Elementary Certification
Year One: Foundations of Education
Summer I
Year Two: Internship Year
Summer II
First Two Years of Teaching
Year One: Foundations of Education
The Foundations of Education Sequence is designed to give UTEP candidates an introduction to teaching in urban schools as a profession through multiple lenses. It is designed as a set of academic, clinical, affective and reflective experiences to occur over the course of a candidate’s first year in the program. The year long Foundations of Education Sequence integrates the following four strands:
- The Academic Strand, in which candidates complete three courses: Schools and Communities, Human Development and Learning, and Purposes and Effects of Urban Education.
- The Fieldwork Strand, in which candidates learn how to be careful observers of schools and classrooms, children, and teachers in the field.
- The Tutoring Strand, in which candidates tutor three elementary students two times per week for an entire year at the University of Chicago charter schools, obtain feedback on their practice, and regularly share their practice (via video) with their peers.
- The “Soul Strand,” in which students explore issues of teacher identity as well as the ways in which race, class, and culture affect teachers and students alike.
The Foundations Sequence four strand structure is designed to prepare students for the internship year by providing candidates with insights about the rigorous work of teaching in urban schools. Although demanding, this type of comprehensive approach to a foundational education experience will ensure that candidates gain insight of teaching as a profession in a multi-dimensional manner. This set of experiences will also provide numerous opportunities for candidates to visit schools in different settings, experience a variety of teaching styles and grade levels, and ultimately help them test and strengthen their commitment to working in an urban school. Candidates who demonstrate the necessary prerequisite skills, knowledge, and dispositions for this work are invited to apply for the year-long clinical internship at the end of this sequence.
Coursework for Foundation Sequence
Schools and Communities (SOSC 25501)
This course focuses on communities, families, and the organization of schools from an historical, anthropological, and sociological perspective. Candidates explore questions about why we have public schools, why they are organized as they are—especially in urban contexts—and how these institutions might be reformed. This course is designed to afford candidates with multiple analytic lenses to complement and integrate their field experiences, tutoring work, and soul strand reflections across the year. The culminating project for the course is a school study. Syllabus
Human Development and Learning (SOSC 25502)
The focus of this course is the child. Using the rich professional resources of the Center for Urban School Improvement and the University of Chicago’s charter schools, candidates are introduced to various approaches and purposes for observing children. They also explore the prominent and sometimes contradictory theories of learning and child development; what we know about motivation and engagement, and consequent implications for the classroom; and the sociocultural contexts that influence both student performance and the way we look at children. The course builds towards the final assignment of producing a child study of a student that the candidate has been tutoring. Syllabus
Teaching and Learning in Urban Schools (SOSC 25503)
Candidates survey philosophies of education, especially that of John Dewey, the philosopher who has arguably left the deepest mark on the University of Chicago. This course also includes a look at Dewey’s contemporary counterparts, and his critics. Candidates also explore the influence of philosophy on teaching and learning, especially as it pertains to curriculum. For the final assignment, candidates conduct a teacher study and revise their own philosophy in light of course readings and discussions. Syllabus
Elements of Literacy Instruction I (SOSC 30401)
The objective of this course is to help candidates gain an understanding of the ways in which children approach literacy-related tasks and to have an initial experience with elements of a balanced approach to literacy instruction. Candidates are introduced to a variety of instructional and assessment strategies related to literacy, including guided reading and the Center for Urban School Improvement’s
STEP Literacy Assessment ® . A major emphasis of this course is helping candidates use data to support instructional decisions.
Summer I
During the first summer UTEP interns work in the summer school program at NKO, where they move from their earlier individual tutoring to assume responsibility for small groups in literacy instruction and begin their exploration of children’s mathematical thinking. In the afternoons, students participate in math and literacy courses which are closely integrated with their clinical experiences. This tight linkage between the clinical and the academic is a hallmark of UTEP’s design. Later in the summer, they are introduced to the Fundamental Aspects of Teaching: Beginning the Year and those aspects of building classroom community and classroom management. They also have an opportunity to meet their Clinical Instructors and prepare for the opening days of school.
Small-Group Clinical Practicum (UTEP 30300)
Candidates spend 30 hours in the summer school program of a University of Chicago Charter School, supporting and eventually planning and teaching literacy and mathematics lessons, with a particular emphasis on interactive read-alouds, guided reading, and small-group math lessons.
Elements of Literacy Instruction II and III (UTEP 30100, 30500)
The objectives of Part II of this course are to deepen candidates’ experiences with the complex instructional practices of interactive read-aloud and guided reading, and to develop an understanding of their place in a balanced literacy approach to instruction. All sessions include an experiential activity for modeling purposes; videos of practice are shared and analyzed. Candidates also explore how assessment and record keeping can be used to maximize student learning, the field of children’s literature and the resources available for literacy instruction, and current best practice in adapting these approaches to meet the needs of special-education students. Students examine the assumptions and research supporting the workshop model of classroom instruction and learn the mechanics of implementing it in the classroom. Syllabus
Introduction to Mathematics Concepts and Pedagogy (UTEP 30200)
Candidates are introduced to problem-based primary mathematics instruction, as endorsed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. In the process of deepening their own understanding of mathematical concepts, candidates learn how to observe and understand how children approach mathematics and apply that understanding to form the basis of their instruction. Syllabus
Fundamental Aspects of Teaching (UTEP 30000)
Candidates learn basic aspects of classroom organization that underlie all strong teaching and learning, such as space arrangement, establishing classroom rules and routines, behavioral rewards and consequences, and building community in a classroom. This course begins in August and devotes specific attention to both starting the school year and establishing relationships with children, their families, and internship colleagues.
Year Two: Internship Year
Chicago UTEP’s Clinical Internship is open only to candidates who successfully complete the Foundations of Education Sequence. This 15-month phase of Chicago UTEP blends coursework in pedagogy with hands-on clinical training at a University of Chicago Charter School and one other Chicago public school.
During the second phase of the program, UTEP candidates continue to develop their understanding of the complex work of teaching through two half-year placements. In each placement, candidates spend four days a week engaged in observing, learning, enacting, and assessing key instructional practices they are learning in their coursework. They are led through this classroom-based experience with a mentor teacher, or Clinical Instructor, who is selected by the program.
On the fifth day of each week during the internship year, UTEP interns participate in a day long Professional Teaching Seminar (on site at the Charter School) where they receive ongoing professional development in various content areas and content area pedagogy. The Professional Teaching Seminar is designed to provide candidates with the tools to successfully navigate and complete the classroom internship experience. With UTEP program staff, candidates examine multiple aspects of teachers’ work that fit within four domains of effective practice: planning, preparation and assessment; instructional delivery; classroom environment and learning community; and professional responsibilities. The Professional Teaching Seminar ensures integration and coherence between coursework and clinical work and ensures communication between the program, Clinical Instructors, school staff/faculty/parents, and the larger teaching community.
In addition to the internship and Professional Teaching Seminar requirements, UTEP candidates participate in ongoing coursework one evening a week. During this time, they participate in approximately 80 hours of mathematics content/pedagogical coursework (to parallel 80 hours of literacy instruction received) and coursework in science and social studies methods.
Coursework for Year II
Professional Teaching Seminar I, II, and III and Practicum (UTEP 31000, 31100, 31200)
Candidates continue work started in the previous summers’ Fundamental Aspects of Teaching course and extend their exposure to the content areas and the professional skills, knowledge, and dispositions they must develop as teachers. The course also addresses assessment, accessing instructional materials, and designing integrated curricula. During autumn quarter candidates deepen their proficiency with elements of effective reading and writing instruction and reflect on their classroom practice and decision making through video analysis, review of student work, lesson study, journal sharing, and group debriefing. During winter quarter, they extend work in the critical areas of reading and writing across the curriculum, working with second language learners, and working with special needs students. During spring quarter, candidates cover new topics such as integrating technology and the arts into the curriculum.
Syllabus
Elements of Mathematics Instruction I, II, and III (UTEP 30700, 30800, 30900))
Candidates deepen their understanding of basic mathematical concepts under the guidance of University of Chicago mathematicians. Candidates use their math knowledge to explore ways to introduce mathematical concepts in their classrooms, consider ways their students are approaching problem solving, and examine both their instruction and the work students produce as a result. Candidates refine their practice by sharing videos of their teaching and analyzing their practice. To prepare candidates for their math takeover, this course also addresses special topics such as planning math curriculum, classroom management as it relates to math instruction, differentiated instruction, and assessment. Syllabus
Elements of Science Instruction (UTEP 31300))
The course guides candidates in interpreting relevant research findings, adapting them for instruction, and becoming familiar with materials available for inquiry-based science instruction. Candidates also learn about promoting a classroom environment in which students’ ideas about the natural and physical world are central, and how to make inquiry and discussion key vehicles for science learning. Students are required to observe and teach science lessons throughout the course. Syllabus
Elements of Social Studies Instruction (UTEP 31400))
This course introduces candidates to the areas of study common to the elementary social studies curriculum and the materials available to explore them using a project-based inquiry approach. Emphasis is placed on nonfiction reading strategies, and tools that help teachers organize project-based social studies instruction. Students are required to observe and teach social studies lessons throughout the course. Syllabus
Summer II
As in the first summer, interns work with children in the NKO summer school program in the mornings, and complete coursework in the afternoons. They are responsible for teaching a revision of a thematic unit they designed during the final semester of their internship year. Their final coursework enables them to complete a final portfolio as part of a culminating presentation reflecting their growth as teachers.
Working with Children with Special Needs (UTEP 31600
Candidates learn about the current best practices in working with second-language learners and with students facing learning obstacles because of cognitive and emotional handicaps. Candidates explore ways of modifying their instruction to meet these children’s needs and are introduced to the legislation that governs the education of children in these groups. Syllabus
Teaching in the Urban School (UTEP 31500)
This seminar supports candidates during their three weeks as a summer-school lead teacher. Candidates set up the classroom, plan and enact instruction, assess and document student growth, and communicate with parents. Candidates also prepare for their upcoming roles as employees of an urban public school system by learning about the professional expectations and obligations of that role, their legal responsibilities, and the staffing and structure of the institutions in which they will be working. They also learn about organizations that can support their professional growth. Candidates use this seminar to complete their final master’s degree projects. Syllabus
First Two Years of Teaching
Research suggests that even teachers with strong preparation need support as they make the transition into the workforce. UTEP whole-heartedly believes that learning how to teach well takes many years and for that reason, all UTEP graduates who receive teaching positions in Chicago Public Schools will receive in-classroom coaching and professional development for two years, free of charge. Our UTEP coaching staff will observe, provide feedback, guide planning, and provide a helpful year as candidates strengthen their repertoires. Additionally, special workshops and professional development opportunities will be regularly offered to UTEP alumni.