Education

[Home] [eLion] [LIAS] [Search]

 

 

1.    Teacher Certification Majors

2.    Non-certification Majors

3.    Graduate Program

4.    Teacher Certification for those who already have a college degree

1.    Required Courses

2.    PRAXIS

3.    Work Experience

 

Work Experience

 

Before the end of their third semester, students heading for teacher certification programs in the College of Education, the College of Agriculture, the College of Arts and Architecture, the College of Health and Human Development must document 80 hours of paid or volunteer experience with children in the age group that they intend to teach.

 

Age-appropriate means:

  • Early Childhood: 0 – 8 years
  • Elementary Ed: 5 – 12 years
  • Secondary Ed: 12 – 19 years
  • Special Ed: up to age 21 years

 

All 80 hours must satisfy the “age-appropriate” requirement, and at least 40 of the 80 hours must be with children whose cultural, social, or ethnic background is different than the student’s own. (For students in Early Childhood, Elementary, or Secondary Ed., experiences with special-needs learners will count towards the 40 hours with “different” learners.)

 

Students intending to major in Special Education must have two different 40-hour experiences, all with special-needs learners. The experiences must differ with respect to the severity of the learners’ conditions or level of functioning, and one 40 hour experience should be with learners whose cultural, social, or ethnic background is different than the student’s own.

 

To satisfy this requirement, the work must be constructive and educational. Experiences such as tutoring, camp counseling, coaching, teaching Sunday school, etc., are all acceptable, provided that they are age appropriate. Babysitting or raising one’s own children does not count. Time spent with children for courses does not count.

 

The hours must be documented on the Work Experience Documentation Form. Students may use experiences that they had prior to college if they can document them. Hours that have been accepted will appear on the student’s degree audit, available through eLion. (Adobe Acrobat is needed to access the Work Experience Documentation Form.)

Updated August 16, 2002