A teaching internship is a course that provides real teaching experience under the supervision of a mentor. It is discipline-specific and involves actual teaching, consultations, and seminars. Supervision is a key feature, and skills gained include improved communication and teaching skills.
A teaching internship is an exploration of actual teaching practice under the supervision of a mentor, usually involving actual teaching and duties related to that profession. This type of course is often offered for credit and may be required in many programs. Not all of a student’s time in this type of course is spent on actual teaching assignments; some involve consultations, seminars and other preparatory work. Working with a teaching internship is believed to provide future teachers with real experience in the field, like an internship, with the benefit of close supervision from a university-approved source.
Most of the time, a teaching internship should be specific to the types of classes the student will one day take. There are, for example, specific programs for teaching elementary school and science. At the university level, this type of teaching experience is almost always discipline-specific. A student typically does not have a choice in terms of which internship to take, as it is usually a necessary part of the program he or she has entered.
Depending on the school, a teaching internship can be set up in a variety of ways, but all courses under this designation will involve some actual teaching involving students, as this is the definition of the course. Other teaching-related activities may vary. For example, in the sciences, supervising lab time, developing lab experiments, and providing tutorials may form part of the internship. In writing courses, more time can be devoted to grading essays. Most schools try to minimize the amount of grades students make in these courses, as experience with grades has often already been gained.
One of the main features of this type of course is supervision. A teaching internship may be supervised by the student’s advisor or a special mentor assigned specifically for this course. Observation may involve the mentor attending courses, or it may require the student to report regularly. Having guidance when learning the distinctive art of teaching can be helpful and is one of the features that differentiates this type of experience from unsupervised internships.
Skills gleaned from a teaching internship depend on the focus of the course, but some common experiences include a deeper understanding of working with large groups, attention to teaching demands, and improved communication skills. This type of course is a learning experience; therefore, perfection is usually not expected. Any student who struggles during a teaching internship and seriously tries to find solutions is probably on the right track in their teaching career.
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