Teacher Features

Showcasing Events of the Union College Education Program

On November 19, two elementary education seniors took their Elementary Education: Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment exam. This two hour exam covers material that teachers across the nation are required to know in order to be considered Highly Qualified Teachers under the “No Child Left Behind” program.

The Professional Education courses at Union College prepare students in the areas covered by this exam in the methods courses, practicum experiences and evaluations, lesson plans, teacher work samples, portfolios and student teaching placements.

Good scores on the Elementary Education: Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment exam and graduating from a National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) approved program assures prospective employers that graduates from the Union College Education Program will be highly qualified. This gives our students the best chance for successful placement.

The secondary student teachers have been in their classrooms since the first of August, so are well engrained in the routine with their co-operating teachers and classes.

Those who are teaching in Music, Art and PE have moved from the high school level to middle and elementary classrooms since they are required to student teach in K-12 settings in whichever endorsement they are majoring in.

The elementary student teachers are on a schedule where they take methods courses in the first half of the semester and student teach in the second half. On October 22, thirteen of them began teaching in classrooms at George Stone Elementary School (4), Helen Hyatt Elementary School (5), Lincoln Public Schools (3) and one in North Dakota at the Hillside Elementary school in Jamestown, North Dakota. Each of them will have opportunity to get experience in Upper, Lower grades and in Multi-grade and single grade settings in both SDA church schools and public schools. The rich diversity of experience prepares them for any job they may obtain after graduating from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and North America Division of Seventh-day Adventists (NAD) approved education program.

Even though Thanksgiving break began on the previous Friday, four education majors stayed by to take their Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) this week. Passing the three tests in Reading, Math and Writing is required of all sophomore education majors at Union College before becoming a candidate for full acceptance into the education program and enrolling in upper division professional education courses.

The PPST will be given again in April at Union College for those who need to pass it before Fall 2008 registration. Another option for students who haven’t taken it or need to re-take a portion of it, is to contact the Sylvan Learning Center in any major city and arrange to take it at their facility. If scores do not meet the Nebraska State Department of Education requirements, students must re-take the test until scores meet the standards or drop education as their major.

Children’s literature students, under the tutelage of Kathy Bollinger, just completed written and illustrated books. Each student created a children’s book that was published and bound. The books, beautiful and imaginative, are part of the capstone experience of the class.

Other interesting activities from this class have included “Book Talks” in which the students dress as the book character from a favorite literature book. Several of the students presented their character book talks to ENRC, Eastern Nebraska Reading Council, as it met on Tuesday, November 6, in the evening at Union College.

Students in the class participated in the Plum Creek Literacy Festival in October at Seward, NE. The students helped hundreds of children in group sessions as accomplished authors and illustrators discussed writing and illustrating techniques. The UC students assisted children as they formed creations of their own.

The students in EDUC 357, besides reading and documenting a plethora of literature themselves, have told and read stories to children in elementary schools, and have also researched authors and designed illustrator posters.