Novice teachers often report feeling unprepared for their teaching positions, even after completing a real-time student teaching experience. Novice teacher efficacy has been found to decrease over the course of the first year of teaching, and does not return to its pre-teaching level for three years. The purpose of this sequential mixed methods case study was to identify efficacy changes in the first three months of teaching and to explore the relationship between student teaching experiences and changes in efficacy levels. Data were collected in the form of surveys, interviews, and document reviews. An analysis of themes revealed both being observed and observing others, as well as collaborative experiences within student teaching have a great impact on novice teacher efficacy. Student teachers felt their experiences helped them build efficacy within student engagement, but they would have benefited from practicing behavior management strategies, various grade level instructional experiences, and coursework within classroom management and instructional strategies. Recommendations for the improvement of the student teaching experience were also collected from case study participants and included: observations of various teachers and grade levels, attending planning and placement team (PPT) meetings for special education students and working with a special education teacher, and additional coursework within classroom management. The results of this study benefit teacher preparation programs and educational leaders by informing teacher preparation policy change, as well as the requirements of student teachers and cooperating teachers at the university and district levels. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]