Field Experiences Prior to Student Teaching
- CT 229
20 clock-hour placement in varied settings, grades PreK-12 - CT 298A
20 clock-hour placement in elementary settings, grades PreK-6 - CT 298B
20 clock-hour placement in secondary settings, grades 10-12 - SED 264
20 clock-hour placement in a high needs district, grades 7-12 - SPED 201/264
20 clock-hour placement in settings with special needs students, grades 7-12
A minimum of 100 clock hours of participation/observation is required prior to student teaching. Field experiences are integrated extensively into course curricula. At least one placement (SED 264) will be spent in a site recognized by the New York State Education Department as high needs. Placements are arranged by the Office of Field Placement. Departmental policy is to place prospective teachers in districts other than those in which they currently reside or schools they attended.
Student Teaching
Prerequisites: To qualify for admission to Student Teaching (CT 227) or Supervised Teaching (CT 228), students must: 1) complete CT 229, CT 298A, CT 298B, LYST 201, SED 200, SED 205, SED 264, and SPED 201/264 (earning a grade of B or higher); 2) maintain a grade-point average of 3.00 or higher in overall graduate course work. Application forms are available at 243 Gallon Wing/Mason Hall. Applications are due October 1 for the succeeding Spring semester and March 1 for the succeeding Fall semester.
Student teachers teach in public schools for a full semester under the close guidance of a Hofstra supervisor. The supervisor visits the students on site many times during the semester. In addition, the supervisors meet with students weekly in a seminar on the Hofstra campus to share their experiences and receive guidance from this seasoned, professional art teacher. Students spend half of their placement in an elementary school and the other half in a secondary school setting. The Office of Field Placement in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching selects the setting with selected cooperating teachers in the schools. Every attempt is made to place students in a district close to where they reside, with the exception of the district(s) that they attended as students. While student teaching, students take a co-requisite seminar, SED 201, Reflective Practice and Classroom Analysis on the same day that they meet in seminar with their supervisor. To make this convenient, students are permitted to leave their student teaching assignment early on this day. Students will prepare their professional teaching portfolio during this course to prepare them for securing an art teaching position. Professors provide individualized guidance to help students prepare both the art education and the professional artist components of a successful portfolio.
Museum Internship
A limited number of students will have the opportunity to be interns at the Nassau County Museum of Art. Students who intern will receive 3 semester hours towards their degrees. Students work closely with museum staff and a Hofstra professor to prepare them and guide them as they provide museum tours for visiting K-12 classes from diverse school districts from Nassau, Suffolk and New York City. This unique opportunity exposes students to the field of museum education and enables them to bring art history to life with children, before changing exhibits of original works of art in every medium, both in the museum and on the magnificent grounds.
Special Projects
Students in the art education program may participate in a variety of additional experiences that further prepare them to be active members of this dynamic profession. For example, for the past three years, students have been provided with the opportunity to be trained as adjudicators for the New York State Art Teachers Association Portfolio Project. Participating Hofstra students receive valuable certificates for their teaching portfolios and have the opportunity to attend the actual Portfolio Project where K-12 students bring their specially prepared art portfolio to be evaluated by a NYSATA adjudicator. Our students have the additional opportunity to meet with a committed group of Nassau County art teachers and leaders of the art education community. Adjudication training has been provided by the President of the New York State Art Teachers Association and the President of the Long Island Art Teachers Association.
Art education students have the opportunity to exhibit their personal artwork while enrolled in our program. We are committed to a model of the art teacher as artist and seek to provide opportunities for our students to share and exhibit their work.