After completing required undergraduate and teaching content/method courses, candidates seeking Tennessee Apprentice (beginning teacher) Licensure status through the Lincoln Memorial University Initial Teacher Licensure programs complete clinical experiences through student teaching. The candidate's clinical practice replicates the experience of being a teacher, and cooperating teachers fulfill the mentoring role as they give formative and summative feedback to the candidates so they can minimize and/or correct weaknesses. Candidates hone knowledge, skills and dispositions in planning, developing, implementing and evaluating lessons at the K-12 clinical experience site(s). LMU has adopted the practice of co-teaching during student teaching placements in order to allow cooperating teachers to have more control over their classrooms while mentoring the student teachers in effective practices to enhance all students' learning.
In compliance with Tennessee Department of Education licensure requirements, all clinical experiences must take place in approved Tennessee schools under the supervision of appropriately licensed Tennessee teachers.
Clinical experiences are incorporated into the curriculum using cohorts to provide a way for practitioners to share tips and best practices, ask questions of their colleagues, and provide support for each other. It is through the process of sharing information and experiences with the group that the members learn from each other and have opportunities to develop themselves personally and professionally in their workplace.
Undergraduate ITL Clinical Experiences Candidate Guidelines
Undergraduate ITL Cooperating Teacher Guidelines
