tools that help them, so definitely talk to other experienced teachers.
I appreciate you taking the time to answer this.
Gabriella
Colleen Piel
Data Analyst
10
Answers
Ballwin, Missouri
Updated
Colleen’s Answer
I did my student teaching over 20 years ago, but I still remember it well because it was such a powerful experience. Any time you get to observe in classrooms before your student teaching placements, pay close attention to the classroom management skills the teacher has in place. How is the classroom set up to ensure success? What procedures do the students know to make the classroom run smoothly (putting supplies away, turning in papers, using the restroom, class jobs, etc)? What behavioral systems do they have in place? Is there an incentive system for students and/or the class? How does the teacher make sure students are listening and understanding? Any time you have the opportunity to speak with teachers, I suggest you ask them those questions as well. Understanding all of this will help you determine how you want to set up your own classroom when you start teaching, and it will also help you give the students consistency when you are a student teacher in their classrooms. Have confidence in your leadership skills and be explicit with your directions. Great teachers spend a lot of time preparing lessons and visualizing how they will go. All teachers have successful days and challenging days so be kind to yourself. Regularly take time to reflect to figure out what is working well and what isn't. There are so many variables in a classroom setting beyond the teacher so don't assume if a lesson didn't go as planned that it was you, but do try to figure out how to improve it in the future. Teaching is such an exciting, amazing, rewarding career and I wish you the best of luck!
Loved reading this, thanks!
Gabriella