Teacher Education Program (TEP)

The Teacher Education Program (TEP) begins in the sophomore year for Teaching All Learners/elementary education students and in the junior year for secondary and visual arts education students and focuses on helping students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to become a reflective professional teacher. This program is based upon the SOE's Reflective Professional Model. The research- based conceptual framework for this model contains nine program outcome areas:

• Communications Skills
• Higher-Order Thinking Skills
• Instructional Media Services and Technology
• Learning and Development
• School Culture and Diversity
• Instructional Design and Delivery
• Classroom Management
• Assessment and Evaluation
• Professional Development

Student Portfolio

The student portfolio shall consist of artifacts, scoresheets and reflextions created by the student that demonstrate the acquisition of the knowledge and skills within each of the nine initial program outcomes. The student will begin to create the portfolio prior to entering the TEP Specific portfolio checkpoints have been established in both the elementary and secondary programs. The portfolio must be completed prior to student teaching.

Admission to the Teacher Education Program

• Application for admission to the Teacher Education Program must be filed prior to the beginning of the semester in which students plan to start.
• Students must have successfully completed at least 26 credit hours with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.50 and have submitted an Extended Criminal Background Check.
• Students must have successfully completed with a grade of C or higher ENG W131 Elementary Composition (3 cr.), SPCH S121 Public Speaking (3 cr.), EDUC W200 Microcomputing for Education: An Introduction (3 cr.), EDUC F200 Examining Self as Teacher (3 cr.), EDUC K205 Introduction to Exceptional Children, and EDUC P250 Educational Psychology (3 cr.).
• Students must have passed all parts of the Praxis I Exam (reading, writing, and mathematics). The cutoff scores are available in the Office of Education Student Services.
• Requests for exceptions are handled by the Admissions and Reinstatement Committee, which shall be the sole judge as to whether the students have met the requirements for admission to, continuing in, or completion of the Teacher Education Program.

Student Teaching Program

In the Student Teaching Program, the student assumes all or part of the responsibility for teaching in an elementary, special education, or secondary classroom.

Admission Requirements

• File an application for admission to the Student Teaching Program at least six calendar months before the beginning of the student teaching semester.
• Complete at least 30 of the last 60 credit hours of academic work at IU Northwest, including the professional methods courses.
• Have at least a 2.50 cumulative grade point average with grades of C or higher in all required cognate and education courses.
• Be at least a first-semester senior. Normally, this will mean that the student has satisfactorily completed at least 86 credit hours of academic work.
• In the case of elementary education majors, complete required work in the areas of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.
• In the case of SH/JH /MS education majors, complete at least 85 percent of the major teaching area requirements and 75 percent of the minor teaching area requirements.
• Complete all required professional methods courses within three years prior to enrolling in student teaching.
• Pass the prestudent teaching portfolio check.
• Pass the Praxis I and Praxis II exams.
• If an interview is requested by the cooperating institution, the student must participate in an interview with a representative of the institute or agency in which the student teaching will be completed and obtain a favorable recommendation.

Students are discouraged from taking additional academic work during the same semester of enrollment in student teaching.
The Director of Student Teaching and Field Experiences shall be the sole judge as to whether the student has met the requirements for admission to, and continuing in, the Student Teaching Program.

Completion of the Student Teaching Program and Application for a Teaching License

• Obtain a satisfactory recommendation from the Director of Student Teaching and Field Experiences
• Pass the final portfolio checkpoint.

The student will be eligible for a teaching license when the baccalaureate degree has been granted, the Praxis tests have been passed, an extended criminal background check shows no negative activity, and fees required by the Indiana Department of Education have been paid.

The necessary application forms for a teaching license may be obtained from the web at http://www.iun.edu/~fieldnw. When these forms have been completed, along with other required materials, they should be returned to the office for processing and submission to the Division of Professional Standards. This work often takes six to eight weeks.