Education Majors and Programs: Secondary Education Certification

To obtain Maryland teaching certification at the secondary level, grades 7-12, undergraduate students major in one of the following academic fields: art (preK-12), biology, chemistry, English, French, history, mathematics or Spanish. Post Baccalaureate students must have or take the requisite content coursework for the desired certification area. Three phases comprise the teacher certification program in secondary education, each of which has specific course requirements and field experiences based on the content area (SPA) standards as well as the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) Standards.

• Completion of a baccalaureate degree at Hood that includes Core requirements or completion of a liberal arts or science baccalaureate at another accredited institution.
• Completion of a major at Hood, or at another accredited institution, in one of the academic fields in which Hood offers secondary teacher certification. (Students from other institutions with related majors such as zoology, environmental science, journalism, etc., must present courses that are equivalent to all courses required for the Hood major in the discipline in which the student is pursuing teacher certification.) Additional content-area coursework may be required of post-baccalaureate candidates to ensure compliance with professional standards.
• Completion of additional general education requirement courses as specified by each department at Hood. (For example, biology majors must also take PHYS 101 or 203, and English majors must also take specified communication arts courses.)
• Attainment of a 2.75 cumulative G.P.A., a 2.75 G.P.A. in education courses (with no grade lower than a “C”) and a 2.75 G.P.A. in the respective content area (with no grade lower than a “C”) on a 4.0 scale throughout Phase I and Phase II of the program.
• Attainment of state minimum scores on all state required Praxis I tests (or SAT/ACT equivalent) prior to entrance into Phase I of the teacher certification program.
• Satisfactory assessment of entry and exit folios.
• Satisfactory evaluation of professional development school (PDS) field experiences.
• Successful completion of Praxis II for program completion.

In order to complete the certification requirements within four years, undergraduates should begin their programs with EDUC 204 Foundations for Effective Teaching in the sophomore year.

Secondary education students should be aware that completing the teacher education requirements may require time beyond the completion of a B.A. program.

All candidates seeking secondary or art certification must has an introductory psychology course (PSY 101 or its equivalent). This can be taken prior to or concurrently with the EDUC 204, Foundations for Effective Teaching, course in the prerequisite portion of the secondary education program. Along with the EDUC 204 prerequisite course, secondary education students must complete one-half day per week of field experiences in a designated professional development school (PDS). Art education candidates have an additional prerequisite, EDUC 223, Child Development, which requires one 50 minute lab school experience per week at the Onica Prall Child Development Center on the Hood campus. While completing the prerequisite courses, secondary and art education students must take the Praxis I tests (or SAT/ACT equivalent) and obtain the minimum composite passing score required by the state of Maryland. Scores must be on file with the Hood registrar prior to the conclusion of the prerequisite phase.

• PSY 101 Introduction to Psychology (or its equivalent) (3 credits)
• EDUC 204 Foundations for Effective Teaching (3 credits)
• EDUC 223 Child Development (3 credits) (Art Education only)

Post-baccalaureate teacher certification candidates must pass Praxis I or MSDE accepted equivalent (e.g., SAT, ACT) as a prerequisite for admission into EDUC 204.

NOTE: Prior to enrolling in EDUC 204, the student must have a conference with the coordinator of secondary education.

Entry to Phase I is contingent upon 1) successful completion of the prerequisite courses, 2) successful performance in the prerequisite field experiences,3) meeting Maryland’s minimum passing score on the Praxis I tests or MSDE acceptable equivalent (e.g., SAT, ACT), 4) submission of the Phase I Application, and 5) receiving a satisfactory overall recommendation from the Secondary Education Council. The courses in Phase I are prerequisites for all methods courses in Phase II and Phase III. Along with these Phase I courses, secondary education interns must complete the equivalent of one-half day per week of field experiences in a designated(PDS). By the end of Phase I, secondary education student interns must earn the score of “Proficient” or higher on their entry folio, submitted through their Chalk and Wire account and submit a Phase II Application. Students admitted to Hood with the Associate of Arts in Teaching (A.A.T.) must have satisfied all lower-division teacher education program requirements to be eligible for admission into Phase I courses.

• EDUC 308 Psychological Foundations of Education (3 credits)
• EDUC 409 Secondary Reading in the Content Area: Part I (3 credits)
• EDUC 413 Secondary Instruction (2 credits)
• EDUC 445 Secondary Instructional Assessment (2 credits)

Entry into Phase II is contingent upon 1) successful completion of the Phase I courses, 2) successful performance in the Phase I field experiences, 3) an overall G.P.A. of 2.75 or higher, 4) a G.P.A. of 2.75 or higher in all education courses completed and no grade lower than a “C,” 5) a G.P.A. of 2.75 or higher in all courses completed in the content major (with no grade lower than a “C”), 6) a score of “Proficient” or higher on the entry folio, 7) a satisfactory recommendation from the content major department, 8) submission of the Phase II Application, and 9) an overall satisfactory recommendation from the Secondary Education Council. Along with the courses in Phase II, the secondary education interns must complete the equivalent of one and one half days per week of field experience in a designated secondary PDS. Secondary Education interns may not enroll in the following courses until officially accepted into Phase II.

• EDUC 411 Educational Methods in [Student’s Teaching Field] (3 credits)
• EDUC 469 Inclusion and Instruction (3 credits)

Entry into Phase III is contingent upon 1) successful completion of the Phase II courses, 2) successful performance in the Phase II internship, 3) an overall G.P.A. of 2.75 or higher, 4) a G.P.A. of 2.75 or higher in all education courses completed and no grade lower than a “C,” 5) a G.P.A. of 2.75 or higher in all courses completed in the content major (with no grade lower than a “C”) and 6) a satisfactory recommendation from the Secondary Education Council. The secondary education teaching intern will be engaged in a full-time teaching internship in a designated PDS. Toward the end of Phase III and in partial fulfillment of program requirements, the teaching intern submits the exit folio, which must meet the rating score of “Proficient” or higher. Completion of Phase III and the certification program is contingent upon meeting Maryland’s minimum passing scores on the Praxis II tests. Teaching interns in the secondary education program have one year from the completion of the teaching internship to pass the Praxis II tests and to complete all other program requirements in order to be designated an official program completer. It is the responsibility of the intern to inform the education department upon completion of all requirements. Secondary education interns may not enroll in the following courses until official acceptance into Phase III.

• EDUC 412 Secondary Reading in the Content Area, Part II (3 credits)
• EDUC 419 Teaching Internship (12 credits)