UIS Graduate and Undergraduate Catalog
Academic Year 2006 - 2007

TEACHER EDUCATION
Minor in Elementary Education and Minor in Secondary Education

Faculty  Gary Butler, Allan F. Cook, Jennifer Herring, Taiebeh Hosseinali, Loretta F. Meeks, Larry D. Stonecipher, Theresa Sullivan‑Stewart, Cindy Wilson
Emeritus Faculty  Gary A. Storm

Contact: (217) 206-6682
tep@uis.edu or www.uis.edu/teachereducation/

The teacher education minors provide course work that leads to initial Illinois certification at the elementary or secondary level when combined with an appropriate academic major and fulfillment of general education and campus requirements. Candidates seeking a bachelor's degree and either initial elementary or secondary certification should expect that their total program of study will exceed the minimum number of hours required for graduation.

Elementary education candidates must major in an academic discipline. Candidates should work closely with their TEP adviser to determine an appropriate discipline.

Secondary education candidates may major in one of several programs leading to certification in the areas of English, biological science, mathematics, or social studies.

The teacher education program has prepared a student handbook and a handbook for student teachers. Both handbooks are available online. Candidates are expected to consult these sources in addition to this catalog statement. 

Admission
Candidates seeking initial certification in either elementary or secondary education may make formal application to the teacher education program at any time. Priority will be given to applications received by October 15 (to begin coursework in the spring semester) and by March 15 (to begin coursework in the summer or fall). To have his/her application considered, a student must meet with a TEP representative, be admitted to UIS, and have an overall GPA of 2.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for all college work. The student must have passed the basic skills part of the Illinois Certification Exam, completed the formal application form (which can be found online at www.uis.edu/teachereducation), and submit official transcripts from all schools attended prior to applying to the teacher education program. To be admitted to the program, candidates must have completed 1) PSY 327 or other course work in educational psychology, 2) PSY 322 or other course work in child development (elementary) or PSY 323 or other course work in adolescent psychology (secondary), and 3) TEP 201, an introduction to education class, or the equivalent. As a fourth prerequisite, applicants are required to have TEP 202 or documentation of at least 30 hours of work with school-age children in an educational setting.

Once admitted to the program, a student must maintain a grade-point average of 3.00 in teacher education course work, a grade-point average of 2.75 in his/her disciplinary concentration (elementary) or area of specialization (secondary), and a grade-point average of 2.50 overall. He or she must also successfully complete the field experiences required in the methods courses. Candidate progress is evaluated throughout the teacher education programs according to GPA, professional teaching standards, dispositions, and other factors. Candidates not meeting these criteria may be removed from or counseled out of the program.

All candidates applying to the teacher education program and those candidates applying to clinical practice will be required to have a criminal background investigation. The TEP program will do these checks; a fee will be assessed for each investigation. Information and materials for this requirement are available on the TEP website. 

Clinical Experiences
Methods courses required in the elementary and secondary minors require pre-clinical field experiences. Each of the elementary methods courses has 30 hours of required field experience, and each of the secondary methods courses has 40 hours of required field experience. All candidates will complete at least 120 hours of field experience prior to clinical practice. Candidates are assigned to area schools by the teacher education program. At least one of the field experiences will occur in a school that is considered diverse in ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, gender, exceptionalities, language, religion, sexual orientation, and/or geographical area. Per program policy, candidates are not permitted to take more than two methods courses per semester.

Clinical practice, which occurs during the final semester, is a 16-week professional experience in a public or private school setting. Candidates must pass the ICTS content area exam in their area of certification and apply the semester prior to the actual experience. To be placed for clinical practice, candidates must have passed the content area exam for their certification area, have an overall GPA of 2.50, a GPA of 2.75 in their major (area of specialization), and a GPA of 3.00 in coursework for the TEP minor. Clinical practice placements are made to school districts in the central Illinois area, and are supervised by university supervisors and local cooperating teachers. To be fully certified, candidates must also pass the Illinois State Board of Education's Assessment of Professional Teaching test. The program recommends that candidates take this exam prior to the completion of clinical practice. 

General Education Requirements for All Candidates
Pursuant to the State of Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, candidates in teacher education are expected to possess general education knowledge. General education is defined as "theoretical and practical understanding generally expected of a liberally educated person. General education includes developing knowledge related to the arts, communications, history, literature, mathematics, philosophy, sciences, and the social studies, from multicultural and global perspectives." The candidate must meet all general education standards prior to application for clinical practice. 

Prerequisites for Admission
1.  Passing score on the Illinois Test of Basic Skills. Links to registration and study guides may be found on the Teacher Education website.
2.  Criminal background check. This form may be downloaded from the Teacher Education website.
3.  PSY 327 or another course in educational psychology
4.  PSY 322 or another course in child development (elementary minor)
PSY 323 or another course in adolescence (secondary minor)
5.  TEP 201, or another course in introduction to education
6.  30 hours documented experience with school-age children in an educational setting 

MINOR IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
Candidates interested in obtaining a minor in elementary education must be enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program at UIS. To receive the initial elementary certificate in the state of Illinois, candidates must complete the minor requirements, degree requirements, and be recommended for certification by the program. 

Course Requirements
TEP 305 Technology for Teaching  3 Hrs.
TEP 307  History and Philosophy of Education  3 Hrs.
TEP 322 Teaching, Learning, and Assessment   3 Hrs.
PSY 324 Exceptional Child  4 Hrs.
TEP 423  Basic Reading and Language Arts Methods  3 Hrs.
TEP 424  Methods of Teaching Elementary Math  3 Hrs.
TEP 425  Methods of Teaching Elementary Social Studies
    and Humanities  3 Hrs.
TEP 426  Methods of Teaching Elementary Science 3 Hrs.
TEP 448  Clinical Practice Seminar Grades K-9  3 Hrs.
TEP 450  Clinical Practice Grades K-9  9 Hrs.

Total for minor  37 Hrs. 

Middle School Endorsement
Candidates seeking middle school endorsements on their elementary or secondary certificate must enroll in TEP 401 Middle School Concepts and Practices and major in an endorsable middle school content area. Candidates should consult their advisers for any specific requirements for the endorsement. 

MINOR IN SECONDARY EDUCATION
The University of Illinois at Springfield is entitled to certify secondary teachers in four areas: social studies, English, biological science, and mathematics. The secondary education minor thus provides opportunities to combine undergraduate disciplinary study with education courses in a program leading to secondary certification.

Candidates interested in a secondary certificate must be enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program at UIS. To receive the initial secondary certificate in the state of Illinois, candidates must complete the minor requirements, degree requirements, and be recommended for certification by the program. 

Course Requirements
TEP 305 Technology for Teaching  3 Hrs.
TEP 307 History and Philosophy of Education  3 Hrs.
PSY 324 Exceptional Child  4 Hrs.
TEP 314 Curriculum and Instruction  3 Hrs.
TEP 401 Middle School Concepts and Practices  3 Hrs.
TEP 419 Content Area Literacy  3 Hrs.
TEP 4XX Content Methods (choose one)
   TEP 435 English Methods Grades 6-12
   TEP 436 Mathematics Methods Grades 6-12
   TEP 437 Science Methods Grades 6-12
   TEP 438 Social Studies Methods Grades 6-12  3 Hrs.
Approved elective  3-4 Hrs.
TEP 449 Clinical Practice Seminar Grades 6-12  3 Hrs.
TEP 451 Clinical Practice Grades 6-12  9 Hrs.

Total for minor  36-37 Hrs. 

POST-BACCALAUREATE CANDIDATES SEEKING CERTIFICATION ONLY
Candidates who possess a bachelor's degree in a certifiable area are welcome in the teacher education program. To obtain elementary or secondary certification, candidates must meet all program requirements for entrance and fulfill the same sequence of courses that candidates seeking the minor in elementary or secondary education are required to complete. In addition, candidates seeking endorsement in secondary education will have their transcripts reviewed by faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to determine if and what additional course work must be completed before a recommendation for certification can be made. Assuming that all prerequisites are met, candidates can expect to spend a minimum of four semesters completing certification requirements. Interested parties should contact the program chair, the program adviser, or the program website for additional information regarding certification-only requirements. 

Certification
The teacher education program recommends candidates to the State Teacher Certification Board for K‑9 certification or 6‑12 certification on the completion of several criteria. Candidates must meet a set of general education requirements set by the program, complete and pass tests of basic skills, subject matter knowledge and assessment of professional teaching administered by the state certification system, and satisfy any additional requirements outlined by the State Teacher Certification Board, which has sole authority for awarding or denying teacher certification. 

PROJECT MIDSTATE STUDENT SUPPORT FOR TEACHING (MSS) 

Contact: 217/206-7008 or http://people.uis.edu/lmeek1/mssmain.html

Project MSS is a program designed to recruit teachers for the Springfield and Decatur school systems. Students in this program must make a serious commitment to teaching in either Springfield or Decatur. Students make application to the program after they have met the requirements for admission or been formally admitted to the Teacher Education program. Applications for admission are reviewed twice a year -– one month prior to the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. Students are notified in writing of their acceptance. All Project MSS retention requirements are consistent with the expectations of TEP. To maintain good standing in Project MSS and to be eligible for a tuition waiver and semester stipend, students must enroll in a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester; maintain a 2.75 overall grade-point average and a 3.00 grade-point average in TEP course work; enroll in the appropriate MSS course; conduct a minimum of 10 hours per semester of community service; and abide by all policies and procedures of Project MSS. A complete list of requirements is provided in the MSS Handbook, published online. Students failing to maintain any one of these requirements will be given one semester of probationary status and will be withdrawn if said deficiencies are not remedied. 

TITLE II REPORT CARD
UIS teacher education candidates taking the Illinois Test of Basic Skills and the content area tests for certification recorded a 100 percent pass rate for the 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, and 2003-04 academic years.

Copies of these, and subsequent, Title II Report Cards are available at www.uis.edu/teachereducation.