Catalog 2011 - 2012

Contents
Catalog Links
Share

Department of Education

Faculty: Assistant Professor Johnston, Chair; Professor O’Hara; Associate Professors Almerico, Cloutier, Erben, Harrison, Soublis-Smyth; Assistant Professors McKeown, O’Grady, Schimmel; Lecturers James, Tankersley.

Mission: The mission of the Department of Education is to develop teachers who are prepared to create compelling, active learning environments. Future teachers at The University of Tampa develop skills that enable them to create caring communities in which learner success and retention are maximized. Education faculty members emphasize responsiveness to and valuing of human diversity and intercultural understanding. Education faculty members work collaboratively with future teachers, local educators, community members, alumni and students to establish and facilitate a relevant, appropriate teacher preparation program. Research-based teacher development is facilitated through critical and analytical inquiry involving case studies, micro-teaching, videotaped self-evaluations and teaching practica. An essential aspect of all courses is that effective teaching requires analysis, reflection and conversation with and about learners, curricula and practices.

Philosophy: The best way for teachers to prepare learners well is to equip them with problem-solving strategies that enable them to cope with new challenges in their personal and professional lives. In the context of coping, learners are enabled to understand the subjective and changing nature of truth; that multiple perspectives exist, and what is considered to be true by any one individual or at any one point in history may change over time.

The teacher’s role is to serve as a guide whose primary responsibility is to act as a facilitator for student learning. In the process of creating learning experiences and environments, the teacher takes into account the well-being and development of the whole learner in terms of physical, emotional, social, aesthetic, intellectual and linguistic needs. The teaching and learning process needs to be characterized by extensive interaction between teacher and learners, and among learners themselves. Teachers provide learners with experiences that enable them to learn by doing, because meaningful learning is an active process.

School is a place where learners develop personal, as well as social, values. In the words of Maxine Greene, “We have to know about our lives, clarify our situations if we are to understand the world from our shared standpoints.” Schooling needs to prepare learners with a broad understanding of the democratic process and the role of the individual in that process. Such an understanding includes how governance structures operate in a democratic society. Schools should not only transmit knowledge about the existing social order, they also should seek to reconstruct it. Learners must be enabled to understand how individuals can take advantage of the democratic process and to act as change agents as they pursue efforts to restructure the society in positive ways.

Teachers need to place a premium on bringing the world into the classroom. Learning experiences need to include field trips, telecommunications, community-based projects of various sorts and opportunities to interact with persons beyond the four walls of the classroom.

Teachers must allow learners freedom of creative choice and provide them with carefully designed experiences that will help them find meaning in their lives and find their own answers to questions. This does not suggest, however, that learners may do whatever they please. The choices that are offered to learners are well-structured and are designed to provide optimal learning. Curricula are judged by whether they contribute to the individual’s quest for personal and professional meaning. Appropriate curricula result in an increased level of personal awareness, as well as content-area knowledge.

Teacher Education Programs at UT

The following undergraduate programs are approved by the Florida Department of Education:

Elementary Education/ESOL-endorsed (K–6)

Secondary Biology Education (6–12)

Secondary English Education/ ESOL-endorsed (6–12)

Secondary Mathematics Education (6–12)

Secondary Social Sciences Education (6–12)

Music Education (K–12)

Physical Education (K–12) (Exercise Science)

Certification endorsements are offered in early childhood education (ages 3–8) and ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages). The ESOL endorsement is delivered through an infused model and cannot be earned separately from an elementary or secondary English teaching degree. Courses are designed to provide students extensive experience working with children, adolescents and young adults in school settings.

The following graduate program is offered through the UT Department of Education:

M.Ed. with two tracks:

Track I: Initial Licensure

Track II: Curriculum and Instruction

Any course transferred to this University for purposes of meeting teacher certification requirements must be equivalent to a specific UT course.

Florida State Teacher Education Mandates

Florida state laws pertaining to requirements for certification in teacher education may be enacted after this edition of the UT Catalog has gone to press. Education students must comply with these requirements, even if they do not appear in this version of the catalog, in order to graduate from any Florida teacher education program or be certified to teach in the state of Florida. Such information will be made available in the Department of Education office.

ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) Endorsement

All Florida teacher education programs must provide ESOL training as part of elementary and secondary certification. Elementary education and secondary English education majors who began their programs in or after fall 2000 as freshmen (regardless of institution) must complete 15 hours of ESOL coursework to earn an ESOL endorsement. At UT this includes stand-alone ESOL coursework: LIN 217, EDU 312 and EDU 319 ESOL Practicum (with Seminar) II (EDU 304, 404 301 for Secondary English majors) as well as ESOL content infused into existing education courses. The ESOL Standards (2010) are assessed through targeted assignments uploaded to LiveText (ESOL indicators are addressed) in stand-alone ESOL courses and infused ESOL courses. Secondary biology, math and social science education majors, as well as music education and physical education (exercise science) majors who began their programs in or after fall 2000 as freshmen (regardless of institution) must complete specified ESOL coursework in EDU 354 to fulfill ESOL requirements.

Admission to Teacher Education

Undergraduate Admission

Students who intend to major in a teacher education program at The University of Tampa must apply for admission into the Department of Education and have completed, or will complete, 30 credit hours by the end of sophomore year. Transfer students must be admitted to teacher education before enrolling in any 300- or 400-level education courses. Candidates may not enroll in 300- or 400-level education courses until they are officially admitted to teacher education. Application forms are available in the Department of Education office and at www.ut.edu/education/admission.

Students who have submitted the following documentation are eligible for admission to teacher candidacy:

  • A completed Admission to Teacher Education application.
  • An unofficial transcript indicating completion of 30 credit hours of coursework.
  • A GPA of at least 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale) overall and 3.0 in 100- and 200-level EDU courses, certified by the Academic Advising Office.
  • Documentation of passing scores on all portions of the General Knowledge (GK) Exam on the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations (FTCE).
  • A signed Cooperative Learning Agreement.
  • A completed Applicant’s Perspectives on Education set of essays (2).
  • Two completed UT education faculty recommendations.
  • One letter of recommendation.
  • Criminal Record Information Form.

Completed applications are to be submitted to the administrative assistant in the Department of Education office. Students who do not meet the above requirements but still want to enter the Department of Education are referred to the Department’s Admission, Retention, Dismissal (ARD) Subcommittee regarding whether a waiver can be granted.

Graduate Level Admissions

Students who have submitted the following documentation are eligible for admission to graduate studies in education:

  • A completed application.
  • $40 application fee.
  • Official transcripts from all previous colleges/universities attended, received directly from each institution.
  • GRE score*.
  • Writing prompt.
  • Copy of teaching certificate.
  • Two professional reference forms.
  • Résumé.
  • Personal statement on why the applicant seeks a master’s degree in education.
  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for applicants whose primary language is not English.

*The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required for applicants with an upper-division (junior/senior) GPA of 2.50–2.99. The GRE may be waived for applicants with an upper-division (junior/senior) GPA of 3.0 or higher, or for applicants with a graduate degree from an accredited institution.

Retention Requirements

To continue teacher education studies at The University of Tampa, candidates must fulfill the following requirements:

  • Maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 overall and 2.5 in the major.
  • Make satisfactory progress toward mastery of the Uniform Core Curriculum (UCC) standards and indicators as documented through the LiveText electronic database and outlined in all undergraduate EDU syllabi.
  • Complete required field assignments satisfactorily.
  • Pass all three sections of the FTCE prior to graduation: General Knowledge Exam (GK), Professional Area Exam (PED) and Subject Area Exam (SAE).

Candidate Remediation

The candidate who fails to meet state-mandated candidate performance assessment benchmarks and fails to evidence acceptable mastery of the UCCs will be referred to the department chairperson and to the Admission, Retention, and Dismissal (ARD) subcommittee for remediation. The subcommittee will recommend specific candidate interventions intended to help the candidate achieve the expected targets and benchmarks. Remediation always requires enrollment in the 0–3 credit hour course EDU 380/680 Professional Development Clinical.

LiveText Electronic Database

The Department of Education uses the LiveText database system to formally collect data to document candidate progress and mastery of competencies in and across programs. For teacher candidates, LiveText provides evidence that each FEAP/PEC/Subject Area Competencies and Skills/ESOL PS/Reading Endorsement Competencies (REC) have been met prior to the culminating field/clinical experience. All education candidates are required to obtain and manage a LiveText account. Candidates who do not upload required critical UCC assignments to LiveText will be referred to the ARD subcommittee for further action.

Florida Teacher Certification Examination

The 2009–10 FTCE passage rate for UT program graduates was 100 percent.

Cooperative Learning

Education majors at The University of Tampa are required to engage in numerous cooperative group activities, projects and presentations. Many of these are prepared outside of class. The rationale for this requirement is two-fold:

  • Contemporary teachers are required to understand, create and facilitate noncompetitive group investigation and cooperative learning experiences in their classrooms. An understanding of the process of cooperation and the attainment of related skills is developed through one’s own involvement in such experiences.
  • Teachers are compelled to collaborate and cooperate noncompetitively with other teachers in their school, to team-teach and to carry out various school missions, projects and presentations. Therefore, teacher preparation students are expected to create and implement group activities, projects and presentations. They are to be fully committed to such requirements in terms of availability, preparation, punctuality, reliability and the spirit of cooperation. Failure to meet these requirements may result in student dismissal from the Department of Education.