Academic Bulletin

School of Education - Undergraduate
www.education.miami.edu

DEPARTMENT OF TEACHING AND LEARNING - Dept. Code: TAL

• Majors | Selection for the Teaching Profession | Requirements for Admission to Teacher Candidacy | Requirements for Admission to Associate Teaching | Teacher Education Program | Requirements for Graduation for Bachelor of Science in Education

The Department of Teaching and Learning offers a Bachelor of Science in Education Degree in Elementary Education (grades K-6) with ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) endorsement.

In conjunction with the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department also offers majors in Secondary Education in English with ESOL endorsement, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, and Social Science (grades 6-12).

MAJORS

Elementary Education with ESOL Endorsement

The Department of Teaching and Learning offers a major in Elementary Education that leads to certification in Elementary Education (grades K-6) with ESOL endorsement. The requirements for Elementary Education are a major in Elementary Education, and a second major in the College of Arts and Sciences. The following Education courses are required for the Elementary Education major: 

“The elementary education major is currently being revised. When the updated program starts, students will have the option of staying in their current program or of switching into the revised program.”

Please note: Students may not register for any classes above TAL 421 without admission to Candidacy.

Secondary Education

The Department of Teaching and Learning offers a major in Secondary education (grades 6-12). Certification is offered in the general areas of: English; Mathematics; Sciences (Biology, Chemistry); Social Science (Geography, History, Economics, Political Science, or International Studies). Each student should complete a major from the appropriate department in the College of Arts and Sciences and a second major in the Department of Teaching and Learning.

 The requirements for a major leading to secondary certification include

a. a major in the appropriate field of Arts and Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Economics, English, Geography, International Studies, History, Math or Political Science only) and

b. the following education courses:

Please note: Students may not register for classes above TAL 304 without admission to Candidacy.

MINORS

Professional Training Option Certificate

The Professional Training Option (PTO) is a Florida Department of Education approved pathway for non-education majors to complete the Professional Education component, one of the requirements to become a certified teacher in the State of Florida.

The PTO minor consists of 17/18 credits. Upon completion of the program participants will receive a Certificate of Completion.  UM transcripts will indicate that the student has completed a Florida State approved PTO program.  Program completers will be eligible to apply for a Temporary Teaching Certificate in the State of Florida.

The required courses for the PTO minor are:

Traditional Education Minor

The requirements for a minor in education consists of 15 credits passed with a C- or higher, with an overall GPA of 2.0 in courses selected from the list of acceptable TAL departmental courses. A minimum of six (6) credits must be numbered 400 or higher. This minor does not lead to teaching credentials.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SCHOOLS

Bel-Aire, Kensington Park, Henry S. West Laboratory Elementary, and Miami Palmetto Senior High School are operated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. These schools provide the most up-to-date teaching environments, both in terms of design and curriculum, work in partnership with the University of Miami. Students are welcomed at these facilities for field experiences, and both students and faculty have the opportunity to contribute to the high quality functioning of these professional development schools.

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Academic Policies - Admission

Selection for the Teaching Profession

The faculty of the School of Education conceives its ultimate obligation to be to the children, adolescents, and adults who will be taught by teachers who have completed teacher preparation programs at the University. The quality of students admitted into the teacher education curriculum is as important as the skills, content, and concepts to be learned.

Most courses in the teacher education program require school site-based field experiences, culminating in a full-time 15-week internship. School districts require a criminal background check for field placement students and interns. Fingerprinting and FBI background check procedures are at the applicant’s expense. Students with felony arrests may wish to consider these requirements carefully and, if necessary, seek advice from an advisor in the School of Education before applying to programs in the School of Education. Students without a valid social security number will not be eligible for placement in the school district. The Director of Clinical Supervision and Internship Placement will assist students through these requirements.

All students who wish to be considered for admission and/or retention in curricula leading to Florida Teacher Certification will be formally screened at certain points in their program of study with respect to the following criteria:

1. Admission to Teacher Candidacy (see requirements below).
2. Acceptable grade point averages (C- or better for all education classes).
3. Acceptable evaluations by University of Miami faculty.
4. Evaluations by clinical faculty at various field experience sites.
5. Satisfactory progress toward the completion of the Florida Educators Accomplished Practices requirement.

Students who receive a grade below C in their Associate Teaching field experience will not be recommended for teacher certification.

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REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION TO TEACHER CANDIDACY

1. Satisfactory performance on the General Knowledge Test.

2. Completion of 40 semester hours.  In addition, transfer students must have a minimum of 9 semester hours of acceptable credit earned at the University of Miami.

3. A 2.5 GPA in education core courses.  No education classes lower than C-.

4. A 2.5 GPA in the content area teaching major (for secondary education majors).

5. Completion of the Course Advisement Plan (CAP).

6. Satisfactory progress towards the completion of the Florida Educators Accomplished Practices requirement.

7. Above average ratings on field experience evaluations.

8. Completion of Computer Proficiency Requirement (TAL 101).

9. Completion of Oral Communication Proficiency Requirement (TAL 202/COS 211)

10. Further enrollment in teacher education course work offered by the School of Education is contingent upon the student meeting requirements 1-7 above.

11. All students must successfully complete M-DCPS fingerprinting process. Forms are available in the Office of Student Services.

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REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION TO ASSOCIATE TEACHING

Students make formal application to the Office of Undergraduate Academic Services for admission to associate teaching. Application materials are available and are to be completed by students no later than the week of October 20 for Spring Semester Associate Teaching and by the week of March 20 for Fall Semester Associate Teaching.

The following requirements must be met:

1. Admission to a Teacher Education Program (Teacher Candidacy).

2. Completion of application for admission to associate teaching, which includes the submission of designated folders to the Office of Undergraduate Academic Services.

3. Approval of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, the TAL Department Chair, and the Director of Teacher Education Programs.

4. Recommendations from two members of the faculty familiar with the student’s academic proficiency. One of these must be from a faculty member in the School of Education.

5. Earned a minimum of 90 credit hours.

6. All secondary majors must have completed approximately two-thirds of the courses in the teaching major and received departmental approval. Elementary majors must have completed TAL 420, 421, 422, 423, 425, 426, 427, 428, and received departmental approval.

7. Earned a minimum of 2.5 grade point average in core courses offered by the School of Education.

8. A grade of C- or better is required of each course applied to the major.

9. Earned a minimum of a 2.5 grade point average overall.

10. Successfully completed pre-internship field experiences.

11. Demonstrate satisfactory progress towards the completion of the Florida Educators Accomplished Practices requirement.

12. Passed the Florida General Knowledge Test.

13. Taken the Professional Education Test and the Subject Area Exam.

NOTE: A MAXIMUM OF 12 CREDITS MAY BE TAKEN DURING THE STUDENT TEACHING SEMESTER. No outside job may be held or additional classes taken during the Associate Teaching semester.

NOTE: the Associate Dean of the School of Education must approve Appeals to the above policies.

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TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM

One of the roles of the School of Education is to serve as the professional school to conduct and coordinate programs for the preparation of teachers and other educational personnel at the University of Miami. Membership is held in the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education & Certification and in the Florida Association of Colleges for Teacher Educators. Teacher Education Programs (TEP) are accredited by the Florida Department of Education for the preparation of elementary teachers, secondary teachers, music teachers and other school service personnel.

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LICENSURE/CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Only students who have completed all requirements for any State approved degree or certificate program will have their transcripts stamped as meeting State approved requirements for certification as well as appropriate endorsements. Students must meet requirements of the School of Education as well as the college or school issuing the second major.

Transcript stamp is contingent upon the student taking at least half of the coursework in teacher education at the University of Miami, including the associate teaching component. At least half of the coursework in the students teaching content area(s) must be taken at the University of Miami in the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Music or the School of Education, as determined by the program in which the student is enrolled.

For Graduate Degree Programs offered by the School of Education, see the Bulletin of the Graduate School.

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REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATION FOR BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN EDUCATION

I. Candidates for B.S.Ed in the School of Education must complete the credit hours of work and achieve the quality point average specified for students in the University at large as stated in the section ACADEMIC REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES, subject to regulations concerning the major specified in departmental and program sections of this Bulletin. Exempted is interpreted to refer exclusively to those exemptions provided under the following headings:

A. Advanced Standing and Placement (Credit Granted);
B. Credit by Examination;
C. Advanced Placement (by proficiency examination);
D. Statement of Foreign Language Requirements

II. Students must pass the Professional Education, General Knowledge and Subject Area tests of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination (FTCE). Not applicable to ESS majors.

III. Students must complete the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices and the P-12 Student Impact requirements.

IV. Except where a required course is one designated to correct a deficiency in his/her college preparation, the student may apply the credit hours of any required course from which he is exempted toward the hours specified for that subject as a general requirement for graduation and, upon payment of a recording fee, toward the 120 credits required for graduation. (See Departmental Proficiency Examinations.) An exemption may be granted for English 105, but these credits may not be applied toward the 120 credits required for graduation.

V. Credit Only
Only free electives may be taken under this option. Courses which satisfy the major, minor, the distributions of the School, the General Education Requirements of the University or any course for which a C or better is required may not be taken for credit only.

VI. Transferred credit may not count toward the completion of a major without the written approval of the Associate Dean of the School of Education.

VII. Required Areas of Study.

A. English Composition
Except as indicated below, students must take English 105 and 106 (or their equivalent) during the first year of enrollment in the School. Admission to English 105 requires a placement score acceptable to the Department of English. Students whose placement scores are deemed unacceptably low will be required to take the non-credit course, ENG 103, before taking ENG 105 and 106. Students whose placement scores are high may be exempt from ENG 105 but not from ENG 106 or its equivalent.

B. Mathematics
B.S.Ed. degree candidates must complete MTH 103 or higher. Students who do not place directly into MTH 103 must enroll in either MTH 099 or MTH 101 based on results of placement tests.

C. Foreign Languages (applicable to Sport Administration majors only)
Students must earn at least 3 credits of a foreign language at the 200 course level or higher. Special 200-level courses are required of native speakers who choose to fulfill the language requirement by taking language.

Areas of Knowledge

D. People and Society
B.S.Ed. Degree candidates must earn 6 credits (credits required depends on the program in which the student is enrolled) in the History/Social Sciences.

E. Arts and Humanities
B.S.Ed. degree candidates must earn 12 credits must be earned in the areas of 1) Fine Arts; 2) Literature; and 3) Philosophy/Religion. At least 3 credits must be earned in the Arts and 3 credits in the Humanities. The literature requirement may not be fulfilled by a course that has been used to fulfill the foreign language requirement. All Humanities/Literature credits must be earned in courses from among the following:

1. Fine Arts: *Note: COS 211 Public Speaking is required of all Teaching and Learning and Sport Administration majors.
2. Literature
3. Philosophy/Religion

F. Natural World
B.S.Ed. degree candidates may fulfill the Natural Sciences requirement by taking 6 credits (credits required depends on the program the student is enrolled) in two or more of the following disciplines: Biology, Chemistry, Geological Sciences, Marine Sciences, Physics, and Physical Sciences.

Note: No more than six credit hours may be taken in any one department to satisfy the areas of knowledge requirement.

VIII. Writing
Every student must complete five writing-oriented (W) courses beyond ENG 105 and 106.  Students must take one approved writing course section per academic year for a minimum of five writing intensive course sections, or their equivalents. A student is required to write at least 4000 words in each W course. Writing assignments will be assessed for both content and style. A W course listed in section V (Required Areas of Study) may be used to satisfy both the writing and Required Areas of Study criteria. Foreign language courses that meet the criteria above may be used to satisfy the writing requirement. Transfer students must satisfy at least 2 courses of the writing requirement at the University of Miami.

IX. Majors
Every candidate for the B.S.Ed. degree must choose a major in Elementary Education/ESOL endorsement, Secondary Education (English with ESOL endorsement, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Geography, History, International Studies, Political Science or Economics) Athletic Training, Sport Administration or Exercise Physiology. To find the requirements for the major, consult this Bulletin under the discipline concerned, and confer with the designated departmental representative. Candidates with a major in the Department of Teaching and Learning are required to select an approved second major in the College of Arts and Sciences.

X. Minors
Every candidate for a 17-credit minor that fulfills the State of Florida’s Professional Training Option (PTO) must select, at the point of application to candidacy, a minor area of study: secondary English, secondary mathematics, secondary science, or secondary social studies or in other areas of recognized certification.

XI. Electives
Electives may be chosen from any courses offered by the University. The student should consult an advisor before selecting elective courses. At least six credits must be at the 300 level or above.

Note: Common prerequisites and total length for state-approved teacher education programs are subject to revision based on legislative and State of Florida Department of Education rule changes.

For Graduate Coursework and Graduate Degree Programs Offered by The School of Education, see the Bulletin of the Graduate School.

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