McKendree teacher education students who complete an approved teacher education program and meet all of the requirements established by the State Board of Education may qualify for an Initial Certificate in the areas of Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Special K-12 (Art, Music and Physical Education).

 

Teacher education students completing an approved Illinois teacher education qualify for an Initial Certificate by passing the Illinois Test of Basic Skills, the Illinois Assessment of Professional Teaching and the appropriate test(s) of subject matter knowledge. Initial Certificates shall be endorsed according to the approved program completed, the coursework presented, and/or the applicable examination(s) passed.

 

All Initial (Elementary, Secondary and Special K-12) Certificates shall be valid for four (4) years of teaching and are nonrenewable. Upon completion of four (4) years of teaching within eight (8) years after the issue date of that certificate, individuals may qualify for a comparable Standard (Elementary, Secondary, and Special K-12) Certificate valid for five (5) years and renewable with proof of continuing education or professional development. These individuals may qualify for a comparable Standard Certificate by successfully passing the required Standard Certificate requirements and completing other requirements established by the Illinois State Board of Education. (NOTE: “Four (4) years of teaching experience means the equivalent of four (4) years of full-time employment.”)

 

Students who qualify for the Initial Elementary and Secondary Certificates and who wish to teach in departmentalized grade five (5) through grade eight (8) may obtain a Middle School Endorsement by completing the required coursework as specified in the section titled Middle School Endorsement.

 

Students may wish to elect a minor in coaching which is available to individuals seeking any of the Initial Teaching Certificates offered through the teacher education program. Refer to the section on the coaching minor listed under Physical Education in the Courses of Study section of the undergraduate catalog. Additional curriculum information can be found in the graduate catalog. Complete McKendree 2007-08 Graduate Catalog (RTF)

 

The Initial Elementary Certificate is valid for four (4) years of teaching in the kindergarten and the lower nine (9) grades in the public schools and is nonrenewable. The certificate may be issued by entitlement to any completer of a McKendree teacher education program with a bachelors degree who presents certified evidence, accompanied by the Registrar’s recommendation of having successfully completed the requirements for certification. All candidates for certification are required to successfully pass state-mandated examinations in basic skills, subject matter specialty and the Assessment of Professional Teaching before certification is granted. It is required that students pass the Illinois Test of Basic Skills prior to admission to the Teacher Education Program, and pass the subject matter exam before the student teaching semester. It is required that students pass the Assessment of Professional Teaching exam for program completion. Registration booklets and study guides for the examinations are available on the Illinois State Board of Education web site (www.isbe.net).

 

Course Number	Course Title	Credits
EDU 501	Methods of Teaching Fine Arts (ELEM)	3
EDU 530	Methods of Teaching Mathematics (ELEM)	3
EDU 541	Methods of Teaching Mathematics (ELEM)	3
EDU 542	Methods of Teaching Science (ELEM)	3
EDU 545	Methods of Teaching Language Arts (ELEM)	3
EDU 546	Methods of Teaching Social Science (ELEM)	3
EDU 506	Psychology of the Exceptional Child	4
EDU 600	Professional Educator Seminar	0
EDU 609	Field Practicum I	1
EDU 610	History and Philosophy of Education	3
EDU 611	Curriculum Theory and Design	3
EDU 612	Instructional and Curriculum Design and Evaluation	3
EDU 613	Field Practicum II	1
EDU 614	Field Practicum III	1
EDL 620	School Law	3
EDU 641	Educational Research & Statistics	3
EDU 645	Action Research Planning	2
EDU 650	Advanced Educational Psychology	3
EDU 695	Advanced Student Teaching	6
EDU 697  and EDU 698	Action Research Project and Portfolio Review	2 1
	OR
EDU 699	Action Research Thesis	4
	Portfolio Assessment	0
	Total credits	57-58

Elementary Education Fall Start

Elementary Education Spring Start

Elementary Education Summer Start

The Initial Secondary Certificate is valid for four (4) years of teaching in grades six (6) through twelve (12) in the public schools and is nonrenewable. The Initial Special K-12 Certificate is valid for four (4) years of teaching in grades kindergarten through grade twelve (12) in public schools in the designated areas of Art, Music and Physical Education and is nonrenewable.

 

The certificates may be issued by entitlement to any teacher education program completer of McKendree with a bachelor’s degree who presents certified evidence, accompanied by the Registrar’s recommendation of having successfully completed the requirements listed below. All candidates for certification are required to successfully pass state-mandated examinations in basic skills, subject area specialty, and the Assessment of Professional Teaching test before certification is granted. It is required that students pass the basic skills exam prior to admission to the Teacher Education Program, and pass the subject matter exam before the student teaching semester. It is required that students pass the Assessment of Professional Teaching test for program completion. Registration booklets and study guides for the examinations are available on the Illinois State Board of Education web site (www.isbe.net).

 

The Initial Special K-12 Certificate is valid for four (4) years of teaching in grades kindergarten through grade twelve (12), or Ages 3-21 for Special Education in public schools and is nonrenewable.

McKendree has been approved by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Teacher Certification Board to offer courses leading to the Initial Special K-12 Certificates in the areas of Visual Arts, Music, Physical Education and Special Education. This certification entitles individuals to teach in grades kindergarten through grade twelve (12) in their major area of concentration (Visual Arts, Music or Physical Education), and Ages 3-21 for Special Education. Physical Education majors have the option of completing the program requirements for both the Initial Secondary Certificate (Type 09) and the Initial Special K-12 Certificate (Type 10). Physical Education majors are encouraged to complete the requirements for both certificates because it may broaden their public school employment opportunities.

 

The Initial Special K-12 (Ages 3-21) Certificate may be issued by entitlement to any teacher certification program completer McKendree with a bachelor’s degree who presents evidence, accompanied by the Registrar’s recommendation, of having completed the requirements for the teaching major as stated in the Course of Study section of this catalog. All candidates for certification are required to successfully pass state-mandated examinations before certification is granted. It is required that students pass the basic skills exam prior to admission to the Teacher Education Program, and pass the subject matter exam before the student teaching semester. Registration booklets and study guides for the examinations are available on the Illinois State Board of Education web site (www.isbe.net) and in the Field Experience/Certification Office.

All other policies, rules and procedures related to teaching certification are listed in the McKendree undergraduate catalog. Graduate students in programs leading to initial teacher certification are referred to the McKendree undergraduate catalog for all policies, rules and procedures not found in the Graduate Catalog.

 

The teaching major must include a minimum of 32 credits and must be from one of the state-approved teaching areas: Business, Marketing and Computing, English Language Arts, Health Education, Mathematics, Music, Physical Education, Science (Biology Emphasis or Chemistry Emphasis), Social Science, Special Education, Visual Arts. The 32 credits must be distributed within the selected teaching major area according to the degree requirements for that major stated in the Courses of Study section of the undergraduate catalog. (Except Special Education)