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Teaching is more than a career; it is a calling. One part of our calling, as Lakeland teachers, is to prepare the next generation of educators. The Education program at Lakeland is committed to providing aspiring teachers with the skills and practical experiences they need to thrive in the classroom. Beyond skills and knowledge, though, the program helps Lakeland students to develop into teachers who are caring and reflective, teachers who address the needs of all children, teachers who make a difference.

Lakeland’s Education program strives to meet the professional, practical, and personal needs of future teachers. First, our students receive all the coursework, knowledge, and assistance they will need to exceed Wisconsin’s requirements for teaching certification. Second, they receive the pedagogical tools and practical experiences that starting teachers need in order to succeed in their own classrooms. Finally, and most importantly, our Education majors are encouraged to develop their own voice and teaching style through continual hands-on engagement with the teaching process.

Lakeland’s program in teacher education is approved by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). All education programs are subject to alterations due to changes in state and/or accrediting agency mandates.

To be admitted into a Lakeland University teacher certification program, a student should do the following at least two years before registering for student teaching and one year before applying for admission to student teaching: (Note: Second-degree students may follow an adjusted timeline.)

1. Complete at least 40 semester hours of college coursework with an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
2. Complete the education program application process which involves submission of a completed application form and transmission of a full set of academic credentials from the Office of the Registrar to the Director of the Center for Teacher Excellence.
3. Obtain written recommendations—one from a Lakeland Education faculty member and two from other university/college instructors. The recommendations should be sent to the Director of the Center for Teacher Excellence at the time the program application form is completed and submitted.
4. Complete EDU 100 - Introduction to Education  or its equivalent with a grade of “C” or higher.
5. Submit a personal reflection paper describing one’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences regarding education and teaching.
6. Complete and submit the results of a criminal background check (See the Director of the Center for Teacher Excellence for further information).
7. Complete and submit the Benchmark I Portfolio (See Education Program Student Handbook for further information).

Admission decisions will be made at the August, December, and May meetings of the education program faculty and staff. Successful admission to a teacher certification program should be completed no later than the fifth semester of full-time enrollment for students entering Lakeland as freshmen, and no later than the third full-time semester for students entering Lakeland as transfers. In both cases, admission should be completed and approved two years before registering for student teaching and one year before applying for admission to student teaching.

The Education Program provides a curriculum which serves the interests and needs of those students wishing to meet the professional requirements for teacher certification at the elementary and middle school levels. Teacher preparation demands a broad general background in the liberal arts, foundation courses in educational theory and practice, a concentration of subject matter in a teaching field, successful completion of professional skills and competency requirements, and demonstration of performance-based assessments to meet the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction teacher standards.

Admission to a teacher certification program is a prerequisite for entry into the following courses:

• EDU 331 - Science Teaching Techniques for Elementary and Middle School  
• EDU 332 - Mathematics Teaching Techniques for Elementary and Middle School  
• EDU 341 - Children’s and Early Adolescent Literature  
• EDU 342 - Language Arts and Social Studies Teaching Techniques for Elementary and Middle School  
• EDU 373 - Field Experience in Education  
• EDU 382 - Reading Teaching Techniques  
• EDU 449 - Education Capstone Course (WI)  

Teachers need training in human relations to facilitate effective relations with students from varied backgrounds. The required human relations component of teacher certification includes tutoring special students for a minimum of 50 hours and enrolling in designated courses. The burden of the responsibility for carrying out these activities lies with the student, under faculty direction and with faculty approval. EDU 373 - Field Experience in Education  includes 50 hours of tutoring.

Student teachers must meet all statutory requirements for their teaching license prior to enrollment in student teaching coursework. Adequate preparation in environmental education is required for licenses in elementary and middle school regular education, science, and social studies. Licenses in social studies also need adequate instruction in cooperative marketing and consumer cooperatives, which may be satisfied by taking cooperative marketing as a non-credit course. Arrangements to complete this requirement can be made through the Director of the Center for Teacher Excellence.

To be admitted to student teaching, education students must:

• Be admitted to a teacher certification program.
• Demonstrate content knowledge. To do so, there are two options:
  • Option 1: Achieve a passing score on the appropriate Praxis II content test.
  • Option 2: Maintain a cumulative 3.0 or higher GPA. To calculate the GPA, the following guidelines will be used:
    • In order for elementary and middle school (K-9) education students to demonstrate content knowledge through a 3.0 or higher GPA, students must maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA in their major/professional sequence and general studies courses. For purposes of calculating the GPA, grades in the following courses will be excluded: Core sequence, electives, and EDU 373/450/460/470. Furthermore, students must not have received a grade lower than C in any of their major/professional sequence courses. Regardless of the GPA, if students have received grades lower than C in any of the courses mentioned, they must rectify those grades before the GPA option can be considered.

In addition to the content knowledge requirement for all education students, elementary and middle school (K-9) education students must either pass the Foundations of Reading Test or have taken the test at least three times prior to student teaching.

• Submit a course plan demonstrating that all required coursework will be completed prior to student teaching, including the submission of all transfer coursework.
• Earn a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in all college coursework applied to the general studies requirements, the major, the minor (where certifiable), and the professional sequence.
• Complete and submit the Benchmark II Portfolio (see Education Program Student Handbook for further information); and
• Complete and submit a student teaching application form at least one year prior to the student teaching semester.

To be eligible for a fall term placement, all requirements must be met by the second Monday of April of the spring term previous to student teaching. To be eligible for a spring term placement, all requirements must be met by the fourth Monday of September of the same year. 

To be recommended for state certification upon completion of student teaching, education students must have completed the following requirements:

1. All Lakeland University Education Program course requirements and all current statutory requirements.
2. Have a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in all Lakeland coursework required for the major, minor (where certifiable), and professional sequence, exclusive of the student teaching semester.
3. Have successfully completed student teaching with a grade of “C” or better and received a positive recommendation from all cooperating teachers; and
4. Successfully complete the Benchmark III Portfolio.

*Students who have completed all program requirements except for passing the Foundations of Reading Test (must have taken the test at least three times) will be allowed to graduate but will not be endorsed for a teaching license until they have passed the test.

Lakeland University’s Kellett School offers the following programs designed to lead to teacher licensure by the State of Wisconsin:

• Elementary and Middle School (K-9): Completion of Elementary and Middle School (K-9) Professional Sequence*

*An add-on program with CESA 7 is available for K-12 Cross-Categorical [YJ1] Special Education.

The State of Wisconsin also requires a content test in Foundations of Reading for all students seeking licensure in grades kindergarten through five, beginning with those applying for licensure on or after January 31, 2014. Students will be required to earn a passing score on the exam or have attempted the exam at least three times before they can be placed for student teaching at Lakeland University.

Programs

• Elementary and Middle School (K-9) Education, B.A.

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