EDU 461 Senior Seminar I

1 Credit

To effectively prepare students for their Student Teaching Practicum experience, Senior Seminar I must be taken the semester prior to student teaching. Throughout the course, time is allotted for students to share their thoughts and issues regarding their student teaching experience. Other portions of the course are devoted to guiding students as they work to complete their pre-student teaching requirements and become familiar with the placement process. Students are also involved in organizing their student teaching binder that will serve to file examples of their work during the practicum experience. Materials are ultimately selected from these binders to be organized into a presentation portfolio that provides evidence that students have met the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Ten Standards for Pre-service Teachers.

Prerequisite(s): Senior status in the major and a passing grade of each of the PSST tests (Reading, Writing, and Math).

NOTE: All students pursuing Early Elementary (PK–4) and Special Education (PK–8) Certification are required to successfully complete ECE 101, Teaching as a Profession: PK–4, before taking any other required course in the major. Students pursuing Secondary Teacher Certification in either Biology/General Science, English, or Social Studies are required to successfully complete EDU 101, Teaching as a Profession, before taking any other required course in the major. Proof of a current FBI Fingerprint Clearance, a Pennsylvania Child Abuse Clearance, and a Pennsylvania Criminal Background Clearance is required and must be submitted to the Dean of Education and Human Service’s office in order to begin any ECE, EDU, or SPEC course. No student may begin these classes without all current clearances.