Field Experience - Field and Clinical Experiences
Assignments for student teaching are based primarily upon the principle of placing the student teaching candidate in a student teaching situation that will provide for optimal professional growth. The assignment is made cooperatively with the school district, the subject field coordinator of student teaching, and the Office of Educational Field Experiences.
The Code of Ethics for Educators defines the professional behavior of educators in Georgia and serves as a guide to ethical conduct. The Professional Standards Commission has adopted standards that represent the conduct generally accepted by the education professional. The code protects the health, safety and general welfare of students and educators, ensure the citizens of Georgia a degree of accountability with in the education profession, and define unethical conduct justifying disciplinary sanction. (The Code of Ethics for Educators, August 15, 2005). For the entire brochure please visit www.gapsc.com and select the Ethics tab at the top of the page.
Candidates are not to attempt to find their own placement.
Candidates should not contact school district personnel until notified by the Office of Educational Field Experiences of a confirmed placement.
Candidates should follow the holiday schedule of their assigned school. This practice applies to unscheduled holidays (such as those due to inclement weather) as well as scheduled holidays.
Candidates will not be placed in schools where they have relatives employed in any position.
Candidates should not be placed in schools from which they graduated or completed their courses of study (elementary and middle schools).
Candidates are not to serve as a substitute teacher, paid or unpaid, during student teaching. When a situation requires the cooperating teacher to be absent from work or from the classroom for an extended period of time, a substitute must be obtained by the school principal. The substitute teacher must be present in the classroom at all times.=
Candidates employed as parapros may not remain employed as such during their student teaching. They should contact their district office to discuss their available options, such as taking a leave of absence.
Candidates may not receive pay for any activity performed while student teaching. (This includes payment for participation in extracurricular activities, such as coaching.)
While student teaching is considered a full-time responsibility, UGA does allow its candidates to be employed (outside of the school in which they are placed) during student teaching. However, you may not be excused from any school responsibility to meet an employment obligation. Similarly, you may not leave school early or arrive late because of employment. Remember that you are expected to attend before- and after-school activities, such as conferences, faculty meetings, PTO meetings, etc. Planning, grading papers, developing materials and numerous other responsibilities will also consume much of your out-of-school time. Make sure that your employer knows that you are student teaching and its requirements upon your time.
Candidates should not take other coursework (besides seminars) while student teaching.
Candidates may request specific placement schools on the student teaching application; however, there is no guarantee that placement will be made in the requested schools or that the requested schools will be considered.
Depending on the availability of placements, candidates may drive up to an hour one way for a placement, or longer, depending on the nature of the placement.
When a confirmed placement is secured, the student will be notified via email to their UGA email account by the Office of Educational Field Experiences.
Confirmed placements are final.
For more information about student teaching, see The Student Teaching Handbook .
If you have questions, contact Martha Pruet at mpruet@uga.edu.
