Secondary Education - Lyndon

Secondary Education Faculty in Related Areas:

Alan Giese, Professor (Natural Science)
Daisy McCoy, Professor (Mathematics)
Elaine Razzano, Professor (English)
Paul Searls, Professor (Global Studies)

Licensure in Secondary Education
-English
-Mathematics
-Natural Science
-Global Studies

Program Mission Statement

The secondary education program is designed to provide students majoring in English, Mathematics, Science or Global Studies the requisite preparation to be eligible for licensure to teach their content area in grades seven through twelve. The program involves one faculty member from each of the content areas and two members from the NVU-Lyndon Education Department who teach courses specifically for students in the Secondary Education Program.

Program Goals

For students seeking licensure in secondary education, there are four primary goals in the program:

to obtain the content background appropriate for teaching a content area in grades 7-12
to explore and model within the content courses a broad range of teaching techniques that would be appropriate in the secondary classroom
to fulfill all the competencies, both general and content-specific, as required by the Vermont State Department of Education
to develop a prospective teacher’s certification portfolio that demonstrates attainment of all the licensure competencies

Application to the Secondary Education Program

Application to the secondary education program is done during the second semester of the sophomore year (or before students have completed 60 credits). To remain eligible, a student must:

major in one of the four content areas: English, Mathematics, Science, or Global Studies;
have successfully completed EDU 2010 Foundations of Education;
have passed Praxis Core or its equivalent;
have achieved a minimum GPA of 2.4 by the end of the candidate’s third semester, with a GPA of 2.63 or better after sixty credits (this GPA must be raised to 3.0 prior to student teaching).

Licensure Criteria

Northern Vermont University-Lyndon has been approved by the Vermont State Board of Education to prepare students for secondary school licensure in the following areas: English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Graduates who are recommended by the University must apply to the State Department of Education for their teaching license. In order to be recommended for a license to teach secondary school in Vermont (or in the many states that accept Vermont’s license), students must successfully complete the following components of the Secondary Education Program:

The degree program, with the appropriate concentration if necessary, in their chosen field (English, Mathematics, Natural Science or Social Science);
Secondary Education Licensure courses, along with any additional courses required for their chosen field (see course lists below);
Student Teaching. Student teaching is the summative experience of the program. Before student teaching, students must have completed at least sixty hours of supervised classroom observation; have completed all other course work in both the degree and licensure programs; and have demonstrated academic competence, as attested either by a 3.0 average (cumulatively and in the degree and in the licensure programs) or, in extraordinary circumstances, by written certification of the Provost. To qualify for student teaching, students must also have permission of the secondary education coordinator in their field. Students applying for Student Teaching must have applied for a criminal background check and successfully complete Praxis Core and Praxis II by the middle of the semester prior to student teaching
The Level I Teaching Licensure Portfolio (The portfolio will be completed in accordance with the guidelines of the Vermont State Department of Education and the NVU-Lyndon Secondary Education Program; upon completion of the Secondary Education Program, the student will submit his or her portfolio for review by the Secondary Education Portfolio Review Panel and will participate in an interview with the panel. The panel must approve the portfolio for the student to be recommended for licensure.)
Have a minimum ranking of “Satisfactory” on the Professional Attributes and Dispositions Assessment.
Comply with current State of Vermont regulations regarding skills testing for licensure, including passing the Praxis II in endorsement areas; and
Receive a grade of “B” or better in student teaching and receive a positive recommendation from the college supervisor and the cooperating field teacher.

Learning Outcomes

The Secondary Education Program’s learning outcomes are outlined in Regulations Governing the Licensing of Educators and the Preparation of Educational Professional’s general competencies 5235.1 through 5235.16 and endorsement competencies in section 5440.

Through the successful completion of the Level I Teaching Licensure Portfolio, students completing the Secondary Education Program will:

demonstrate proficiency in meeting the Five Standards and Sixteen Principles for beginning educators identified by the Vermont Department of Education;
demonstrate mastery of the endorsement competencies in the area(s) for which she/he is seeking an endorsement;
successfully plan, implement, and assess several weeks worth of instruction in an actual secondary class in the area(s) for which she/he is seeking an endorsement; and
demonstrate a commitment to and appropriate disposition towards a career in education through behavior such as attendance, preparedness, active participation, and other behaviors expected of a secondary teacher.

Program Assessment

Secondary Education is an outcomes-based program. A student must document successful completion of learning outcomes through his/her Level I Teaching Licensure Portfolio in order to be eligible for recommendation for a secondary education license. This portfolio contains documentation of all the learning outcomes required by the Vermont Department of Education. Upon completion of all requirements for licensure, the portfolio review panel conducts a formal interview of the candidate. Only after successful completion of this portfolio review is the candidate recommended for licensure.

The Program assesses itself by three surveys: students who have completed the program; classroom teachers who have served as cooperating teachers in the preceding year; and headmasters or principals of schools that host our student teachers.

Finally, the program is assessed by the Vermont State Department of Education’s Results Oriented Program Approval process, which includes a site visit by a team who interviews students and reviews the program’s institutional portfolio and samples of student portfolios.

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