Student Teaching and Clinical Experience
Allowing you to apply what you’ve learned in a real classroom setting.
Clinical Experience
A supervised clinical experience, which consists of either student teaching or a practicum for teachers who are currently in the field, is provided for students completing their certification programs. Each experience is a full-time, daytime responsibility and includes a weekly seminar at Adelphi University. Specific course prerequisites for student teaching or the practicum vary by program.
Physical Education Programs
In physical education, the clinical experience includes:
- eight weeks in the elementary school and
- eight weeks at the secondary level
Health Education Programs
In health, there are two clinical experience options:
- a six-week experience for those in the dual health and physical education program, or
- a sixteen-week experience
Specific course prerequisites for student teaching or the practicum vary by program.
Student Teaching and Practica
As an Adelphi teacher candidate, student teaching will be your culminating instructional experience, held under the supervision of the university faculty and guidance of a mentor teacher(s).
Adelphi offers placements in multiple school districts across Nassau and Suffolk counties, New York City and upstate New York. Additionally, Adelphi supports out-of-state and international placements for teacher candidates. All field experiences are carefully supervised to make sure you develop and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn.
- A sixteen-week experience of student teaching
- Two eight-week placements for a total of 70 days of student teaching (35 days per placement)
- You will be observed and evaluated twice by your teacher and twice by the Adelphi University supervisor
- Adelphi University supervisors also hold weekly seminars to discuss all aspects of your student teaching experience
- A two-semester participant-observer/student teaching program (fall and spring)
- This clinical experience offers you the opportunity to observe and participate in a partnering school district’s classroom during the fall semester for one day each week as a participant-observer
- You will then continue in the partnering classrooms to student teach full-time or nineteen weeks during the spring semester while continuing to meet with your Adelphi University supervisor each week
- You must have an overall GPA of 3.0 to be eligible for the program
- You will need to submit a writing sample and engage in an interview
- Applications must be filed by March 1st of the semester before the fall term in which the student will begin this two-semester program
Adelphi partners with Mineola, Freeport, and West Hempstead to sponsor residency programs.
- This is a year-long student teaching experience
- You begin your immersion with new teacher orientation, followed by the Superintendent’s day of professional development
- Both University and school-based faculty will provide you with an effective schedule (four days per week in the fall, five days per week in the spring) to ensure rich opportunities to learn high-leverage teaching practices from mentor teachers, along with teachers of ESL and special education
- Residents contribute to the school community as they work to positively impact student learning
- University coursework will be embedded into the residency to seamlessly weave theory and practice together
This Internship is open to teacher candidates who are seeking certification in Adolescent Education.
- You are required to student teach in the fall term of your fifth year and then serve as a paid intern from January through June in the spring semester.
- You must have an overall GPA of 3.0 to be eligible for the program
- You will need to submit a writing sample and engage in an interview
- Applications must be filed during the first week of February of the semester prior to the fall term of the fifth professional year
Practica are university-supervised learning experiences that allow you to practice your skills in individual or group settings under the mentorship of a certified teacher.
For more information, please email Professional Engagement Community Experiences at pece@adelphi.edu.