This document discusses the requirements for becoming a teacher in the United States. It explains that teaching licensure and certification are established by individual states and require graduation from an accredited teacher education program. These programs include general education courses, content courses in their subject area, and professional education coursework. Alternative pathways like lateral entry allow those without education degrees to become teachers if they pass certification exams. The document also notes high turnover rates in teaching and ongoing professional development expectations once teachers are hired.

1. Becoming a Teacher
Ebert, E., & Culyer III, R. (2014).
Becoming a Teacher. In School: An
introduction to education. Wadsworth.

2. Ice Breaker
• Complete the Ice Breaker on p. 99
• What do you know about requirements for
becoming a teacher?
• Who is responsible for licensing public school
teachers?
• More specifically, what are our requirements
in our state for teacher training? For lateral
entry teachers?

3. Accreditation
• Accreditation agencies set the standards for
teacher education programs
• Graduation from accredited programs required
for licensure and certification
• NCATE – National Council for Accreditation of
Teacher Education
– 6 standards based on research based best practice
• Changes coming? CAEP – Council for the
Accreditation of Teach Education

4. Accreditation (cont.)
• INTASC – Interstate Teacher Assessment and
Support Consortium – developed performance
standards for new teachers that has since
changed to include all teachers.
• NCLB – No Child Left Behind – Federal Law (PL
107-110)
– All teachers are to be “highly qualified”
– Additional coursework required for renewal or add-on
certification(s)

5. Traditional Teacher Education
• Teacher requirements are established by the
states
• Teaching license- authorizes someone to teach
• Teaching certification- indicates the program
in which a teacher is qualified to teach.

6. Required Education
• Required general education and content
related coursework
• Professional coursework
• Field experiences and clinical internships
(student teaching)
• Are you able to relate your “book learning” to
the reality of a classroom?

7. Alternative Teacher Education
• Lateral entry– for teachers who did not major
in education
• Praxis exams
• Pearson exams now in NC
• Teach for America success?

8. Where We Teach
• Public Schools
• Private Schools
• Charter Schools
• Alternatives to Classrooms

9. Job Market for Teachers?
• High turnover rate
• Especially needed in math, science, special
education
• Resumes, applications, portfolios, networking,
interviewing

10. What to Expect
• Create a list of problems you think are most likely
to plague new teachers.
• Create a list of solutions for helping new teachers
survive.
• Review Teachers as Professionals
– Performance appraisals
– Mentoring
– Additional coursework and degrees
– National Boards
– Professional organizations