College of Education

NSU’s College of Education, Oklahoma’s premier teacher education center, dates to the Cherokee National Female Seminary founded in 1846. Through a rich history that has graduated some of Oklahoma’s finest educators, the College focuses on teaching, service, and scholarship.

Our faculty is dedicated to training professional educators committed to excellence in the classroom. They are frequent presenters at the state, national and international levels of their respective disciplines. Besides preparing candidates for initial and advanced areas of certification, NSU is home to three innovative professional development programs for educators in the field: the Great Expectations Program, the Oklahoma Institute for Learning Styles and the Rural Education Institute.

The College of Education includes four academic departments (Curriculum and Instruction, Health and Kinesiology, Psychology and Counseling, and Educational Foundations and Leadership) providing instruction in courses which contribute to the general education, specialized education and professional education of students pursuing degrees and/or certificate programs in virtually every area of teacher education.

NSU is proud to be accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). The teacher education program prepares professional educators to be teaching scholars, educational leaders, and developers of human potential. This conceptual framework is performance-based, and it is articulated throughout the teacher education course work and the clinical experiences.

Professional Education for Teachers

Northeastern State University offers four professional degrees in the field of teacher education: Bachelor of Arts in Education, Bachelor of Science in Education, Master of Education, and Master of Science.

Curriculum for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Education and Bachelor of Science in Education consists of three parts. Part I includes a general education program that is prescribed for all students attending this University. Part II consists of a field of specialization/major in which the student expects to teach, e.g., art, elementary education, mathematics; and Part III consists of courses in professional education providing both theory and practice in materials, methods and teaching techniques. Part I and Part III are common to the requirements for both bachelor degrees. It is Part II in the field of specialization where differences occur in the requirements for Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees.

The mission of the College of Education is to prepare educators, professional school personnel, and other allied professionals to have a positive impact on the lives of all students, families, and communities with whom they come in contact. The College of Education is committed to continual program improvement by providing and maintaining high quality faculty, program content, and utilization of resources, thus creating the context for effectively facilitating the transformation of candidate to professional.

The Northeastern State University Teacher Education Program is guided by the philosophy that learning is a social transaction and an active, constructive process. The COE believes that in order for social transaction and active learning to occur, professional educators must:

be well grounded in their content subject area;
have knowledge of learning and pedagogical theories and be able to put them into practice;
be able to put their knowledge of best practice to use;
be knowledgeable, caring, and thoughtful educators who inspire others to be advocates for an educational system that benefits all students;
be reflective practitioners; and
continue to refine their pedagogical skills through continued professional development.

The philosophical approach to teaching and learning provides the foundation for the Conceptual Framework that is threaded throughout the NSU Teacher Education Program. NSU prepares professional educators to be teaching scholars, educational leaders and developers of human potential.

The Master of Education degree is designed to enable experienced teachers to increase their proficiencies by extending their studies in the area of general education, specialized education, and professional education beyond that attained in the baccalaureate program. This is accomplished by interview committees and advisers assist each candidate in formulating a program of studies to meet individual needs. Refer to the Graduate Catalog for more information on master’s level programs.

Admission to Professional Education

I. Admission to Teacher Education

Applicants for initial admission to Teacher Education at NSU must meet the following criteria:

Establish and maintain a 2.5 overall GPA and have a minimum of 45 semester hours.
Complete and submit an application and statement of understanding.
Achieve a passing score on the Oklahoma General Education Test (OGET).
Successful completion of Portfolio Checkpoint #1.
Professional Habits Inventory (PHI) evaluation.
Be recommended by the Professional Education Interview Committee
Successful completion of EDUC 3313, Clinical Teaching Pre-Internship I.

Note: All full-time students enroll concurrently in the following for pre-admission:

EDUC 3313 Clinical Teaching/Pre-Internship I
EDUC 3113 Educational Psychology

All entering teacher education majors are required to fulfill competency in a language other than English. Please check with your advisor regarding this requirement.

All Professional Education majors must complete PSYC 1003 or PSYC 1113.

II. Professional Education Courses

SPED 4433 Introduction to Education of Exceptional Children. It is recommended candidates take SPED 4433 after they have completed EDUC 3313 and EDUC 3113 and before they enroll in EDUC 4032, Pre-Internship II.

Only students who have been fully admitted to Teacher Education are to enroll in the following Professional Education and/or methodology courses:

EDUC 4823 Technology in Education
EDUC 4032 Pre-Internship
EDUC 4353 Teaching Methods and Practices (secondary education majors only)
ELED 4563 Management of the Elementary Classroom and Curriculum (elementary education majors only)
ECED 4513 Organization and Implementation of Early Childhood Programs (early childhood education majors only)
SPED 4563 Methods & Case Studies (special education majors only)
Full Internship Program - EDUC 4044, 4054, 4064, 4074, 4172 and 4252

III. Admission to Full Internship Program

The Full Internship experience will be done in the final, full-time semester prior to graduation. Three (3) hours may be taken concurrent with intern teaching pending departmental approval. Requests for taking up to six (6) hours must have approval of the College of Education Review and Retention committee as well as the Department. Coursework taken may not interfere with the Full Internship experience. The following requirements must be completed before the student will be eligible to enroll and participate in the Full Internship Program:

Fully admitted to Teacher Education.
Completion of Major and Professional Education courses (“C” or better). Must have 2.5 GPA in each area.
Minimum overall graduation/retention grade-point average of 2.50.
Application must be on file in the Clinical Education Office by Full Internship application deadline. See College of Education website.
Approval for internship by the major academic college/department.
Successful completion of checkpoint #2 for the professional portfolio and passing grade in EDUC 4032.
Achieve a passing score on the appropriate Oklahoma Subject Area Test (OSAT).

Action on Applicants for Admission to Full Internship Program

Full Internship sites are carefully selected so that students are provided experiences consistent with the goals for NSU’s Teacher Education Program, the State Department of Education, Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation, and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) standards and criteria.

When the prerequisites for full internship have been met and approval granted by the Clinical Education Director, the prospective teacher candidate will be assigned to a university field coordinator. The approval of a teaching site is the responsibility of the Clinical Education Director in the College of Education.

Any academic division may establish admission criteria in addition to or more stringent than the above listed criteria.

It should be noted that according to Article I, Section 34 of the School Code of Oklahoma (1980):

No person shall receive a certificate for instructional, supervisory or administrative position in an accredited school of this state who has been convicted of a felony, any crime involving moral turpitude or a violation of the narcotic laws of the United States or the State of Oklahoma, provided the conviction was entered within the preceding ten-year period. Oklahoma law requires applicants for initial teacher licensure to have on file with the Oklahoma State Board of Education a current Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation criminal history record and Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint-based criminal history record.

An outline of the specialized education required for the undergraduate degree programs administered through the College of Education is listed on the following pages. Students are referred to the graduate catalog for graduate degree and/or certificate programs.

PROGRAMS IN SECONDARY EDUCATION

Students certifying to teach in Secondary Schools will receive their advisement and degree from the Colleges that offer that specialization and/or major. Major fields offered are: Art, Biology, Chemistry, Earth/Space Science, English, Health and Physical Education, Mathematics, Music, Social Studies, Cherokee and Spanish. However, students must receive admission to teacher education, enroll in professional education courses, and internships from the College of Education. See content major for specific courses.

Beginning with the fall 1999 semester, all students who graduate with a teacher education/certification degree are required to fulfill a competency in a language other than English. Please check with your advisor regarding this requirement.