Certification Programs
The
undergraduate teacher education programs at Hobart and William Smith
prepare students to become certified teachers. The Education Department
offers programs leading to eligibility for certification in childhood
education (grades 1-6), special education (students with disabilities, grades 1-6), art education (P-12), and
a number of disciplines at the adolescent level (grades 7-12). These
programs are registered by the New York State Department of Education.
By reciprocal agreement, New York State certification is recognized
in many other states. Students must also pass the New York State
Teacher Certification Examination and apply to the State for certification
before they will be certified.
Students in teacher education programs may major
in almost any undergraduate discipline or program offered by the Colleges,
with the provision that those seeking secondary certification must meet
requirements in the discipline in which they wish to be certified, and those seeking art education certification must major in studio art.
Students must apply for admission to the certification
programs. Admission is competitive and is based on good academic
standing, demonstrated interest in teaching, and personal traits such
as initiative and responsibility. Those admitted to a program
begin in their sophomore year. The only exception to this policy
is in the case of students who transfer into the Colleges.
In all Hobart and William Smith certification programs
students learn to teach by teaching. Students complete four
semester-long fieldwork practica in area schools during their sophomore
and junior years, accompanied by four teacher seminars. Senior
year students participate in a full semester of student teaching.
The fieldwork practica and teacher seminars are all undertaken outside
of the normal curriculum and are carried in addition to a full course
load in other subjects.
Childhood Teacher Certification
Students may prepare to teach at the childhood level
by completing the elementary teacher certification program. Education
practica in this program are completed in a variety of public and private
elementary settings in the Geneva area. Student teaching must be completed
at the first through sixth grade levels. Students may pursue most majors offered at the Colleges. Students also complete a series of distribution requirements, described at the end of this page.
Students with Disabilities Certification
(Special Education, grades 1-6)
The students with disabilities certification program
at the Colleges is intended to prepare students to work in a variety
of school settings with children with a range of disabilities. In addition
to completing all of the requirements described above for childhood
certification, students pursuing childhood special education certification
must also take four courses in special education offered by the education,
psychology, and sociology departments and must complete three additional
teacher seminars in special education. Student teaching is carried out
in both general elementary classrooms and in special education settings.
Requirements for Students Pursuing Certification in Childhood and Students with Disabilities Education (grades 1-6)
Adolescent Teacher Certification
Students prepare for secondary certification
by attending teacher seminars and by tutoring and assistant teaching
in secondary schools. This teaching is conducted in the subject area
in which they are preparing to teach. Presently, the Colleges are licensed
to prepare teachers of English, social studies, biology, chemistry,
physics, earth science, French, Spanish, Latin, and mathematics. Secondary
certification candidates must meet certain requirements regarding their
area of concentration and must student teach at the seventh grade level
or higher in the subject area in which they seek certification.
Education Practica
All education program students complete four semesters
of fieldwork, referred to as practica, in local schools. During
the first year in the program, students are called tutors; during
the second year in the program, they are referred to as assistant
teachers. Each semester students are placed in a different classroom
and spend three to four hours a week working in that classroom.
Students are supervised by their classroom teachers. Faculty
from the Education Department visit the schools, work with the students'
classroom teachers, and are available for consultation. Students
do not receive academic credit for this work, but it is recorded on
their transcripts and counts toward NY State certification.
The following education practica must be completed by all program
students.
- EDUC 091 Tutor Practicum I
- EDUC 092 Tutor Practicum II
- EDUC 093 Assistant Teacher
Practicum I
- EDUC 094 Assistant Teacher
Practicum II
Teacher Seminars
In addition to completing four
semesters of fieldwork, all students complete four teacher seminars
that run concurrently with the practica. Teacher seminars
meet once a week for an hour and fifteen minutes (usually early
in the morning) and address pedagogical issues. Students do
not receive academic credit for the teacher seminars, but they are
recorded as work completed on their transcripts and count toward
NY State certification. The following teacher seminars must
be completed by all students. Simply click on each seminar
for a complete description.
Students seeking teacher certification in both
childhood and childhood special education take the following seminars
in addition to the above seminars. Click on each seminar for
a full description.
Student Teaching
In the senior year all students complete one semester
of student teaching. During this semester, students teach full-time
(all day, five days a week, for 14 weeks) in a local classroom.
Students receive credit for three academic courses for this part of
the program. Students may take one additional course during
the student teaching semester for a total of four credits. Click
on each course for a full description.
Distribution Requirements for Certification
In addition to completing the education practica and teacher seminars
noted above, all students pursuing certification must fulfill the following
distribution requirements:
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