Becoming a Teacher Education Candidate at Defiance College

Students who have declared Education as their major field of study and who are pursuing teacher licensure must apply to and be granted admission into the Teacher Education Program before they may enroll in upper division education courses. This process should start when the pre-candidate is enrolled in ED 221, Foundations of American Public Education. In that course, the pre-candidate must either register for or take the Praxis I test and submit an application for admission.

Pre-candidates may not enroll in Education courses at the 300 level or beyond until admission into the program is granted. The Teacher Education Council (TEC) reviews and acts on all applications. The Council meets in August, November, January, and May. The TEC is chaired by the Head of Teacher Education. Additional membership includes the Dean of Students, the college coordinator of Praxis testing, a co-director of the Academic Resource Center (ARC) and one representative from each of the academic divisions that have courses that are required for one or more of the licensure programs.

Criteria For Teacher Education Program Admission
The pre-candidate should submit the following items in the Teacher Education Documents File. The following is a list of things that the pre-candidate is responsible for collecting and submitting in the Teacher Education Documents File:

1. Resume with the following:

• Education: List schools attended (high school and college); degrees, certificates, etc.
  
• Employment: List positions, dates and responsibilities
  
• Experience with Children and Youth (paid or volunteer):
  Provide the following information for each experience you list under this category. Be specific about where you had the experience, what you did, the length of time involved, the age of the children you worked with and the name of the person who supervised you that could be contacted about your experience.
  
• Honors, awards, hobbies and/or organizations to which you belong.
  

2. Copies of the Five Goals for each course and the designated goals that you met (beginning with the August 2003 TEC meeting, (see page 34 for the ED 221 Goals and Assessments.) These can be accessed through ONE STOP by click on Education Department Assessment on the main menu that comes up after you log on.

3. Self evaluation on Disposition Rating Form (See page 33.)

4. Copies of lesson plans, supervisor assessments and rubrics that were used to assess the plans (if applicable.)

The pre-candidate should submit or have submitted the following items to the Teacher Education Office:

1. Completed application turned into the Office of Teacher Education

2. Letters of recommendation from the following:

• professor of the student's choice
  
• supervisors or similar persons who can verify satisfactory work or volunteer experience with children and/or youth (the student is encouraged to submit more than one of these
  

3. Dispositions rating forms from the following:

• professor for Foundations of American Education, ED 221
  
• professors for ED 202, ED 228, and ED 229 (need 2 of the 3)
  

4. Praxis I scores of 176 in Reading, 174 in Writing, and 175 in Mathematics (starting with test dates in January 2002, all computer taken Praxis I scores are reported with the same type of scores as the paper/pencil tests) or a score of 24 or higher on the ACT or a score of 1090 or higher on the SAT. A copy of ACT or SAT scores must be turned into the Teacher Education Office, Defiance Hall, Room 129.

5. A criminal background check that reveals no arrests or convictions that would preclude the candidate from obtaining a teaching license in Ohio.

The Office of Teacher Education checks the following criteria:

1. Minimum overall grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale. Pre-candidates need to have earned at least 24 credit hours before making application, 12 of which need to be from Defiance College.

2. A grade of "C" or above in EN 111 English Composition, CA 111
Fundamentals of Communication, ED 221 Foundations of American Public Education, ED 202 Educational Technology, ED 228 Exceptional Child and ED 229 Educational Psychology. Three of these four education 200 level core courses must be completed before admission is granted.

Prior to the admission meeting by the Teacher Education Council, the names of pre-candidates who have met the minimum requirements are presented to the entire faculty for review and comment. The Teacher Education Council considers comments received from the faculty in determining acceptance into the Program. Pre-candidates' past attendance patterns, class behavior and attitude, and ratings on the Disposition Rating Forms all play a part in the decision making process. Pre-candidates who are under sanction by the Office of the Dean of Students may not be admitted to the program. The Council acts on each application separately and grants the student Regular Admission, Conditional Admission, Probationary or Denied admission as outlined below.

Regular Admission
All criteria must be met.

Conditional Admission
The pre-candidate can be granted a one semester conditional acceptance if one of the following is true:

• One of the PPST scores is one or two points below the required minimum.
  
• The overall GPA between 2.65 and 2.75.
  
• One Disposition or recommendation is missing.
  
• One or more Disposition Form shows a cluster of low ratings.
  

Probationary Admission/Status
A pre-candidate may be admitted with or changed to probationary status if disposition ratings indicate consistently low patterns in one or more disposition, the candidate displays behavior in classes that does not help maintain a positive learning environment, a P-12 teacher or principal raises a caution about the pre-candidate/candidate or the pre-candidate/candidate does not meet minimum criteria on rubrics and other required assessments. If a pre-candidate or candidate is placed on probationary status, a contract will be drawn up to clearly indicate to the pre-candidate/candidate what must be changed in order to be removed from probationary status. Pre-candidates or candidates who fail to have their probationary status removed after the time designated in the contract will be dropped from the program.

Denied Admission
Pre-candidates will be denied admission to the Teacher Education Program if one or more is true of their application status:

• The pre-candidate has not taken the PPST.
  
• Two or more PPST scores are below the required scores.
  
• Professor recommendations or ratings on Disposition Rating Forms are not favorable.
  
• A grade of C was not earned in English Composition, Fundamentals of Communication (if taken), and Foundations of American Public Education
  
• The pre-candidate is under sanction by the Office of the Dean of Students.
  
• The pre-candidate has not completed the Criminal Records Check or the pre-candidate's criminal background check reveals charges that preclude him/her from obtaining an Ohio teaching license.