Professors McClure, White
Associate Professor Glenn-Applegate
Assistant Professor Kaka, Nobel
Instructor Hall
Ohio Wesleyan has been educating teachers for more than 100 years. This experience confirms our belief that the most creative and effective teachers are prepared at strong liberal arts colleges such as ours. Our program emphasizes a solid theoretical base and practical experience. From the first course onward, Education candidates learn about the responsibilities and rewards of their profession by working directly with children in area schools, community centers, and in Ohio Wesleyan’s Early Childhood Center, a laboratory pre-school program.
Ohio Wesleyan offers programs preparing students for teacher licensure at the Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, and high school levels. We also offer licensure in Special Education (K-12). Candidates working towards the Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, Special Eduation, or Integrated Science licenses pursue an OWU major in education. Candidates pursuing other Multi-age or Adolescent to Young Adult (secondary) licenses will major in another department at Ohio Wesleyan and minor in education. Ohio Wesleyan’s programs lead to the following State of Ohio teacher licenses:
Early Childhood License: Prekindergarten to grade three
Middle Childhood License: Grades four to nine — preparation for teaching in a middle school setting. The State requires two of the following four concentrations:
- Reading and Language Arts
- Mathematics
- Science
- Social Studies
Adolescence to Young Adult License: Grades seven to twelve — preparation for teaching in a high school setting.
- Integrated Language Arts
- Integrated Mathematics
- Integrated Science
- Integrated Social Studies
Intervention Specialist License - grades Kindergarten - grades 12
Multi-age License: Prekindergarten to grade twelve
- Drama/Theater
- Foreign Language (Spanish and French )*
- Music
- Visual Arts
* Students interested in teaching German or Latin should talk with the Education Department Chair.
Education majors are normally admitted to the Teacher Education program by the end of their sophomore year. Minors are normally admitted by the end of fall semester of their junior year. The program admission requirements include successful completion (C- or higher) of foundational courses in Education, EDUC 105, 110 and/ or EDUC 115 (depending on licensure area), and EDUC 251, ratings of “3” or higher for the field experiences associated with the foundational courses, two positive recommendations from OWU faculty members, a GPA of 2.8 (overall and, for Education minors, in the subject area major), required SAT or ACT scores, satisfactory scores on the department Dispositional Survey, and “adequate” or above ratings on the application essays. Contact the Education department for a complete description of the admission and retention policy.
Graduates who complete the prescribed coursework in Education and content area fields, student teaching, and other requirements of the State of Ohio, and who pass the State-mandated licensure examination(s), are entitled to an Ohio Four-Year Resident Educator license. The Teacher Education program is approved by the Ohio Board of Regents, and it has achieved national accreditation through the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) - now called CAEP. The University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. Ohio maintains formal reciprocal agreements with 27 other states, thus the Ohio license is recognized by most other states. Candidates desiring a teaching license from another state should consult with the education department early in their junior year to discuss reciprocity and/or organize their programs to meet the requirements of the states concerned.
During their second foundational course, EDUC 251 - Psychological Foundations of Education, candidates complete a field experience by tutoring diverse learners in one of two high-poverty urban Columbus schools. This placement gives candidates over 30 hours of experience working in diverse settings. Candidates continue their field experiences during their methods courses. In total, candidates will have completed a minimum of 80 hours observing and assisting teachers, and teaching lessons based on ideas developed in their methods courses before they begin their student teaching experience. All candidates seeking licensure student teach for 15 weeks, resulting in a total of over 450 hours in the classroom. Full-time faculty members in the Education department take part in the supervision of student teachers. In addition, teachers at the Early Childhood Center work with candidates in the PreK-3 licensure program, and full-time faculty from the arts and sciences supervise AYA and Multi-age candidates in their subject area. Student teachers meet for weekly seminars and receive a minimum of six formal observations during the semester. Student teaching takes place through agreements with local schools.
2016 - 2017 Data
During the 2016-17 academic year, 20 students completed their teacher education program. Of these, 7 were in the Early Childhood education program; 2 in the Middle Childhood education program; 2 in Language Arts, 3 in Music; 3 in Social Studies; 1 in Visual Arts; 1 in Spanish; and 1 in Physical Education. Female students made up 70%; male, 30%. The overall enrollment at OWU was 1,712: 52% female and 48% male. International enrollment was 5.49%; American Indian/Alaskan Native was .06%; Asian was 3.21%; Black, non-Hispanic was 8.64%; Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander was .12%; Hispanic/Latino was 5.02%; White, non-Hispanic was 67.58%; two or more races was 4.73%; and Race/ethnicity unknown was 5.14%.
Of the 20 program completers, 19 took the OAE examination(s) in their teaching area.
Sixty-three students were formally enrolled in the teacher education program in 2016-17. Of those, 30% were male, 70% female. Four full-time Education Department faculty members supervised student teachers along with members of the arts and science faculty. Students completed a total of fifteen weeks of full-time student teaching totaling 450 hours of in-class experience.
Student Teaching
Student teaching takes place every spring semester. Students register for 3.5 units-3 for student teaching and a half-unit for the student teaching seminar. Student teaching is a full-time commitment involving teaching, planning, and other in-school responsibilities, and various assignments originating from the half-unit courses.
Education Department Policy on Credit/No Entry in all Teacher Education Licensure Programs
Credit/no entry courses may not be taken in the major area of study (Early Childhood, Middle Childhood , or the Integrated Science or History major for Teachers), nor in any courses to be used for the general requirements in English composition, foreign language, professional Education licensure courses or for the University distribution requirements. Only one course taken in the minor area of study or concentration may be taken credit/no entry and must have the approval of the director of the specific licensure program.
