Student Teaching/Internship | Special Education | School of Education

Student teaching is a culminating experience completed during your last semester.

Student Teaching/Internships provide students the opportunity to practice what has been learned on the university campus and, more importantly, to continue academic and professional growth.

UVU Special Education student teachers are placed in a variety of locations and K-12 grade levels. Student teachers are encouraged to get the feel of the "school climate" by attending or helping to supervise extracurricular activities and non-classroom activities. For example, students will have the opportunities to observe the administration of a psycho-educational test of Cognitive and Achievement abilities, attend Individual Education Plan (IEP), Teacher Assistant Team (TAT), 504, Response to Intervention, or Pre-referral Team meetings.

Which one is right for me?

Student Teaching	Internship
Guaranteed for EVERY student	Not guaranteed (internships based on district/school needs)
65 days (440 hours)	Full K-12 academic year
Application Deadlines are 3rd Friday in September for the Spring term and for the 3rd Friday in January for the Fall term	Application Deadline for an Internship is the 3rd Friday in January
Cooperating teacher with you constantly	Mentor teacher with you occasionally
No monetary compensation or benefits	Some monetary compensation & benefits
University evaluations completed during the semester a student completes student teaching	University evaluations completed during the Fall semester of the internship
District selection possible	District selection is not always possible
	Graduation date will be end of Spring semester
	Internships are only offered Fall to Spring semesters; there are no Spring semester Internships offered
	All program classes must be completed by April for Fall Internship
Classroom Management II course is taken during the student teaching experience.	Classroom Management II course is taken during the first part of the Internship

Applies to both Student Teaching and Internship

May result in a permanent position
All Special Education course work and methods courses must be completed with a B- or higher prior to student teaching/internship.
It is recommended that students pass their content area Praxis II: Special Education Core Content Knowledge exam prior to applying for an Internship
Students must present student teaching license by the application deadline
All content classes must be completed with a C or higher before student teaching/internship
Students may not solicit schools and/or principals for possible student teaching and/or internship placement. Student teaching and/or Intern placements and selection will be determined by the partnership district, content area departments, and the Secondary Field Coordinator.