The On-line Secondary Teacher Certification field experiences are organized and interrelated. There are three primary field experience activities: 

1.   Pre-Admission Teaching Practicum
2.   Pre-Student Teaching Practicum
3.   Student Teaching Experience

These experiences are sequential and incremental.

The Pre-Admission Teaching Practicum is designed to:

• Provide prospective teachers with opportunities to observe school classrooms from a teacher’s perspective
• Acquaint the prospective teacher with students in a K-12 school environment
• Enable prospective teachers to determine for themselves whether teaching is the profession they choose to enter.

The Pre-Admission Teaching Practicum requires students to spend 40 hours in a 7-12 classroom. Participants will observe classroom practices and/or tutor students as assigned by the classroom teacher. The experience will include 20 hours in a Middle Level classroom and 20 hours in a High School classroom.

The Pre-Student Teaching Practicum is designed to involve the prospective teacher with basic teaching duties/responsibilities in a variety of settings with a variety of student ability levels. Prospective teachers will spend 45 hours in a 7-12 school classroom assisting the cassroom teacher, tutoring students as assigned by the classroom teacher, tutoring students as assignment by the teacher, and planning and teaching at least three lessons as directed by the classrom teacher. The Pre-Student Teaching Practicum usually occurs during the semester immediately preceding student teaching.

The Student Teaching Experience is the culminating field experience activity. It is designed to provide prospective teachers with an opportunity to assume the full responsibilities of a classroom teacher under the supervision of a cooperating teacher and a university supervisor.  This experience varies depending upon major(s). In most instances,the Student Teaching Experience is 16 weeks (600 hours) in duration. Project SECOND students who student-teach oustide of a 100 miles radius of BHSU are required to pay the unversity supervisor's fee.
NOTE:  Students with more than one major must do at least 10 weeks of student teaching in each major area to be certified in South Dakota.

The On-Line Secondary Teacher Certification Program at Black Hills State University is designed to provide a variety of field experiences for the prospective teacher. These experiences, coordinated with course work, provide both the education and experience necessary to become a competent, confident, and caring educator.