Teacher Assistant Practicum Overview.

EDU 382 Teacher Assistant Practicum

This course is designed for elementary and secondary teacher candidates to assist an elementary, middle, or high school classroom teacher and his/her students. As a practicum course, teacher candidates will spend the majority of their time in the actual classroom; however, mandatory on-campus seminars will be conducted. Teacher candidate are expected to engage during the instructional portions of their practicum and fulfill a time requirement that adheres to the following minimums: 10 hours per week divided between 2 days per week. These hours are to be arranged by the teacher candidate and the assigned classroom teacher.

Students enrolled in this course will be expected to not only participate in the daily routines of an actual classroom but also in some of the duties of a teacher. This experience is not limited to but includes the following: evaluating classroom routines, assisting individual and small groups of students in obtaining learning objectives, designing and teaching a lesson to a class of students, performing clerical duties, creating an instructional bulletin board.

Teacher-Assistant Participation Sheet


The aide will interact with students to accomplish specific educational learning objectives in at least two of the following categories:

  • Large group instruction: The aide, under the direction of the teacher, plans and teaches a lesson for the large group. The teacher is asked to evaluate the aides effectiveness and discuss areas of strength and improvement.
  • Small group instruction: The aide assists a small group in an educational task. (The aide could be asked to prepare activities to meet the learning objectives.)
  • Tutoring: The aide assists one to two students in an educational task. (The aide could be asked to create activities to assist the student.)


The aide could assist the teacher in correcting papers, photocopying, filing, organizing, etc.


The aide could assist the teacher by gathering data for future lesson or unit topics.


The aide will observe the teacher and students as they engage in the educational process. It is through observation that the aide will encounter educational theory in practice. The aide is encouraged to discuss what has been observed with the teacher. During observations the aide will also gather data for the completion of the observation assignments.