Welcome

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.

Mission

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.

Licensure Programs

Ohio Wesleyan offers programs preparing students for teacher licensure at the early childhood, elementary school, middle school, and high school levels. Candidates working toward the Early Childhood or Middle Childhood license pursue an OWU major in education. Candidates pursuing one of the other two licenses will major in another department at Ohio Wesleyan and minor in education. Ohio Wesleyan has programs leading to the following State of Ohio teacher licenses:

1. Early Childhood License: Pre-kindergarten to grade three
2. 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
3. Adolescence to Young Adult License: Grades seven to twelve—preparation for teaching in a high school setting.
   • Chemistry
   • Earth Science
   • Integrated Language Arts
   • Integrated Mathematics
   • Integrated Social Studies
   • Life Sciences
   • Physics
4. Multi-age License: Pre-kindergarten to grade twelve
   • Drama/Theater
   • Foreign Language (French, German, Latin, Spanish)
   • Music
   • Physical Education
   • Visual Arts

Education majors must be admitted to the teacher education program by the end of fall semester of their sophomore year. Minors must be admitted by the end of their junior year. The program admission requirements include successful completion of two courses in education, a recommendation from an OWU faculty member, and a GPA of 2.8 (overall and, for education minors, in the subject area major). 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 Praxis II examination(s), are entitled to an Ohio provisional teaching license. The teacher education program is approved by the State of Ohio Department of Education, and it has achieved national accreditation through the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). The University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association. 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.

All candidates seeking licensure student teach for 15 weeks, resulting in a total of over 400 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 eight formal observations during the semester. Beginning with their first education course, candidates spend a minimum of 100 hours in local school classrooms observing and assisting teachers, and teaching lessons based on ideas developed in methods courses. Student teaching takes place through agreements with local schools and through a consortial program in Philadelphia.

Any candidate attempting to obtain licensure in more than one program who achieves a C- or U in any segment of student teaching is ineligible to continue in the Teacher Education Unit; and, therefore, may not register for any future education classes at Ohio Wesleyan.

2007 - 2008 Data

During the 2007-08 academic year, 25 students completed their teacher education program. Of these, four were in the early childhood education program, six in the middle childhood program, three in social studies, six in physical education, two in drama/theater, and one each in Spanish, mathematics, music and visual arts. Female students made up 64%; male, 36%. The overall enrollment at OWU was 1986: 52% female and 48% male. International enrollment was 9%; Asian/Pacific was 2%; Black, non-Hispanic was 5%; Hispanic was 1%; White, non-Hispanic was 79%; Race/ethnicity unknown was 4%.

Of the 25 program completers, 25 took the Praxis II examination(s) in their teaching area. In areas where ten or more OWU students took the same examination, the passing rates were as follows: Principles of Teaching and Learning (7-12), 94%; Early Childhood Education, 100% and Middle Childhood, 100%.  The state rates for these tests were 97%, 100%,  and 96% respectively.

Sixty-four students were formally enrolled in the teacher education program in 2007-08. Of those 27% were male, 73% female. The average GPA of students admitted to the program was 3.07. Four full-time and three part-time Education Department faculty members supervised student teachers, along with members of the arts and science faculty, for a student-faculty ratio of about 5.5. Students completed a total of fifteen weeks of full-time student teaching, totaling 450 hours of in-class experience.

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