Content Area Prerequisites
A transcript evaluation will be completed upon admission to the program. If deficiencies exist, they must be completed prior to student teaching. Students in the Special & Elementary Education (SEE) program must complete general education content area coursework in the following ten areas:
- Physical Education or Health
- Fine Arts or Literature
- Mathematics
- 3 Science courses, one completed in each of the following areas:
- Physical Science
- Life Science
- Earth/Space
- 4 Social Science courses, one completed in at least 4 of the following areas:
- History
- Political Science
- Economics
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Anthropology
- Geography
Course Requirements
Teacher Candidate Courses Requirements: 24 quarter hours required, grade of C or better required.
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| SER 442 | SURVEY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EXCEPTIONAL LEARNER | 4 |
| SER 402 | INSTRUCTION AND DIFFERENTIATION IN SPECIAL EDUCATION | 4 |
| T&L 409 | PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS | 4 |
| SCG 401 | ADVANCED LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT | 4 |
| SCG 408 | EDUCATION AND SOCIETY | 4 |
| BBE 411 | FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER EDUCATION | 4 |
Advanced Courses Requirements: 42 quarter hours required, grade of C or better required.
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| SER 403 | CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT IN SPECIAL EDUCATION | 4 |
| SER 405 | TEACHING LITERACY TO EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS | 4 |
| SER 409 | TEACHING STUDENTS WITH SIGNIFICANT DISABILITIES | 4 |
| SER 410 | TEACHING MATHEMATICS TO EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS | 4 |
| SER 416 | LITERACY PRACTICUM IN SPECIAL EDUCATION I | 2 |
| SER 421 | FORMAL ASSESSMENT IN SPECIAL EDUCATION | 4 |
| SER 461 | COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE AND SPECIAL EDUCATION | 4 |
| T&L 413 | READING/LANGUAGE ARTS IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES | 4 |
| T&L 415 | TEACHING AND LEARNING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCIENCE | 4 |
| T&L 416 | TEACHING AND LEARNING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MATHEMATICS | 4 |
| T&L 418 | LEARNING THROUGH THE ARTS | 4 |
Student Teaching Requirements
Student Teaching is the culminating clinical experience in the student's program. All students in teacher preparation programs must meet the following requirements before applying for student teaching:
Academic Requirements
- Completion of all Content Area Prerequisites, Teacher Candidate courses, and Advanced courses
- Overall cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better
- Meet all other program requirements (e.g., residency requirements)
- Meet designated program standards
- Pass the required Illinois licensure content area tests (see below)
Clinical Requirements
- Completion of all required field experiences
- Three satisfactory evaluations in field experiences
- Three satisfactory faculty recommendations
- Attendance at mandatory meeting for student teaching
- Application for student teaching, resume, transcripts, and writing sample (check deadlines)
- Review and approval by Student Teaching Committee of the College of Education.
- Student Teaching Timeline and Deadlines
- Attend a Mandatory Meeting approximately 1 year prior to expected quarter of student teaching.
- Submit application for student teaching after attending Mandatory Meeting, approximately 1 year prior to student teaching.
Academic requirements (above) due one quarter before expected quarter of student teaching.
Clinical requirements (above) are completed as course requirements.
Individual school districts may have additional requirements (application, training, background check, etc.)
Student Teaching: 14 quarter hours required
Registration in student teaching requires completion of all requirements and procedures listed in the college core section.
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| SER 465 | INDUCTION INTO THE FIELD OF EDUCATION I (grade of B- or better required) | 2 |
| SER 466 | INDUCTION INTO THE FIELD OF EDUCATION II (grade of B- or better required) | 4 |
| SER 585 | STUDENT TEACHING IN SPECIAL EDUCATION (grade of C or better required) | 4 |
| SER 586 | STUDENT TEACHING IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION (grade of C or better required) | 4 |
Please note that the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) may change the State licensure and endorsement requirements at any time and without prior notice.
Licensure Tests
All individuals licensed by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) are required to complete licensure tests specific to their teaching license. Requirements are subject to change per the discretion of ISBE.
Special Education students must complete the following tests:
- Learning Behavior Specialist I (test #290) – assesses knowledge of the following areas: understanding students with disabilities, assessing students and developing individualized programs, supporting development and learning, working in a collaborative learning community, and foundations and professional practice.
- Elementary Education Content Area Test, grades 1-6 (tests #305)
- EdTPA - assessment conducted during the student teaching experience including video clips of instruction, lesson plans, student work samples, analysis of student learning and reflective commentaries. Students will submit an electronic portfolio to an outside agency for independent evaluation and a fee will be imposed by that agency as part of the assessment.