In order to receive an initial teaching certificate in Illinois, you must complete a student teaching component. Illinois State University offers two different methods to complete this requirement.
One method is traditional student teaching, where the teacher candidate is responsible for guiding, directing, and evaluating the learning activities of a group of pupils under the guidance and supervision of professionally certified and competent members of the teaching profession for 16 weeks.
The other choice is interning at a Professional Development School (PDS) for your entire senior year. The PDS program offers senior teacher education students majoring in early childhood, elementary, middle level, and secondary education at Illinois State University a yearlong experience in a public school as an intern that replaces the 16-week student teaching semester. Through collaborative partnerships between Illinois State teacher education programs and a number of schools or school districts throughout Illinois, the goal of the program is to provide professional growth of all participants through the simultaneous improvement of both schools and teacher education.
PDS is yearlong placement during your senior year that replaces the 16-week student teaching requirement. You are totally immersed in the school, become part of the professional staff, and are able to experience the workings of the school for the entire academic year, from setting up the classroom before school starts to the end of the school year celebrations. Even though you are not on the University campus, you will meet the same coursework requirements as students in the traditional student teaching experience so you will not need to spend extra time as an Illinois State University student.
During the first semester of the program, you will become acquainted with the school and teaching staff. You will attend college classes taught by a team of Illinois State University and school faculty at the site two or three days a week. Because coursework is aligned with the curriculum in the PDS site, during the other two days you can go and try out what you have learned in the classrooms. You will also be able to observe multiple grade levels and attend staff meetings and in-service workshops with your mentor.
During the second semester of the program, you will assume responsibility for planning and instruction as a student teacher. You will also be able to attend workshops, seminars, and conferences to continue your professional development.
Each PDS program is unique. To learn details of a particular site program, please
As an intern, you will have experienced a whole year of teaching by the time you graduate. This year gives you the confidence borne of a more complete understanding of the workings of a classroom than a one-semester student-teaching experience can provide. You will be well-prepared for job interviews because you have the lingo and the concepts behind it. As a result, as a PDS grad you will have a competitive edge.
Schools are under enormous pressure to show that they improve student learning. Teachers face increasing challenges as the learning needs of their students continue to diversify. The PDS relationship offers a unique opportunity for you to really make an impact on the success of our partnership schools. The participants of each partnership work together to identify particular needs of the school and develop real and meaningful goals to help the students achieve. As the intern, you will bring the latest innovative techniques to the table. Your continued relationship with the University community provides a bridge between theory and practice that you bring to the PDS site on a daily basis. Participant schools are the beneficiaries of current research and practices brought to them as an ongoing source of professional development.
More than one-third of our nation's children come from minority backgrounds and this number is growing all of the time. At Illinois State University, our teacher education programs are based on Realizing the Democratic Ideal, and as a result are committed to training teachers who can help all students learn. Most of our PDS sites are in diverse school settings, providing you with the opportunity to work with faculty and students representing all walks of life. You will work with faculty and peers who have dispositions that value and respect differences. Your experience will be rich and inspiring and you will be able to take it with you as you embark upon your career.
As a PDS intern, you will have people close to you that you can count on. When you first begin at the school, you are paired with a mentor teacher. Mentor teachers are classroom teachers who apply for and are carefully selected to help you. They are full-time classroom teachers willing to take on the additional role of training future educators. Mentor teachers are committed and caring professionals who care about the future of our schools. Your mentor teacher will be your teammate, coach, and confidante, helping you to transition from student to professional.
You also have a very close connection to Illinois State with your liaison. This is the person who connects Illinois State University with the PDS site. The site liaison has one foot in the PDS setting and the other at the University. This professional understands the teacher education requirements at Illinois State University as well as the day-to-day operations of the PDS setting. The site liaison often teaches University courses on site, supervises your student teaching experience, and is a go-to person for any issues that arise.
You will not go through this experience alone. In this program, you are with a group of about 20–30 other interns at the site that know what you are going through. You will all begin the school year together, take classes together, student teach together and graduate together. In fact, you will make the transition from student to teacher together. You are part of a small group that grows together over the year. You make new friends and build bonds with people who will be professional peers for years.
You are responsible for arranging and providing your own housing and transportation during your PDS experience. There are many locations available for the PDS experience. The location of some sites will allow you to continue living on campus, while with others you will want to either live at home or rent an apartment. If the PDS site is near your home, you may choose to move back in with your family for your senior year. If the PDS site is not near your home, you must secure your own living arrangements. Many of the PDS sites have taken steps to identify safe, affordable, and convenient housing.
At Illinois State University we realize that it takes a community to educate a teacher. We have developed PDS sites in conjunction with school districts as well as communities. We believe that the more partners that we bring to the table, the better experience you will have. One of our PDS sites has recently participated in a grant which has brought the entire community into the partnership planning process, from the community libraries to the local government to the park district.
We encourage you to learn about, and participate in, the community in which your PDS site operates. Each community has its own unique flavor which enriches the PDS experience. From local apartment agencies to dining establishments, each PDS has many community partners involved in educating teachers. The PDS communities are ready to welcome you to their towns.
Illinois State University entered into its first PDS partnership in 1995 with Wheeling District 21. Since that time, partnerships have been formed with many schools or districts and the program continues to grow to offer a variety of settings for the teacher candidate.