General Education

All candidates will fulfill the General Education requirements of the Teacher Education Program. At the Initial Program Advisor appointment, candidates will complete a General Education Self-Assessment form and will receive advice as to courses that will fulfill TEP General Education requirements.

Teacher Education Introductory Courses/Requirements

• TEP 227, PSY 327, or an equivalent course in educational psychology
• TEP 222, PSY 322, or another course in child development
• TEP 201 or an equivalent introduction to education course
• Potential applicants must also document at least 30 hours of Service Learning with school aged children in an educational setting.
• Potential applicants who are majoring in Psychology must take the psychology courses through the Psychology Program (PSY 322 and 327) instead of TEP 222 and 227)

Core Courses for All Teacher Education Candidates

The following courses are taken by all Teacher Education candidates, whether in the Elementary Minor or the Secondary Minor

• TEP 305, Technology for Teaching, 3 hours
• TEP 307, History and Philosophy of Education, 3 hours
• PSY 324 or TEP 224, Exceptional Child, 3-4 hours
• Candidates in the Elementary Minor who are majoring in Psychology must take this course through the psychology Program (PSY 324) instead of TEP 224.

Courses Specific to the Elementary Minor in Teacher Education

In addition to the above introductory and core courses, candidates in the Elementary Minor will take the following courses:

• TEP 322 Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, 3 hours
• This course and TEP 305 must be completed successfully before methods courses may be taken.

Methods Courses:

• TEP 423, Methods of Elementary Reading and Language Arts, 3 hours
• TEP 424, Methods of Elementary Mathematics, 3 hours
• TEP 425, Methods of Elementary Social Studies and Humanities, 3 hours
• TEP 426, Methods of Elementary Science, 3 hours

All general education coursework, TEP coursework, and coursework in the major area must be completed prior to the Clinical Practice Semester.

Clinical Practice Semester:

• TEP 448 ECCE: Clinical Practice Seminar K-9, 3 hours
• TEP 450 ECCE: Clinical Practice K-9, 9 hours
• Candidates who wish to receive a middle school endorsement must also take TEP 401, Methods of Middle School Concepts and Practices (3 hours) and have English, history, mathematics, or science as their major.

Important information about methods courses:

• Each methods course includes a 30 hour field placement in a local school setting.
• Candidates must have their TEP faculty advisor’s signature on the WPI in order to register for these courses.
• When the candidate completes the special approval for a methods course, s/he also completes a form to request the field placement.
• The Initial Program advisors determine field placements based on these requests and availability.
• At least one field placement will be completed in a diverse setting.
• Candidates will not be placed for field experience in a school where they have children in attendance, have been employed, or have spouses or siblings employed.
• TEP 423 must be completed successfully before a candidate may enroll in TEP 425.
• TEP 424 must be completed successfully before a candidate may enroll in TEP 426.

Important information about the Clinical Practice Semester:

• TEP 448 and TEP 450 constitute the entire semester.
• TEP 448 fulfills the required ECCE elective.
• TEP 450 fulfills the ECCE Engagement requirement.
• No other courses may be taken during the Clinical Practice Semester.
• Candidates must apply for the Clinical Practice Semester during the first two weeks of the prior semester TEP 448 meets biweekly during the first month of the Clinical Practice Semester; candidates also return for this seminar three times during the semester.
• TEP 450 refers to the actual Clinical Practice experience itself (student teaching).
• With the help of their advisors, candidates should determine the semester for clinical practice and plan on completing the application to Clinical Practice during the first two weeks of the semester prior to the Clinical Practice semester.
• Candidates must provide evidence of passing scores on the Content Area Test at the time of application for the Clinical Practice Semester.
• Candidates must have the required g.p.a.’s at the time of application for the Clinical Practice Semester and must maintain those g.p.a.’s during the semester prior to clinical practice. (2.5 overall, 2.75 in major area, 3.0 in TEP coursework)
• Candidates will not be placed for clinical practice in a school where they have children in attendance, have been employed, or have spouses or siblings employed.

Licensure

Completing the Teacher Education Minor or the course sequence for post-baccalaureate candidates does not automatically certify someone to teach. The teacher education program recommends candidates to the State Teacher licensure Board for K-9 licensure or 6-12 licensure after the completion of criteria required by the program. These criteria include a set of general education requirements set by the program, teacher education course work, passing scores on three tests administered by the Illinois licensure Testing System (Basic Skills / Test of Academic Proficiency, Content-area, Assessment of Professional Teaching), and other requirements outlined by the State Teacher licensure Board, which has sole authority for awarding or denying teacher licensure.