Secondary Education

If you are looking at this page you must be interested in becoming a high school teacher and you must have an interest in Missouri Western State University.

Information about the city:  St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce. 

Accreditation

The Secondary Education program at Missouri Western has been accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education [NCATE] and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education [DESE]. MWSU academic departments have received accreditation from their respective professional organizations.

Missouri Teacher Certification

Information You Will Need

Below will be information that people think about as they consider teaching as a career and about coming to Missouri Western.

Teaching: The Nature of the Work

Teacher Education at Missouri Western

Elementary Education at Missouri Western

Admission Requirements

Elementary Education Classes

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Suggested Sequence of Classes

Teaching: The Nature of the Work

If you are in the process of thinking "maybe I should be a teacher"  or "I really don't know about becoming a high school teacher" you should do some research and reading. 

One of the best publications to read is published by the U.S. Government. The Occupational Outlook Handbook will provide you with information about every possible job in the United States.You will be able to find information about becoming a professional educator or a teacher. 

The Occupational Outlook Handbook is published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is probably located in your library as a hard copy or you can click on this link to read it on line. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Teaching

Being a high school teacher has many rewards, and can provide a comfortable standard of living. The decision to become a secondary teacher, however, should not be taken lightly.  Teachers often work in the summer, have papers to grade in the evenings, or attend events at the school they teach after school hours.  Teachers are a dedicated group of people looking to enhance the lives of their students.

Teacher Education at Missouri Western

Repeatedly school administrators and teachers said that new teachers need to know what teaching, schools and kids are really like. The only way that this can be accomplished is if prospective students have an early exposure to teaching and many hours of real teaching experience working with a master teacher.  Academic research into the preparation of teachers said the same thing that area educators were saying: prospective teachers need an early exposure to the classrooms.

The result was the development of a totally new, different and dynamic teacher education program that provided for a marriage of theory and practice. Beginning in 1996, the program underwent another series of improvements to strengthen the performance-based philosophy and ensure that all components of the program are focused on providing our teacher candidates with the skills and knowledge they need to meet current challenges in teacher education.

The four phase model for the preparation of teachers was developed at Missouri Western is based upon the following:

• Professional advisory input from "school personnel in the St. Joseph area, representing private, parochial, and public institutions" (Haynes, Gettys, & Coyne, 1969)
• Early exposure to the classroom for the teacher candidate
• The concept of a continuum of courses and field experiences so that "the competency of a student in a future course depends upon the successful completion of and information acquired from a prior one" (Haynes, Gettys, & Coyne, 1969)
• Field experiences connected with specific courses so that theory informs practice, while practice further enlightens the theory
• A commitment to close collaboration between the cooperating teacher and the college supervisor as they work together to support and challenge preservice teachers to standards of excellence

Becoming a Teacher Leader: Taking Responsibility for Student Learning

In addition, many teacher candidates will actively participate in additional in-school teaching experiences. For example, teacher candidates seeking a Unified Science B.S. in Biology are required to function like graduate Teacher Assistants in undergraduate General Biology labs. Our education department faculty are often told by P-12 teachers and principals that our teacher candidates look like first or second year teachers by the time they are student teaching in Phase IV. 

• Introduction to Education and Phase I Field Experience (Participation in Teaching I)  These two courses, which must be taken concurrently, should be taken the second semester of the sophomore year at MWSU. The Intro class will provide the person with an overview of schools. Later in the semester the MWSU student will be assigned to an area school for four hours each week. An overall goal of the two classes will be for the person to make a commitment about becoming a teacher.   Some college students decide that teaching is not for them after spending time in 7th grade through 12th grade classrooms during the Phase I field experience. It is important to our faculty that students make a deliberate and informed decision about their major before they have heavily invested time, money, and energy.
  

  Phase I of the MWSU Teacher Education program is known as Awareness. The emphasis is on gaining awareness regarding the historical and philosophical foundations of schooling, how schools are organized and administered, legal foundations and constraints, and beginning teacher methods. During Phase I, the teacher candidate begins to reflect upon and create his or her philosophy of education after studying the various classroom environments.

• Phase II Methods Course The secondary teacher candidate will take a methods class that teaches them how to teach their content knowledge. These classes are taught by qualified faculty members in the candidate's major. Some of the methods classes also require an authentic application in a teaching environment.
   
• Applied Methods and Management and Phase III Field Experience (Experience in Teaching II) are the next two companion courses. These classes provide for a marriage of theory and practice. The methods and management class helps the teacher candidate investigate how people learn, how students mature mentally, and how to control/manage a classroom. During part of each day {one and a half hours every other day for the entire semester}, the MWSU teacher candidate will travel to an area school where he or she will assume the same responsibilities for one class that a student teacher will have all day long. The MWSU student will observe teachers, write lesson plans, teach lessons, reflect upon those lessons, and evaluate students. Students will keep journals of the actions that they have taken in the classroom as they plan and execute lessons, manage the classroom and evaluate student progress. This requirement for daily lesson plans, the unit plan, and journal writing with extensive reflection on how to adjust teaching is done in order to positively affect student learning.

• Seminar in Secondary Education and Phase IV Student Teaching (Secondary Student Teaching III) are the companion courses of Level IV, the Finding Voice stage of the teacher education program. Due to the extensive application of knowledge and skills prior to Phase IV, the teacher candidate is well situated to find his or her own style of teaching. The emphasis during this stage will be on the synthesis of what has been learned before and a mature application as "the teacher" in the classroom.  During Secondary Student Teaching III MWSU students will be assigned to an area school for twelve weeks for the entire school day. The student teacher will have the opportunity to work with students and a professional teacher who will assist the student in developing his or her own style of teaching.

Becoming a Teacher Leader: Taking Responsibility for Student Learning

What are the benefits to the student of spending so many hours in the classroom? First, the MWSU secondary teacher candidates are more realistic about schools and high school age students. Second, school administrators commonly report that the MWSU first year teacher will perform at a much higher level than other first year teachers. Thus, our graduates enjoy a high employment rate compared to other Missouri institutions.

Secondary Education at Missouri Western & the Major Content Field

• Art 
• English 
• French 
• Music 
• Spanish 
• Speech & Theater 
• Mathematics 
• Biology 
• Chemistry 
• Physical Education

The teacher candidate  who completes the approved program in one of the above areas will be recommended for Missouri teacher certification. Physical Education, Foreign Language, Art and Music majors will be recommended for certification in grades K-12. All others will have grades 9-12 recommendation.

It is recommended that the secondary education student also investigate the steps that will lead to Middle School certification, grades 5-9.   MWSU does not have a certification in Middle School Education, but one may be obtained through taking the PRAXIS II for Middle School. 

Admission Requirements

Financial Aid & Scholarships