Teacher Education ProgramsThe 36 semester-hour Graduate Program in General Studies in Education provides the following options: Professional Teaching Certification Option -- For students who already possess a New York State Initial Teaching Certificate, this option leads to a M. Ed. degree and recommendation for Professional Teaching Certification in New York State. Initial/Professional Teaching Certification Option -- For students who do not possess a New York State Initial Teaching Certificate, this option leads to M. Ed. degree and recommendation for the Initial Teaching Certificate in 7-12 academic subjects and/or K-12 Art. The University is not registered to provide preparation for initial certification in any other teaching field. Students who complete this option apply for Professional Teaching Certification in New York State without additional coursework, once they have met the requirements for three years of full-time teaching required by the State of New York. The option is open to students who possess a bachelor's degree from any accredited institution of higher education. Non-certification option -- This option is offered for students interested in graduate-level study in education without pursuing teaching certification. I. Program Overview The graduate program in General Studies in Education is designed to provide the broadest possible service to residents of New York's North Country. It has been modified to meet new Regents regulations for teaching certification that went into effect in February, 2004. Over the years, the General Studies Program has been refined to keep in mind the needs of parents, social service professionals, community college teachers, governmental agency personnel and other community leaders, in addition to the public school professionals for whom the program was created at its inception many years ago. New courses in Conflict Resolution, Applications of Educational Technology, Issues and Ethics in the Human Service Professions, and Pedagogical Content Studies are examples of ways in which we continue to adapt this program to the prospective students' needs. This program offers excellent opportunities for people who occupy virtually any kind of leadership position, including the all-important one of leadership within one’s own family unit. To apply, or request further information, regarding all aspects of this graduate program, contact Dr. Jim Shuman, Coordinator, Graduate Program in General Studies in Education, 315-229-5847.
The programs described below are registered and approved by the New York State Education Department. Two levels of teaching certification are currently available in New York: initial teaching certification (valid for up to four years of contracted public school teaching) and professional teaching certification (valid for life as long as requirements for continuing professional development are met continually.) Different options in the program provide routes to these two levels of certification. The Professional Certification Option is also approved for individuals who currently hold a New York State provisional teaching certificate and seek permanent teaching certification in the same certificate area, until this route closes in 2015. The Initial/Professional Certification Option also provides sufficient academic preparation for initial certification in any other US state that has a current reciprocity agreement with New York State for teacher preparation. Currently, New York State has reciprocity with more than 45 other US states. To be certified in other states, the individual must apply directly to the education agency in charge of teaching certification in that state. The reciprocity agreements hold for academic preparation only; they do not include competency testing requirements, which each state determines separately. The Initial/Professional Certification Option also provides sufficient academic preparation for a Letter of Eligibility (initial teaching certification) in Ontario. In order for the University’s program coordinator to write the letter to the Ontario College of Teachers, the individual must complete all requirements (including testing) for certification in New York State. In addition, individuals seeking Ontario certification on the intermediate/secondary level must have academic preparation (12 sem. hrs., minimum) in a second teachable subject, and they must pass Ontario testing requirements as well. Because certification standards in other US states and Canadian provinces are changing, students should check with the University’s program coordinator for details regarding specific certification requirements in these jurisdictions.
A. Professional Certification Option This program of study is valid for recommendation for the following New York State professional certificate areas: adolescence education; middle childhood education (specialist); teacher of students with disabilities in middle childhood education (specialist); teacher of students with disabilities in adolescence education; teacher of a special subject; or teacher of the career field of agriculture, or business and marketing. (Note: Additional requirements for testing and/or mentored teaching experience must also be met for professional certification in New York State.) This program of study is also valid for recommendation for New York State permanent teaching certification in all certificate areas. Curriculum for the Professional Certification Option Area 1 Foundations of Education (6 sem. hrs.) Area 2 Educational Research (9 sem. hours) Area 3 Learning and Behavior (3 sem. hrs.) Area 4 Curriculum and Instruction (6 sem. hrs.) Area 5 Pedagogical Content and Subject Matter Studies (12 sem. hrs.) [Note: NYSED regulations require "at least 12 semester hours in graduate study in the subject of the certificate or that links pedagogy and content in the subject of the certificate or a related subject." New courses in Pedagogical Content Studies are offered every year. They are transcripted under the education departmental title (e.g., EDUC 566, SpTp: Constructivist Approaches to Teaching Geometry).] OR DEPT 566, SpTp: Subject Matter Studies [Note: Graduate students may take selected graduate-level versions of upper-level (300-400 level) undergraduate courses in the academic departments at St. Lawrence. In order to enroll, the student must have permission of the instructor, who will provide a separate syllabus (or addendum) with appropriate graduate-level expectations, assignments, and grading criteria. The courses are transcripted under the departmental title (e.g., ENGL 566, SpTp: Shakespeare’s Tragedies).]
B. Combined Initial/Professional Certificate Option The 28 sem. hr. Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program listed below is valid for recommendation for the New York State initial teaching certificate in adolescence education in 7-12 academic subjects and/or special subjects: K-12 Art. It can be taken as a stand-alone program, leading to recommendation for initial teaching certification in adolescence education in New York State or secondary (7-12) certification in all reciprocating US states. The Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program can also be combined with the remainder of the required coursework for this option of the M. Ed. in General Studies in Education, leading to recommendation for the New York State professional teaching certificate in the same certificate area. Together, these two programs require 40 sem. hrs. of graduate study. (Additional requirements for testing and mentored teaching experience must also be met for initial and/or professional teaching certification in New York State.) For recommendation for initial certification in Ontario, the entire M. Ed. program is required. Specific Entrance Requirements for the Option
Curriculum for the Initial/Professional Certification Option
C. Non-Certification OptionThis program of study is open to all students interested in advancing their knowledge in the field of education at any level. It does not qualify for recommendation for any teaching certificate in New York State. Area 1 Foundations of Education (6 sem. hours) Area 2 Educational Research (9 sem. hours) Area 3 Learning and Behavior (6 sem. hours) Area 4 Curriculum and Instruction (6 sem. hours) Area 5 Electives (9 sem. hours) *New course to be approved in 2007-2008
The five courses of the Professional Semester comprise a full load and require full-time commitment and work for the 15-week semester. All students intending to enroll in the Professional Semester must apply for it separately (in addition to applying for the graduate program). Applications to the Professional Semester must be approved by the University’s Teacher Education Advisory Committee. Students seeking certification in English, math, the sciences and/or social studies must enroll for a fall semester; applications are due by the previous March 1. Students seeking certification in foreign language or art must enroll in a spring semester; applications are due by the previous Oct. 1. All student teaching placements will be in or near St. Lawrence County; they will be arranged by the Program Coordinator and the school principals only. The Teacher Education Advisory Committee will review applications for the Professional Semester on the basis of the following criteria:
Approximately 65 percent of students completing teacher preparation programs at St. Lawrence in 2005-2006 entered the teaching profession as new teachers within one year after graduation. Approximately 20 percent entered full-time graduate school and the remaining 15 percent followed other career paths. Teacher supply and demand data from the American Association for Employment in Education for the year 2006-2007 indicates that there is moderate demand throughout the U.S., including the Northeast, for teachers of 7-12 English, sciences, mathematics, Spanish and German. Demand for teachers of K-12 art and 7-12 social studies and French is balanced. |
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