Department of Education
Teacher Certification
In compliance with the Maryland Redesign of Teacher Education, the heart of the Washington College Teacher Certification Program is a two semester, 100-day internship. The secondary internship begins with the second semester of the junior year and ends with the completion of the student teaching experience in the fall semester of the senior year. Alternately, students may elect to begin the internship in the spring semester of the senior year and complete student teaching in the fall semester following graduation. The elementary internship begins the first semester of the senior year and ends in the spring semester of the senior year. Special accommodations will be made for non-traditional students. The internship will be completed in one of the ten Professional Development Schools the College has established in three local counties.
Entry Criteria
- Cumulative GPA of 2.8 for both elementary and secondary certification; GPA of 3.0 in specific teaching field for secondary certification (A grade of "D" is not accepted in professional education courses, nor in courses in the teaching field)
- Recommendation from a professor in student's major field of study
- Maryland passing score on Praxis Exam, Part One
- Satisfactory performance in Professional Development School field experiences
- Presentation of a developmental portfolio
- Approval of the Education Department Chair following a formal interview with the Chair and departmental colleagues
Admission Procedures
Secondary
During the fall semester, Junior Year:
- Take the national ETS Praxis I exam. *
- Before final exam week, complete the Application Form for the Teacher Certification Program and submit it to the faculty secretary in Goldstein 114. *
- Obtain a letter of recommendation from a professor in your department.*
- In early December, contact the faculty secretary to schedule an interview with the Education Department Faculty. Interviews usually are held during exam week.* Forms are available in the department secretary's office.
- The interview will include a technology survey.
- A list of technology standards is available in Intern Resources.
Elementary
During the fall semester, Junior Year:
- Take the national ETS Praxis I exam. *
During the spring semester, Junior Year:
- In early February, complete the Application Form for the Teacher Certification Program and submit it to the faculty secretary in Goldstein 114. *
- Obtain a letter of recommendation from a professor in your department.*
- In early March, contact the faculty secretary to schedule an interview with the Education Department Faculty. Interviews usually are held in April.* Forms are available in the department secretary's office.
- The interview will include a content quiz, technology survey, and reading portfolio presentation.
- A list of technology standards is available in Intern Resources.
Professional Portfolios
Each student completing a Maryland approved certification program through the Washington College Teacher Certification Program will prepare a portfolio using the Maryland Essential Dimensions of Teaching as an organizing element. Throughout formal studies and the clinical experiences in Professional Development Schools, each student will develop a working performance portfolio that will serve as a formative assessment instrument. From the artifacts developed and collected throughout the program and assembled in the portfolio, the student will present a showcase or presentation portfolio at the conclusion of the student teaching internship. This event will engage students in a portfolio review process designed to validate application for official certification by the Maryland State Department of Education and to prepare each teacher candidate to utilize a presentation portfolio in the interview process.
Portfolio Assessment
In 2001-2002, the Education Department, together with its PDS partners, adopted a portfolio assessment process for its teacher candidates. Students are trained in the portfolio process in sessions that are open to all education students at the beginning of each fall semester.
Formative assessment begins at the conclusion of the first semester of internship when the students meet individually with the school site coordinator and the college liaison to present their portfolios and explain what they learned during their field experience. At this checkpoint, the portfolios consist mostly of summaries of the students' journals, samples of mini lessons they taught, and a preliminary philosophy of teaching.
During the second semester, students meet frequently with their Education Faculty and Special Methods Instructors to expand their portfolios and to organize them according to The Essential Dimensions of Teaching. They are helped by their supervising teachers in selecting samples of their best daily lesson plans and unit plans, as well as artifacts of any instructional activities they organized during their student teaching.
The culminating activity of the two-semester internship is the public presentation of portfolios. This is a summative performance assessment of the students' teaching competencies. It is organized by the site coordinators and takes place at the assigned schools. All school faculty members and administrators are invited. The attached evaluation forms are used by either the teachers in the audience or the students' supervising teachers as indicated. College faculty later use the third attached form to evaluate each portfolio according to EDoT standards.
Teacher Certification: Goals
The Education Department aims: a) to provide for students professional preparation for teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels within the setting of the liberal arts philosophy and approach to undergraduate education; b) to explore with students the social, psychological, philosophical, and historical foundations of education in our society; and c) to stimulate student inquiry concerning the nature of our educational institutions.
In addition to the goals of the liberal arts and sciences, the goals of the Teacher Certification Program are:
1. to enable each student to achieve competence in the Essential Dimensions of Teaching.
2. to develop in its undergraduates an understanding of the social, emotional, intellectual, and physical needs of public school students, as well as the ability to assess student learning potential and to plan effective instruction for their development;
3. to help its students acquire a facility for communicating intelligently and effectively with others in a variety of educational environments through the selection of appropriate teaching methods, instructional materials, and other resources;
4. to prepare reflective practitioners capable of continually reappraising their own teaching philosophy, objectives, techniques, and materials;
5. to establish a reflective and collegial environment in which the self-esteem, the performance ability, and the problem solving capacities of the potential teacher are shaped and reshaped at a formative level;
6. to nurture the personal development of its students—growth in self-knowledge, security, identity, belonging, purpose, personal competence; and
7. to model effective instructional procedures—cooperative-collaborative, experiential & performance oriented problem solving.
Teacher Certification: Entry Requirements
Entry criteria for the Teacher Certification Program are as follows:
- cumulative GPA of 2.8 (and a GPA of 3.0 in the teaching field for secondary certification);
- recommendation from a professor in the students major field of study (for secondary certification);
- approval of the Education Department Chair following a formal interview with the Chair and departmental colleagues;
- and a Maryland passing score on one of the following exams: Praxis I-composite score of 527, SAT-composite score of 1100, ACT-composite score of 24, or GRE-composite score of 1000.
Admission to the program generally occurs during the fall semester of the junior year. (Where possible, the Department will make accommodations for "late deciders.")
It should be noted that Washington College Teacher Certification Program requirements may be modified because of evolving state requirements for approved programs in teacher education.
Program Completion Requirements
Students will be recommended for Maryland Approved Program teacher certification when they complete the following: 1) an academic degree with a cumulative GPA of 2.8, and a GPA of 3.0 in their major for secondary certification; 2) successful completion of the Washington College Teacher Certification Program; 3) successful completion of national examinations according to Maryland standards. 4) exit interview with Certification Administrator.
Teacher Certification: Admissions Procedures
During the fall semester, Junior Year:
1. Obtain a copy of your ETS national Praxis I exam scores.
2. Before final exam week, complete the Application Form for the Teacher Certification Program and submit it to the faculty secretary in Goldstein 114.
3. Obtain a letter of recommendation from a professor in your department (secondary only).
4. In early December, contact the faculty secretary to schedule an interview with the Education Department Faculty. Interviews usually are held during exam week. Forms are available in the department secretary's office. The interview will include a technology survey.
Teacher Certification: Portfolio Development
Professional Portfolios
Each student completing the Washington College Teacher Certification Program will prepare a professional portfolio using the Maryland Essential Dimensions of Teaching as an organizing element. Throughout formal studies and the clinical experiences in Professional Development Schools, each student will develop a working performance portfolio that will serve as a formative assessment instrument. From the artifacts developed and collected throughout the program and assembled in the portfolio, the student will present a showcase or presentation portfolio at the conclusion of the student teaching internship. This event will engage students in a portfolio review process designed to validate application for official certification by the Maryland State Department of Education and to prepare each teacher candidate to utilize a presentation portfolio in the interview process. Students majoring in Human Development with teacher certification develop an extended working portfolio that also meets Senior Capstone Experience requirements for graduation.
Portfolio Assessment
The Education Department, together with its PDS partners, have adopted a portfolio assessment process for its teacher candidates. Students are trained in the portfolio process in sessions that are open to all education students at the beginning of each fall semester.
The culminating activity of the two-semester internship is the public presentation of portfolios. This is a summative performance assessment of the students' teaching competencies. It is organized by the site coordinators and takes place at the assigned schools. All school faculty members and administrators are invited. The evaluation forms used to assess the portfolios by the mentor, audience members and college faculty can be found in Internship Resources and Forms.
Teacher Certification: Certification Roadmap
Education Courses in Elementary Teacher Certification
2010-2011
Please use the following schedule of courses as a guideline; some education courses are not offered every semester.
Freshman Year
Fall
- EDU 211 Clinical Field Experience (1 credit) (or spring)
Spring
- EDU 211 Clinical Field Experience (if not taken in the fall)
Sophomore Year
Fall
- EDU 212 Clinical Field Experience (1 credit)(or spring)
- EDU 301 Principles of Education (or spring)
Spring
- EDU 212 Clinical Field Experience (if not taken in the fall)
- EDU 301 Principles of Education (if not taken in the fall)
- EDU 302 Educational Psychology
Junior Year
Fall
- EDU 213 Clinical Field Experience (1 credit)
- EDU 351 Processes & Acquisitions of Reading
- PSY 202 Life-Span Development (or spring)
Spring
- EDU 214 Clinical Field Experience (1 credit)
- EDU 352 Reading Instruc. & Assessment
- EDU 394 Qualitative Inquiry & Action Research
- EDU 354 Literature for Children K-8
- PSY 202 Life-Span Development (if not taken in the fall)
Senior Year
Fall
- EDU 330 Diversity & Inclusion
- EDU 411 Curriculum & Instruc. Math & Science
- EDU 412 Curriculum & Instruc. Language Arts & Social Studies
- EDU 413 Elementary Teaching Internship
Spring
- EDU 414 Elem. Teaching Internship (12 credits)
- EDU SCE Senior Capstone Experience
Please Note: All freshmen considering elementary teacher certification should consult with Elementary Program Coordinator, Dr. Bridget Bunten, (bbunten2@washcoll.edu) or Ms. Michelle Johnson, (mjohnson2@washcoll.edu) in the first semester of the freshman year.
Secondary Teacher Certification
2010-2011
Please note: Students interested in teaching History/Social Studies or English have additional courses required by the state of Maryland.
Sophomore Year
Fall
- EDU 301 Principles of Education (or spring; or junior year)
- EDU 216 Clinical Field Experience (1 credit) (fall or spring)
(EDU 330 Diversity & Inclusion should be taken this fall if student plans to study abroad during fall of junior year)
Spring
- EDU 217 Clinical Field Experience (1 credit) (or fall junior year)
- EDU 301 Principles of Education (if not taken in the fall)
(EDU 302 Educational Psychology and EDU 307 Reading in the Content Area should be taken in the spring if the student plans to study abroad during spring of junior year)
Junior Year
Fall
- EDU 217 Clinical Field Experience (if not taken as a sophomore)
- EDU 301 Principles of Education (if not taken as sophomore)
- EDU 330 Diversity & Inclusion
Spring
- EDU 302 Educational Psychology
- EDU 307 Reading in the Content Area
- EDU 404 Secondary Teaching Internship (1 credit)
Senior Year
Fall
Ed Block:
- EDU 401 Principles of Teaching I: Secondary
- EDU 402 Principles of Teaching II: Secondary
- EDU 403 Special Methods in the Teaching Area
Sections:- 10-Art
- 11-Biology
- 12-Business Ed.
- 13-Chemistry
- 14-English
- 15-French
- 16-German
- 17-Math
- 18-Physics
- 19-Social Studies
- 20-Spanish
- 21-Theater
- EDU 405 Secondary Teaching Internship (8 credits)
Please Note: Students pursuing secondary teacher certification should consult with the Secondary Education Coordinator, Dr. Robert Siudzinski, (rsiudzinski2@washcoll.edu), or Ms. Erin Counihan (ecounihan2@washcoll.edu) as well as with their major advisor on college advising days.
Students who are interested in secondary education should complete the interest form (PDF) and return it to Faculty Secretary Cathy Naundorf in Goldstein 114. This form will notify the Education faculty of your interest and will ensure that you receive email notices regarding scheduling and special events.