Admission to Professional Teacher Preparation Program

College of Education Admission

Provisional Admission to the Professional Teacher Preparation Program

Any candidate applying to the Professional Teacher Preparation Program may be granted a provisional admission for one semester to complete all requirements for full admission. Candidates with GPA’s below 2.6 will not be granted provisional admission. Provisional admission is determined by the Office of Field Experiences.

Program Requirements for Full Admission

The submission of this packet constitutes your request for full admission to the BHSU College of Education’s Professional Teacher Preparation Program. Before beginning your student teaching internship, you must be fully admitted to the program. Your request will be reviewed based on receipt of this fully completed application packet, including your advisor/program coordinator’s signature on the Plan of Study page, and the following documentation:

Completed Professional Licensure Location before applying.

Minimum 2.70 GPA both cumulatively and in all required coursework for your teaching major (BHSU SOE Policy 2.1:2.1.2)

Minimum grade of C* in the following coursework:

ENGL 101 & 201 (Composition I & II)

SPCM 101 (Fundamentals of Speech)

PSYC 101 (General Psychology)

1. MATH (Any Gen Ed Math - Elementary Education Majors ONLY)
2. EDFN 338 (Foundations of American Education)
3. EPSY 302 (Educational Psychology)
4. EDFN 295 (Pre-Admission Practicum) or Composite ECE/SPED major only will replace EDFN 295 with ECE 328 (Observation & Participation) after July 1, 2012
Current professional resume
Discuss your DegreeWorks status with your advisor & faculty mentor.
Minimum of three (3) mandatory Professional Dispositions Assessments (PDAs), required for all programs
1. self-evaluation (completed during EDFN 295 practicum)
2. EDFN 295/ECE 328 clinical faculty - approved transfer and experiential substitution will add a PDA from a second BHSU faculty member instead of the clinical faculty for EDFN 295/ECE 328.
3. BHSU faculty member (completed during EDFN 295 practicum)
A recent picture for your file.
Complete application to the College of Education

https://bhsu.edu/university-resources/field-experience.html#admission

Transfer students: Please note that the College of Education will not accept any methods coursework you are transferring if it is over seven (7) years old.

Field Experiences

Field experiences are conducted in an off-campus setting such as a school or other educational setting. They provide an opportunity for the student to observe and to participate in a teaching environment under the supervision of a university faculty member and a field-based professional practitioner.

Field experience assignments are made through the Office of Field Experiences. In virtually all cases, field experience placements will require that the student have personal transportation because not all students can be accommodated in the immediate area. Students should also be aware that while personal requests will be considered, final placement decisions are based on standards of the professional teacher preparation program, policies and procedures of the College of Education & Behavioral Sciences, and availability of appropriate placement sites.

There are three phases of school-based field experience to help students apply course content to best practice in preparation for their teaching careers. The field assignments include:

Pre-Admission Teaching Practicum (EDFN 295). This practicum requires students to spend 40 hours in a K-12 classroom to observe classroom practices and assist teachers with instruction. This practicum in designed to:
1. Provide prospective teachers with opportunities to observe school classrooms from a teacher’s perspective
2. Acquaint the prospective teacher with students in a K-12 school environment, and
3. Enable prospective teachers to determine for themselves whether teaching is the profession they choose to enter.
Pre-Student Teaching Practicum (ELED or SEED 495). This practicum is designed to involve prospective teachers with basic teaching duties/responsibilities in a variety of settings with a variety of student ability levels. Prospective teachers will spend 45 or 90 hours in a K-12 classroom. During that time, they observe, aide the classroom teacher, tutor students as assigned by the teacher, and plan to teach at least three lessons as directed by the classroom teacher. This practicum usually occurs during the semester immediately preceding student teaching.
Student Teaching Internship. This is the culminating field experience activity. It is designed to provide prospective teachers with opportunity to assume the full responsibilities of a classroom teacher under the supervision of a cooperating teacher and a university supervisor. This experience is generally 16 weeks (600 hours) in duration. During this time, the prospective teacher will gradually assume all duties/responsibilities of the classroom teacher. In accordance with South Dakota state law, all students are required to submit to a criminal background check before they are allowed to student teach.

Students applying for admission to student teaching must present an overall cumulative grade point average of 2.70 or higher, and a BHSU Institutional GPA of 2.0 or higher. In addition, a 2.70 minimum GPA is required for the combined major content and education courses. All professional teacher preparation program coursework must be completed prior to the beginning of student teaching with a grade of C or better. All students must pass a standardized content area teacher certification exam before student teaching. Additionally, candidates must have satisfactorily completed all pre-student teaching field experiences. Student teachers are only placed at approved schools.

The courses listed will meet the requirements for background courses, general education, and professional education for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Education. In planning a program, the student, with the assistance of an advisor, should select courses to meet the requirements of general education and the minor if chosen.

Title II Reporting Information
Academic Year: 2023 - 2024

Student Teaching Data - The total number of students fully admitted to the teacher preparation program during the 2023 - 2024 academic year was 276. During that same academic year, the total number of initial teacher certification preparation program completers was 82. Graduates were required to complete a pre-admission and a pre-student teaching practicum followed by a 16 to 20-week student teaching internship.