Student Teaching
In order to student teach, candidates must submit an online application for admission to student teaching and have an up-to-date electronic portfolio approved by the director of field experience. The application is linked below and should be submitted online no later than February 1 for the fall semester and September 1 for the spring semester.
The application must be approved by the director of field experiences before the student may engage in student teaching. Student teachers must have evidence of professional liability insurance coverage and an approved background check administered through the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) on file. Procedures for obtaining the background check are linked in the navigation panel on this website.
Before a student may be admitted to student teaching, all courses within the program with an EDU, PSY, RDG, or SPE prefix must be completed with a minimum grade of “C.” Also, the student must have an overall GPA of at least 2.75 in all coursework and teaching subject-matter endorsements.
Click here to complete an Application for Student Teaching.
Click here to download the Student Teaching Application Photograph Requirements.
Completing edTPA Portfolios
All student teachers must complete an edTPA portfolio during their student teaching semester. Student teachers must use the state-approved edTPA handbooks for their specific content areas to complete their edTPA portfolios and submit them through Watermark–Taskstream© and Pearson. Student teachers must pay the current fee to complete the initial edTPA submission during the student teaching semester. Student teachers must meet or exceed the Tennessee edTPA score requirement (in addition to the required passing Praxis II scores) in order to apply for an initial teaching certificate issued by the state of Tennessee.