Teacher Education Advising

Teacher education advising is a collaborative process. The advisor and student work as a team to develop a successful advisor/advisee relationship. Both the advisor and the student have important responsibilities in developing and maintaining this teamwork. The teacher education advisor will determine what other team members should be assigned to the advising team based on the teacher candidate's chosen major and/or pathway.  All admitted UW‐Parkside teacher candidates, in good standing, can indicate their intent to enter the educator preparation program by declaring their plan with the teacher education advisor by filling out a plan declaration form. Advising each semester is mandatory in this program.

IMPORTANT
All students must meet with the teacher education advisor for curricular and program requirements. Academic advising for EDU courses from anyone but the teacher education advisor will not be deemed official for the EDU program. Rules and regulations for the EDU program change often by the State of Wisconsin and any other source of advising cannot be guaranteed to be correct.

ADVISING CONTACTS

Prior to Educator Preparation Program Admission
The Institute of Professional Educator Development has a dedicated advisor for all educator preparation programs. Students who are interested in an Educator Preparation Program should contact the Teacher Education Department to schedule an appointment.

 


ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT ADVISING
Students must meet with the content advisor from their academic department each semester. The content advisor is the expert in your academic content area and is familiar with the educator preparation program and its requirements. The teacher education department does not advise for content coursework. Contact your content department directly for more information on content advising.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Please reference common questions and answers about the Teacher Education Clinical program and the UW-Parkside university experience. These frequently asked questions were compiled from students in EDU 100. If you would like to see your question here, please email teachereducation@uwp.edu

How do the clinical hours work?
Teacher candidates (you) work alongside a professional educator (a teacher) to support student learning at area schools. Depending upon your major, you will serve clinical hours at different developmental or grade levels. UW-Parkside offers multiple teaching licenses: Secondary Education for grades 6-12 (middle and high school); Elementary Education for grades 1-8 OR grades K-9 (elementary and middle school); Special Education (at the elementary/middle level or middle/high level); Early Childhood Education (birth through age eight); and Music or Art Education (kindergarten through grade 12). Students complete community placement hours at the 100 and 200 levels, before beginning classroom clinical experiences in EDU 300.

How will I get to my placement? 
You are required to get yourself to your placement. Most students have a car, but some students use the local bus or catch a ride with a classmate. 

Do my placement hours carry over to the next semester if I put in more than what is required?
No, your hours do not carry over into the next semester, but sometimes students will choose to serve more than the required semester clinical hours.  

What does the clinical placement involve? 
On the first day of your placement, during an initial meeting with your community site supervisor or mentor teacher, you will set a weekly schedule of when you will be at your placement over the course of the semester. This schedule may vary for each student an depends on the number of hours that are required each semester. At the 300 and 400 levels, you will be observed twice in your placement each semester by a field supervisor; these observations include submitting a lesson plan at least 24 hours before your observation, and completing a reflection within 48 hours after your observation is completed. Specific details about requirements for each placement will be shared in your EDU seminar classes at the beginning of each semester.

What is Via and how does it work?
Via is a cloud-based program for you to post your clinical placement hours on a weekly basis at the EDU 300 level and above. It is a tool to keep track of your clinical hours and observations in the classroom. Our Clinical Coordinator can assist any student having difficulty with Via.

Why do I need to post my hours weekly in Via? 
At the 300 level and above, keeping your clinical hours updated regularly is important to help you stay on track for completing the EDU clinical placement course requirements. You might have a lot going on in the semester, and it can be easy to forget what you need to do to complete the clinical placement requirements, but not if you establish good habits and post weekly. 

What if I don’t end up liking teaching?
Don’t worry! Exploring is very important to help you learn what you like or dislike about any degree program. EDU 100 is a good class to introduce teacher education students to the many roles of a teacher. Working with the teacher education advisor, you will find it is very easy to change your major or continue exploring your options. 

How will I fit clinical hours into my semester schedule?
By learning and utilizing time management skills, you will be able to work these hours into your semester schedule. On average, 20 hours a semester works out to be about two hours per week in the classroom. This doesn’t include your travel time to and from your clinical placement. The teacher education department recommends keeping one or two mornings a week open so you have this time to go to your school placement to help you complete the required clinical hours. The teacher education advisor is available to work with you to learn time management skills. 

How will I manage more than 20 clinical hours? 
Typically students will have completed most of their general education classes and most of their major and/or minor requirements before they have to worry about fulfilling the increased clinical hours. Generally, the clinical hours breakdown like this: 

  • For 20 hours a semester, you’ll spend around two hours a week in your clinical placement
  • For 40 hours a semester, you'll spend around four hours a week
  • For 60 hours a semester, you'll spend around six hours a week

You have the opportunity to work out the hours with the teacher and the school you’re paired with at the beginning of the semester in your pairs training meeting. For example, if you have 60 clinical hours to complete, you might work it out to do two three-hour days per week. You will be able to work around your semester class schedule. 

How can I maintain the grade point requirement to get an education degree?

  • Attend all your classes; when you can’t, try to get the material/notes from the class you missed to help you get caught up and stay on track
  • Know that you are responsible for anything you may have missed; the professor won’t be ‘catching you up to speed’
  • Be prepared and on time for all your classes
  • Read the assigned homework before class and know that all assigned material is fair game to be on a test/quiz, even if it wasn’t discussed in class 
  • Learn how to read and use the course syllabus
  • Complete all assignments, and use the course syllabus to know what you need to do and when an assignment is due
  • Use a planner or Outlook calendar to help you keep track of everything, and get in the habit of checking it daily
  • Know when you have a test/quiz and schedule study time into your planner or Outlook calendar; typically, you should plan to spend a minimum of two hours of studying or homework time for every one hour you spend in class
  • Know how to calculate your GPA (the teahcer education advisor can help with this)
  • Utilize campus resources when you need help (check out PARC for tutoring and other resources)
  • Use the time between classes to do homework or study
  • View college as your full time job, working 8 AM to 5 PM and overtime as needed
  • Be comfortable asking for help!

 

Professional Certification/Licensure Disclosure (NC-SARA)


The United States Department of Education requires institutions that provide distance education to disclose information for programs leading to professional certification or licensure about whether each program meets state educational requirements for initial licensure or certification. UW-Parkside teacher education programs are designed to meet the education requirements of professional licensure and certification in Wisconsin. Following is this disclosure information for this program:

The requirements of this program meet Certification/Licensure in the following states: Wisconsin

The requirements of this program do not meet Certification/Licensure in the following states: Not applicable

The requirements of this program have not been determined if they meet Certification/Licensure in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming; District of Columbia; American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Information on license portability can be found on the Wisconsin DPI website at https://dpi.wi.gov/licensing/general/license-portability. It is very important that individuals seeking teacher licensure in another state obtain the most recent certification/licensure information directly from the state in which they seek employment. 

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