The Voices of Student Teachers

This study examined the student teaching experience through the eyes of 459 student teachers who had recently completed their internships at the elementary school level. The participants were asked to write a letter of advice to incoming student teachers, describing the highs and lows of student teaching and giving any advice that they thought would be helpful to new student teachers. The letters were all written the day after the students had completed their student teaching assignments, so the experiences were fresh in their memories. The letters were analyzed to identify categories of advice. Twenty-seven categories were identified and placed into five major groups: (1) professional relationships, (2) professional attitudes, (3) professional advice, (4) personal advice, and (5) concerns. Each letter was then analyzed for specific comments. Results underscored the critical role of the cooperating teacher, the need for effective communication with the cooperating teacher, and the need for broader staff involvement with student teachers in the school. The paper presents respondents' comments in each of the five categories. (SM)