Teacher Certification Program for Undergraduates

As an undergraduate at Fairfield, you may seek to qualify for an initial teaching certificate for the secondary level (grades 7 through 12) in the state of Connecticut. The program, offered through the collaboration of Fairfield's College of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions, allows you to be certified in one of these subject areas: English, history/social studies, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, general science, or world languages (French, German, Latin, or Spanish). Your certificate will be recognized by 38 other states and the District of Columbia, all participants in the NASDTEC Interstate Contract. If you are serious about teaching, and meet standards of achievement and character established by the state and the University, you have the opportunity to work with excellent professional guidance and to test your interest through study and student-teaching experiences. At the same time, you will have a broad liberal education that is a reward in itself and a rich resource for all the teaching you will do.

Course of Study

All students in the program must take:

• Educational Psychology
• Philosophy of Education
• Special Learners in the Regular Classroom
• Introduction to Educational Technology
• Secondary School Teaching Methods
• Directed Observation/Student Teaching and Seminar

In addition, you must take at least one survey course in U.S. history and the sociology course, Race and Ethnic Relations. Four courses can be counted toward the general education core requirements.

If you are seeking certification in English, you must also take the following four courses, the first three of which can be credited toward your major:

• Advanced Composition
• Traditional and Structural Grammar
• Literature for Young Adults
• Developmental Reading in the Secondary School

You must also complete a major in the subject area in which you are seeking certification.

You must complete all coursework and student teaching, as well as pass the appropriate PRAXIS II Content test(s), before you will be considered certification program completers and receive an institutional endorsement for state certification. The Title II assessment report is provided online or a written copy will be furnished upon request to the coordinator.

Faculty

As an aspiring teacher, you will be taught by faculty from the Graduate School of Education in your education courses and by faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences in your subject area studies. In each subject area, a member of the faculty is designated to advise you on your program. The acting director of the program in education for undergraduates is:

Sandra Billings
B.S., Boston College
M.S., Central Connecticut State University
6th Year, Southern Connecticut State University
Ph.D., University of Connecticut
Assistant professor, department of curriculum and instruction
Director of secondary certification programs

Practical Experiences and Student Teaching

The program is designed as a developmental sequence of courses and practical experiences leading to student teaching in your senior year. The introductory courses, educational psychology and philosophy of education, will enable you to acquire hands-on support teaching experience in a city school. You are encouraged to participate in tutorial and volunteer teaching opportunities throughout your program to gain additional experience, as well. In your senior year, you will complete a semester of full-time student teaching in a local public school with observation, assistance, and evaluation by a University supervisor and an on-site cooperating teacher. Student teachers are assigned in grades seven through 12 to schools in Fairfield and New Haven counties.

Real-World Education

Preparing for a career in the noble profession of teaching takes more than the completion of a list of courses. At Fairfield, you will have the encouragement of professionals who have devoted their own lives to this profession. They will help you to begin forming a personal philosophy that will guide you in and out of the classroom for many years to come. Your approach to teaching will be clarified by as much personal teaching experience as the program can give you. This is accomplished mainly through internships and the mandatory supervised teaching experience. But you will also be encouraged to participate in one of the tutorial programs in local schools where many Fairfield students offer their volunteer services.

Life After Fairfield

Students who complete their certification and other undergraduate requirements have excellent prospects for beginning positions in teaching. They are helped by the reputation Fairfield has earned for teacher preparation, the wide contacts of the faculty in education, and a large number of graduates of the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions who are established in school systems throughout Connecticut and nearby states.

For further information please contact:

Sandra Billings, program director
Fairfield University
Canisius Hall, Room 119
Fairfield, CT 06824-5195
Telephone: (203) 254-4000, ext. 3262
E-mail: sbillings@mail.fairfield.edu