Program description
First, let's give you an overview of the basic requirements the state of Ohio has to issue a teaching certificate (this is to give you the "big" picture).

They have three basic requirements:
1. You must have a bachelor's degree (any bachelor's degree),
2. Complete content coursework, and,
3. finish a state approved teaching preparation program.

There are a few other requirements, such as passing the Praxis II exams (state of Ohio mandated exams) and have criminal background checks done, but these are the three "basic" requirements.

1. You have a bachelor's degree, and therefore have met the first requirement.

2. The second requirement is content coursework . Content is determined by the university offering the teacher training. Content requirements are the subjects and courses you need to have taken for the kind of teaching license you are seeking.
For example:
if you want to be an Art teacher, then content courses are the art courses that we feel an art teacher should have had.
If you wish to be an English teacher, then it's English classess, etc.

Our faculty have adopted various rules regarding what content is needed in various teaching areas and under what condidtions - like having a degree in the area or not and/or passing the Praxis II content exam in the teaching area(s). If you want us to review your transcripts for you and determined what (if any) content our faculty will require, please review the sidebar titled Transcript Evaulation on the left side of this page. Review content course requirements on this page>>

3. The third requirement is to finish a state approved teacher preparation program. There are many institutions in Ohio that are approved to train teachers. We are one of the few that are NCATE accredited and recognized for innovation and excellence by the National Education Association - we should blow our horn, right! :) That's what we do.

The teacher preparation program is the "how to be a teacher" stuff. This is what people know they need when they are inquiring about being a teacher, and the content require-ment is often new information for them.

If you are ready. Go to our Admissions Process page>>

Programs of Study
Adolescense to Young Adult ( High School, grades 7-12) for single subject areas - English, Math, Science, Social Studies (Business and Marketing licensure are also available via this program)
Middle Childhood Program (grades 4 to 9, teaching any two of the following subjects - Math, English, Social Studies, English)
Multi-Age Program (grades Kindergarten to 12th grade teaching Art, Spanish or French)

Program Information
The class consists of student interns who are housed in public schools. The interns include persons who have enjoyed professional successes in the military, business, and other careers as well as students who have just completed special undergraduate degrees at WSU that are designed to provide content knowledge.

School teachers who volunteer serve as clinical faculty members in partnership with Wright State University. The clinical faculty provide a learning laboratory that is rich in problem solving and collaborative teaching and learning opportunities; they supervise and mentor the intern in cohort groups, demonstrate dynamic teaching. As a result. public school students in primary through 12th grade are gaining from the fluid and cooperative interaction of Graduate Level Teacher Preparation Program interns, clinical faculty, and other school personnel.

Entry requirements vary by program. All students will be required to pass a standardized test, have a 2.7 grade point average as an undergraduate, submit a sample of writing and have an admissions interview. All students who seek to attain a teaching license will be required to meet Ohio standards on a Praxis II Principles of Learning and Teaching exam and a criminal background check at the end of the licensure portion of the program.

Praxis II Specialty (Content Area) exams will serve as the entrance exam for the Middle Childhood, Multi-Age, and Adolescent to Young Adult initial licensure programs. The Praxis II Specialty exam needs to be passed to be considered for admission.

All candidates for an initial licensure program (in most licensure areas) must complete the college's application process concurrent with the School of Graduate Studies application. The college's initial teacher applications are found on the Office of Student Services web site. Please contact the college's Office of Student Services if you have any question about the requirements of a particular program at ( 937) 775-3088

The Middle Childhood, Multi-Age, and Adolescent to Young Adult initial licensure programs are currently a full time program of study requiring your commitment Monday through Friday. Students from Wright State University and others with a Bachelor's degree who meet the content requirements of Wright State's Educator Program will be enrolled in this program in a cohort group. Pre-requisite content requirements are described on the college's web site at http://www.cehs.wright.edu/studentinfo/student_services/graduate-ted-content.php

Students will serve as interns in school settings throughout the school year. Therefore, this program operates on a different calendar than the university. Upon successful completion of the licensure portion of this program and passing the Praxis II exam in the Principles of Teaching and Learning and the Praxis II Specialty area exam(s), the student may apply for a provisional license. A Master of Education degree in classroom teaching may be earned with the successful completion of an Inquiry Project. This program may be completed in 15 months of full time study and internship. The teacher education department chair will entertain individual requests to develop a part time approach to this program.

The Graduate Level Teacher Preparation Program is the culmination of earlier college efforts and membership in John Goodlad's National Network for Educational Renewal and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Relationships with the above organizations served as a factor in the college's becoming one of 18 college and university partners in the teacher Education Initiative of its National Center for Innovation (NCI-NEA). The college will use information from the Graduate Level Teacher Preparation Program program and the experiences of NCI partners to facilitate future involvement of other school districts in our region.

The college's department of Teacher Education was recognized by Governor Robert Taft, Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Rodrick Chu, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Zelman, in the Ohio Teaching and Learning Initiative as one of three innovative and model teacher education programs in Ohio. Our partnership efforts with the public schools and community agencies continue to develop and be strengthened, with the addition of several new partners during the past year.