Teacher Education Program
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Teachers who love teaching teach children to love learning
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Table of Contents
University of Mount Olive Teacher Education Program……………………………………….....1
Field Experiences………………………………………………………………………………….3
Teacher Specialty Area Standards...... 5
Admission Requirements………………………………………………………………………...10
State Requirements………………………………………………………………………………11
Electronic Evidences…………………………………………………………………………….12
Licensure……………………………………………………………………………….………...14
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University of Mount Olive
Teacher Education Program
Introduction
The proposed Teacher Education program at the University of Mount Olive is envisioned around the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards and the 21st century knowledge, skills, and dispositions embedded therein. The program reflects the University of Mount Olive mission of providing an integrated academic experience consisting of quality educational programs, a supportive learning environment, and individual growth opportunities that promote the total development of our students. Our programs nurture systemic thinking, disciplinary knowledge based in theory and application, lifelong learning opportunities, trans-cultural experiences, and global awareness. It is our belief that professionals should possess the skills to advance student learning in the areas of literacy, leadership, and technology.
Mission
The mission of the teacher education program is to transform education (and thereby lives) by preparing and producing education professionals knowledgeable of the content they teach, skilled in pedagogy, and passionate about teaching all students. In collaboration with the educational community, teacher education is committed to a providing a rigorous, coherent, and relevant curriculum, developing students into proficient teachers and supporting their efforts to become skilled professionals who strive to meet the diverse needs of 21st century students and schools in our global society. Throughout the program, the curriculum balances college coursework with classroom experiences, reflective thinking, integrating theory and practice and maximizing learning opportunities.
Conceptual Framework
The Teacher Education program design is based on the concept of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) and the University of Mount Olive teacher education Guiding Principle that “Learning to teach involves learning about practice in practice.” The K-6 education program demonstrates this concept by focusing on practical and active experiences, by defining a clear plan to achieve competency, and by developing community learning experiences, guided through focused reflection opportunities.
The Professional Learning Community design provides a series of interrelated communities wherein students work collaboratively with partners through a Consortium Community, Cohort Community, Specialty Area Community, School and LEA, Community, and K-12 Teacher Education Advising Communities.
The Consortium Community, is committed to developing and retaining a professional teaching workforce in the region and, to that end, has designed and will support a K-12 teacher education program. This network of public and charter school systems and a regionally accredited institution of higher education (University of Mount Olive) strengthen the preparation of teachers. The Consortium Community shares resources, facilities, personnel and assist in planning and implementation.
The Cohort Community is comprised of teacher education students enrolled in the program and cohort faculty who engage in the learning experiences that help teachers “learn about practice in practice.”
The Specialty Area Community consists of teacher education students in a content area and/or grade level, Master Teachers, and IHE resource faculty who work on projects that develop leadership, deepen knowledge within the content area, and enrich the learning experience.
The School and LEA Community includes teacher education students and Master Teachers within individual schools and school systems who engage in tutorials, study groups, and individual conferences that provide onsite support throughout the teacher education program.
The Teacher Education Advising Community consists of the Coordinator for Teacher Education, a Master Teacher, and the teacher education students who engage in conferences for pre- and post-assessment, for development of an individual professional growth plan, and for advising throughout the program.
The Teacher Education curriculum primarily focuses on four components; (1) Professional Studies, (2) Related Studies, (3) Concentration/Cognate Area, and (4) General Education and Elective Requirements.
1. The Professional Studies component of the curriculum reflects on the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards, 21st century knowledge and skills as well as the dispositions embedded in them. The Professional Studies units are Leadership Development, Facilitation of Learning, Societal Context of Schooling, Reform and Innovation in Education, and an integrated Field Experience provides a progression of holistic learning experiences for discussion and generation of instructional strategies. The benchmarks and tasks of each of the Professional Studies units are aligned with the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards. Evaluation rubrics, elements and descriptors help the teacher relate teaching and learning in daily practice to the state standards and measures of performance.
Leadership Development is based on the premise that teachers should be leaders. This unit, therefore, helps students develop leadership skills as they learn about leadership theory and practices that can improve workplace satisfaction, student performance, behavior, and promote collaboration in the classroom and beyond. Students learn that effective leaders engage in reflective practice.
Facilitation of Learning emphasizes the appropriate use of educational theory, practice, procedures, and resources to enable facilitators and learners to work collaboratively toward desired goals. This unit focuses on individualizing instruction to help learners achieve growth through self-evaluation and cooperation with others. It stresses the teaching/learning process as environmental and psychological by: (1) establishing a climate conducive to learning, (2) creating a mechanism for mutual planning, (3) diagnosing student learning needs, (4) formulating program objectives that will meet these needs, (5) designing a pattern of formative and summative learning experiences, (6) conducting the learning experiences with suitable techniques and materials, and (7) evaluating the outcomes and identifying future learning needs. The Facilitation of Learning unit uses the Dimensions of Thinking model (Marzano et al, 1988) as a framework to help prospective teachers enhance learning in the content areas and encourage them to think critically and creatively using the “building blocks” of thinking.
Societal Context of Schooling evaluates the current major themes in education and society to promote a global and comparative educational perspective. The unit defines the topics that are at the forefront of educational discussion as they relate to school, social, economic, and political institutions. Diversity, English Language Learners (ELL), Academically/Intellectually Gifted (AIG), and Exceptional Children’s issues are addressed through the use of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
Reform and Innovation explores the guiding forces which can revolutionize the way schools operate and the way students learn. Reform and innovation discussions provide an opportunity to reflect on some of the major aspects of education reform leading to school improvement and increased student achievement. The School Improvement Plan, Teacher Working Conditions Survey (TWCS), and the School Report Card are examples of items studied as students develop an innovation plan for improving teaching and learning and facilitating change in the least disruptive manner.
Field Experience provides students with a structured learning experience and entrance under the supervision of an appropriately credentialed and experienced teacher to the K-12 classroom beginning in the freshman year and continuing each term. The Teaching Internship includes observations in the classrooms, one-on-one and small group tutoring, service as an instructional teacher assistant and co-teaching opportunities. Students are continuously engaged in a progressive practicum developing knowledge, skills and dispositions vital to the profession.
The following chart outlines how field experiences help participants learn about practice in practice. Classification / Semester / Practice/Field Experience / RequirementsFreshman Year / First Semester
EDU 101, / Observations in Classroom / 20 Hours of Observation
(10 hours per semester)
Summary/Analysis/Reflection
2 Seminars
PTA membership (Prospective Teachers Association, a MOC organization)
Second Semester
EDU 201, / Observations and Tutoring
Sophomore Year / First Semester
EDU 201 / One-on-One Tutoring / 30 Hours Tutoring
(15 hours per semester)
Summary/Analysis/Reflection
2 Seminars
PTA Membership
Second Semester
EDU 202 / Small Group Tutoring
Junior Year / First and Second Semester
EDU 303
EDU 304 / Instructional Assistant / 40 Hours ( 20 hours per semester)
Senior Year / EDU 493/ EDU 499 / Senior Student Teaching Internship Seminar / Attend class a designated by Professor
2. The Related Studies component focuses on courses to maximize learning and facilitates teaching in an appropriate learning environment.
3. The Academic Concentration/Cogate component helps students gain extensive content knowledge through an integrated and comprehensive curriculum and provides an academic background in core subject areas.
4. The General Studies component (34sh) provides students a liberal arts foundation for the specific licensure program
Teacher Education Specialty Area Standards
The Teacher Education Specialty Area Standards have been adopted by North Carolina State Board of Education. The standards are focused on the knowledge and skills essential to the content areas, and have been developed for each of the teaching specialty area.
Standards for Birth-Kindergarten (BK) Teacher Candidates
Standard 1: BK teacher candidates have a comprehensive knowledge of typical as well as atypical patterns of child development.
Standard 2: BK teacher candidates foster relationships with families that support children’s development and learning.
Standard 3: Birth-Kindergarten teacher candidates build community partnerships in support of children and families.
Standards for Elementary Grades Teacher Candidates
Standard 1: Elementary grades teacher candidates have the knowledge and understanding of language and how language is used to develop effective communication in listening, speaking, viewing, reading, thinking, and writing. Reading/Language Arts.
Standard 2: Elementary grades teacher candidates have the knowledge and understanding of mathematical conventions and processes skills relative to: number sense, numeration, numerical operations, and algebraic thinking; spatial sense, measurement and geometry; patterns, relationships, and functions; and date analysis, probability and statistics. Mathematics.
Standard 3: Elementary grades teacher candidates have the knowledge and understanding of scientific inquiry, process skills, concepts and applications relative to the life, physical, and earth sciences. Science.
Standard 4: Elementary grades teacher candidates have the necessary knowledge specific for producing knowledgeable, global citizens who are critical thinkers in a democratic society. Social Studies.
Standard 5: Elementary grades teacher candidates have the knowledge and understanding of mental, emotional, physical, and social health to empower students to make healthy lifestyle choices. Healthful living.
Standard 6: Elementary grades teacher candidates integrate art throughout the curriculum. The Arts.
Standards for Middle Grades (6-9) Teacher Candidates
Standard 1: Middle level teacher candidates understand and apply the major concepts, principles theories, and research related to young adolescent development that support student development and learning.
Standard 2: Middle level teacher candidates understand and apply the philosophical foundations of developmentally responsive middle level programs and schools and the organizational structures that support young adolescents development.
Standard 3: Middle level teacher candidates plan and teach interdisciplinary curriculum based on core and elective/exploratory curricula that are relevant, challenging, and exploratory.
Standard 4: Middle level teacher candidates understand and apply the major concepts, principles, theories, and research unique to effective middle level instruction and assessment, and they employ a variety of developmentally responsive strategies to meet the varying abilities and learning styles of all young adolescents.
Standards for Secondary Grades (9-12) Teacher Candidates
Standard 1: Secondary grades teacher candidates articulate a rationale for instructional decisions that proceeds from an understanding of the unique and diverse curricular structures of high schools.
Standard 2: Secondary grades teacher candidates connect discipline based content and concepts to real world applications and situations.
Standard 3: Secondary grades teacher candidates articulate the major concepts, principles and theories of development across adolescence (ages 10-22), and the structures and and strategies that support adolescent developmental learning.
Standards for English/Language Arts Teacher Candidates
Standard 1: ELA teacher candidates demonstrate knowledge and use of reading processes through the use of a wide range of texts.
Standard 2: ELA teacher candidates demonstrate the knowledge and use of multiple composing processes.
Standard 3: ELA teacher candidates demonstrate the knowledge and use of the function, the influence, and the diversity of language.
Standard 4: ELA teacher candidates demonstrate the knowledge and use of the integrated practices of multimodal illiteracies.
Standards for Mathematics Teacher Candidates
Standard 1: Mathematics teacher candidates possess the mathematical knowledge needed to enable students to understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, and relationships among numbers and number systems and to enable students to understand meanings of operations and how they relate to one another. Candidates enable students to develop computational fluency and to make reasonable estimates. At the middle and secondary grade levels, teacher candidates need the mathematical knowledge to enable students to transfer their understanding of numbers and number operations to symbolic expressions involving variables (Number sense, numeration, numerical operation, and algebraic thinking).
Standard 2: Mathematics teacher candidates possess the mathematical knowledge needed to enable students to analyze the characteristics and properties of 2- and 3- dimensional geometric shapes; to develop mathematical arguments and about geometric relationships; to understand units, processes of measure, and measurable attribute of objects; and to apply appropriate techniques, tool, and formulas to determine measurements. They enable students to develop the visualization, spatial reasoning, and geometric modeling to solve problems. The teacher candidates particularly at middle and secondary grade levels need the mathematical knowledge to enable students to use coordinate geometry in solving problems, to understand concepts of symmetry, and to apply transformations (Spatial sense, measurement and geometry).
Standard 3: Mathematics teacher candidates possess the mathematical knowledge needed to enable students to understand patterns, relations, and functions. This includes the use of algebraic symbols to represent and analyze mathematical situations, the use of mathematical models to represent and understand quantitative relationships, and the analysis of “change” in various contexts (Patterns, relationships, and functions).
Standard 4: Mathematics teacher candidates possess the mathematical knowledge needed to enable students to formulate questions that can be addressed with data, along with the necessary skills to collect, organize, and display relevant data to answer those questions. They enable students to select and use appropriate statistical methods to analyze data, to understand and apply basic concepts of probability, and to develop and evaluate inferences and predictions that are based on data (Data analysis, probability and statistics).