Student Teaching Essentials

A KDP Member Only on-demand video series to help you feel confident, prepared, and supported through every stage of your student teaching experience.

Student teaching is one of the most important — and most intense — stretches of a teacher’s journey. You’re learning to plan, manage a classroom, build relationships, and find your own voice, often all at once, and often while being observed and evaluated the whole way through.

In eleven short sessions organized into three modules, educator and former student-teacher-of-the-year Mandy Jayne Stanley, MEd, walks you through the full arc of student teaching: building your foundation, developing your day-to-day practice, and finding your voice as a professional. Each session is 10–12 minutes and comes with a free downloadable resource to help you put what you’ve learned into action right away.

Show up ready. Grow with confidence. Finish your placement stronger than you started.

Ready, Set, Teach! Student Teaching Essentials is exclusively available to KDP members. Log in to watch the entire series and access member downloads.

 Member-Only Access

Mandy Jayne Stanley, MEd
About the Presenter

Meet Mandy Jayne Stanley, MEd

Mandy Jayne Stanley is the owner of Pathways Learning Solutions LLC and the 2014 National Student Teacher of the Year. With more than 10 years of experience in special education and advocacy, she is the author of 10+ educator workbooks and journals and provides professional development and consulting for teachers, schools, and families.

In this series, she draws on her own student teaching experience, including her own story of burnout and recovery, to help the next generation of teachers start strong and stay well.

Start where you are.

Just Starting Out

New to your placement? Start with Module 1 to build a strong foundation from day one.

In the Thick of It

Ready to take on more? Module 2 covers the real, day-to-day skills of student teaching.

Finding Your Footing

Wrapping up or reflecting along the way? Module 3 helps you grow into your professional voice.

The Sessions

Build the skills you need, right when you need them.

Watch the sessions in order or jump to the module you need most.

Module 1: Building Your Foundation

The first moves that help you feel confident, prepared, and ready to plan well from day one.

Session 1

Stand Out During Your Student Teaching Experience

Learn a few simple, intentional ways to show up confident and prepared from your very first days, plus a first-week checklist and a short script you can use tomorrow morning.

Session 2

Master Lesson Planning & Instructional Strategies

Build lesson plans around one clear learning goal and a simple four-part frame (Hook, Teach, Try, Check & Close) you can reuse for almost any subject or grade.

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Session 3

Co-Plan Successfully with Your Cooperating Teacher

Turn planning into a true partnership with a simple co-planning routine, a sample takeover plan, and ready-to-use language for asking questions and sharing your ideas.

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Module 2: Developing Your Practice

The day-to-day skills that carry you through your placement: relationships, management, technology, observations, and balance.

Session 4

Navigate Challenging Mentor Relationships with Confidence

Handle your mentor relationship professionally, whether it’s already strong or feels tense, with ready-to-use scripts and a plan for what to do if things don’t improve.

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Session 5

Implement Effective Classroom Management Strategies

Build classroom management as a learnable skill using three core foundations, one routine you can own this week, and a calm reset plan for when things go sideways.

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Session 6

Integrate Technology Meaningfully into Your Teaching

Choose technology with purpose using a simple filter, three high-impact classroom moves, and a quick planning template you can reuse all year.

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Session 8

Balance Your Personal and Professional Life

Protect your energy with a realistic definition of balance, three boundaries worth setting, and a simple weekly rhythm for planning and recovery.

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Session 7

Prepare for and Ace Supervisor Observations

Walk into your next observation prepared instead of panicked, with a prep checklist and a clear plan for showing growth no matter how the lesson unfolds.

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Module 3: Finding Your Voice

Reflection and advocacy tools to help you grow into the teacher—and person—you want to become.

Session 9

Reflecting on Personal Values and Expectations

Get grounded in who you are outside the classroom and turn your values into clear priorities and professional boundaries you can hold onto.

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Session 10

Recognizing Implicit Bias

Learn a simple, judgment-free Pause–Check–Choose tool for noticing automatic assumptions in the moment and responding with greater care.

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Session 11

Advocating for Yourself

Ask for clarity, feedback, and support with confidence using the CALM framework, without sounding defensive, difficult, or unsure of yourself.

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Resources

Put each session into practice.

Every session includes free downloadable resources for members. Find them all here.

Module 1: Building Your Foundation

Session 2
Session 2 Field Notes  +  Mini Lesson Plan Template (fillable)
Session 3
Session 3 Field Notes  +  Takeover Plan Template (fillable)

Module 2: Developing Your Practice

Session 4
Session 4 Field Notes
Session 5
Session 5 Field Notes
Session 6
Session 6 Field Notes  +  3-Part Tech Plan (fillable)
Session 7
Session 7 Field Notes  +  Observation Prep & Evidence Checklist (fillable)
Session 8
Session 8 Field Notes  +  Weekly Rhythm Planner (fillable)

Module 3: Finding Your Voice

Session 9
Session 9 Field Notes
Session 10
Session 10 Field Notes
Session 11
Session 11 Field Notes  +  Program Completion Certificate

Not sure where to start?

Download the Series Overview for a one-page, at-a-glance look at all 11 sessions across the three modules.

Certificate of Completion

Finished All 11 Sessions?

Congratulations on completing Ready, Set, Teach! Student Teaching Essentials. Once you have completed all 11 sessions, submit the short form below to request your Certificate of Completion.

Request My Certificate

Not a Member Yet?

KDP members get access to even more support during student teaching, including The Rooted Teacher by KDP for well-being tools and the Student Teacher Community for peer connection. 

Join KDP today