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Birmingham-Southern College Catalog 2017-2018
72
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
(7) Successful completion of fingerprinting for background review.
Field Experiences and Internship
Students enrolled in the Teacher Education Program participate in three levels of field
experiences. The first level involves primarily observation, typically done in education
courses at the 200 level and/or exploratory experiences during the Exploration term. The
second level involves working with children and youth in a specified area such as
reading, mathematics, social studies, or science. These are completed in the methods
courses within a major. The third and most in-depth experience is the internship (student
teaching), a series of placements in two or more schools for a minimum of a full
semester. The internship measures a student’s synthesis of all previous coursework. For
secondary teacher candidates who are seeking certification in two or more distinct
teaching fields (i.e., mathematics and biology) an additional student teaching semester is
required.
Application for Internship
Teacher candidates must make formal application for internship. The student’s
application is not complete until the student successfully demonstrates readiness in an
interview with faculty prior to the term when teacher candidates expect to begin the
teaching internship. The criteria for approval to student teach are as follows:
(1) A cumulative grade point average of 2.750 or higher.
(2) Grades of “C” or higher in all courses in professional education studies. A grade of
“C-” is not acceptable.
(3) A satisfactory interview and ePortfolio review, with two or more members of the
education faculty, to assess performance.
(4) A minimum passing score set by the Alabama State Department of Education on all
PRAXIS tests required by the Alabama State Department of Education.
Eligibility for the Teaching Certificate
The education faculty may need to change requirements in the Teacher Education
Program in order to comply with regulations and policies of the Alabama State Board of
Education, which grants the teaching certificate. Students should consult a faculty advisor
or the certification officer in education concerning current certification requirements.
To be eligible for a teaching certificate a student must complete an approved course of
study in one of the following programs:
Elementary/Collaborative Education Program K-6
Secondary Education Program 6-12
Visual Art P-12