Teacher Education
Teacher Education
Distinction Between Certificate, Associate, and Bachelor Degree Programs in Early
Childhood Education
- It is strongly encouraged by the National Associate of the Education for Young Children (NAEYC) that colleges and universities create outcomes for all programs in accordance with the NAEYC Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Education. The standards are listed as outcomes for the BA in ECE on page 142 of the cata-log.
- The certificate programs emphasize practical skills and immediate application in early childhood settings, while the associate degrees include a broader range of general education and specialized courses. Bachelor degrees encompass extensive professional development, leadership, and policy advocacy.
- Certificate completers are prepared for entry-level positions in licensed early childhood education programs, such as aides, assistant teachers, or childcare providers. Associate degree completers are qualified for lead teacher roles, and bachelor degree completer’s are prepared for curriculum development, coaching, and administrative positions.
- Pathway to a Higher Education: The Certificate of Achievement and ECE Skills Certificate programs serves as a stack-able credentials, creating a pathway for students to continue their education towards an Associate of Applied Science or Associate of Arts in Early Childhood Education. This allows students to build on their knowledge and skills as they progress in their careers. The outcomes ensure that students in the ECE Skills Certificate or Certificate of Achievement programs are well-prepared for entry-level roles in early childhood education, while clearly distinguishing the students’ level of expertise from those pursuing an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in ECE.
Student Learning Outcomes
The graduates of this program will consistently display the following skills in accordance
with the InTASC Core Teaching Standards:
Standard #1: Learner Development—The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing
that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the
cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements
developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
Standard #2: Learning Differences—The teacher understands how children learn and develop and can
provide learning opportunities that support their cognitive, social, personal, and
physical development.
Standard #3: Learning Environments—The teacher works with others to create environments that support
individual and collaborative learning, and encourage positive social interaction,
active engagement in learning and self-motivation.
Standard #4: Content Knowledge—The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry,
and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and creates learning experiences
that make these aspects of the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to
assure mastery of the content.
Standard #5: Application of Content—The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use differing
perspectives to engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative
problem solving related to authentic local and global issues.
Standard #6: Assessment—The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage
learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s
and learner’s decision making.
Standard #7: Planning for Instruction—The teacher plans instruction that supports every student
in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum,
cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the
community context.
Standard #8: Instructional Strategies—The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional
strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and
their connections and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice— The teacher engages in ongoing professional
learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly
the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals,
and the community) and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner.
Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration—The teacher seeks appropriate leadership roles and opportunities
to take responsibility for student learning, to collaborate with learners, families,
colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to ensure learner growth,
and to advance the profession.
These performance standards are evaluated using coursework, reflections, observations,
performance-based rubrics, and a teacher-inquiry capstone project.
Accreditation
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accredits this baccalaureate
program.
Teacher Education Program Mission Statement
The mission of the teacher education program of Great Basin College is to provide
a distinctive early childhood, elementary, secondary, and special education program
for rural Nevada.
The teacher education program is designed to develop competence, values, skills, and
knowledge to promote lifelong learning and is distinctive in the following ways:
- We recognize and value diversity in the heritage and traditions of the region;
- We collaborate with school districts across Nevada to offer early and extensive clinical and field experiences throughout the programs;
- We utilize the professional expertise and contributions of faculty and staff in all academic disciplines; and,
- We utilize technology for distance education and delivering education courses throughout Nevada.
Academic Advising
It is highly recommended that students interested in pursuing a degree in elementary
education seek advisement early in their academic program to ensure efficient advancement
through the program. The course of study in elementary education involves the proper
sequencing of methods courses with field experiences. All students are encouraged
to schedule appointments with their advisors on a regular basis. Program degree requirements
and licensure requirements may change.
Contact the education department, 775.327.2132, to schedule an appointment with your
advisor.
Prior to being accepted into the teacher education program, students must successfully
complete the following:
- Teacher Education Program Application form for admission.
- Praxis Core for Educators or CBEST (documentation of passing scores on all three tests, reading, writing, and math, must be received by application deadline.
- 40 college credits.
- Completion of ENG 102 and EDU 250 with a grade of C- or higher and completion of Math 120/120E or higher with a C before acceptance.
- A GPA of 3.0 or higher, based on the student’s most recent 40 credits.
- Official transcripts from all other colleges sent to GBC’s admissions and records office.
- Technology and education courses completed within the last eight years.
- A review of conduct with the student conduct officer.
After students have met all of the program requirements, they will be accepted into
the Teacher Education Program. Contact the education department to receive a copy
of the most current GBC teacher education program admission handbook.
Endorsement Areas
Students majoring in elementary education will select a subject area endorsement,
which will strengthen them as teachers and may improve their employability. The following
subject endorsement areas are offered at Great Basin College:
- Early Childhood Education Endorsement
- ELAD — (English Language Acquisition and Development) Endorsement
- Special Education (Generalist K-12) Endorsement
- SEAD (Social Emotional Academic Development) Endorsement
Maintaining Good Standing
Once in the program, students will adhere to the rules of the current teacher education
program handbook. Students who have been admitted to the teacher education program
must maintain their status as students in good standing to be allowed to student teach
and graduate. The requirements are as follows:
- Maintain a cumulative 2.5 GPA at GBC.
- Receive no lower than a B- in all upper-division education and endorsement requirements, and no lower than a C- in all additional baccalaureate programs and emphasis courses.
- Maintain an ethical and professional standard of behavior.
- Receive satisfactory evaluations in field work.
Student Teaching Internship
Applications for the student teaching internships must be completed during the last
semester of coursework. Students who plan to student teach in the fall semester must
submit an application by February 15. Students who plan to student teach in the spring
semester must submit an application by September 15.
Students must hold a current substitute license, have maintained a 2.5 cumulative
GPA at GBC, receive satisfactory evaluation in field work, and have taken or be registered
for the Praxis II.
During the student teaching internship semester, students are required to take the
capstone seminar (EDEL 491).
Students must complete at least 15 education credits, including at least two credits
in field experience classes at GBC in order to student teach.
Capstone Project
Students will be required to complete a capstone project. An introduction to the process
will take place in EDEL/ EDSC 311 and development will continue throughout the program
with workshops during each field experience class. Students will complete the capstone
project during the student teaching internship. Presentations of the capstone projects
take place immediately following the internship.
Nevada Department of Education Licensure
Requirements
According to Nevada Revised Statutes, all teaching licenses in Nevada are granted
by the Nevada State Board of Education.
Student Learning Outcomes
The graduates of this program will consistently display the following skills in accordance
with the InTASC Core Teaching Standards:
Standard #1: Learner Development—The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns
of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic,
social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally
appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
Standard #2: Learning Differences—The teacher understands how children learn and develop and can provide learning opportunities
that support their cognitive, social, personal, and physical development.
Standard #3: Learning Environments—The teacher works with others to create environments that support individual and
collaborative learning and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement
in learning, and self-motivation.
Standard #4: Content Knowledge—The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of
the discipline(s) he or she teaches and creates learning experiences that make these
aspects of the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery
of the content.
Standard #5: Application of Content—The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives to
engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving
related to authentic local and global issues.
Standard #6: Assessment—The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners
in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s and learner’s
decision making.
Standard #7: Planning for Instruction—The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning
goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills,
and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Standard #8: Instructional Strategies—The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage
learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections and
to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice— The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually
evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions
on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community) and adapts
practice to meet the needs of each learner.
Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration—The teacher seeks appropriate leadership roles and opportunities to take responsibility
for student learning, to collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other school
professionals, and community members to ensure learner growth, and to advance the
profession.
These performance standards are assessed through coursework, portfolios, reflections,
observations, and performance-based rubrics.
Accreditation
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accredits this baccalaureate
program.
Teacher Education Program Mission Statement
The mission of the teacher education program of Great Basin College is to provide
a distinctive early childhood education, elementary, secondary, and special education
program for Nevada.
The teacher education program is designed to develop competence, values, skills, and
knowledge to promote lifelong learning and is distinctive in the following ways:
- We recognize and value diversity in the heritage and traditions of the region;
- We collaborate with Nevada school districts to offer early and extensive clinical and field experiences throughout the programs;
- We use the professional expertise and contributions of faculty and staff in all academic disciplines; and,
- We use technology for distance education and delivering education courses throughout Nevada.
Academic Advising
It is highly recommended that students interested in pursuing a degree in secondary
education seek advisement early in their academic program to ensure efficient advancement
through the program. The course of study in secondary education involves the proper
sequencing of methods courses with field experiences. All students are encouraged
to schedule appointments with their advisors on a regular basis. Program degree requirements
and licensure requirements may change. Contact the education department at 775.327.2132
to schedule an appointment with your advisor.
Admission to the Teacher Education Program
Prior to being accepted into the teacher education program, students must successfully
complete the following:
- Praxis Core exam (documentation of passing scores on all three exams must be received by application deadline).
- 40 college credits.
- Prior to acceptance, completion of ENG 102,
- MATH 120, 120E, 126, 126E or higher, and
- EDU 250 (requires grade of C- or higher).
- A GPA of 3.0 or higher, based on the student’s most recent 40 credits.
- Official transcripts from all other colleges sent to GBC’s Admissions and Records office.
- Technology and education courses completed within the last eight years.
- A review of conduct with the student conduct officer.
After the specified prerequisites have been met, students must formally apply for
admission into the teacher education program. Contact the education department to
receive a copy of the most current GBC teacher education program admission handbook.
Endorsement Areas
Students majoring in secondary education must select a subject area endorsement. The
following subject emphasis areas are offered at Great Basin College:
- Biological Science
- Business Education
- English
- Mathematics
- Social Sciences
- Additional endorsements include: ELAD—English Language Acquisition and Development
- Special Education (Generalist K-12)
Maintaining Good Standing
Once in the program, students will adhere to the rules of the current teacher education
program handbook. Students who have been admitted to the teacher education program
will maintain their status as students in good standing and be allowed to graduate,
if they meet the following requirements:
- Maintain a cumulative 2.5 GPA at GBC.
- Receive no lower than a B- in all upper-division education courses, and no lower than a C- in all additional baccalaureate program and emphasis requirements.
- Maintain an ethical/professional standard of behavior.
- Receive satisfactory evaluations in field work.
Student Teaching Internship
Applications for the student teaching internships must be completed during the last
semester of coursework. Students who plan to student teach in the fall semester must
submit an application by February 15. Students who plan to student teach in the spring
semester must submit an application by September 15. Students must hold a current
substitute license, have maintained a 2.5 cumulative GPA at GBC, receive a satisfactory
field work evaluation, and have taken or be registered for the Praxis II.
During the student teaching internship semester, students are required to take the
capstone seminar (EDSC 491). Students must complete at least 15 education credits,
to include at least two credits in field experience classes at GBC in order to student
teach.
Capstone Project
Students will be required to complete a capstone project. An introduction to the process
will take place in EDEL/ EDSC 311 and development will continue throughout the program
with workshops during each field experience class. Students will complete the capstone
project during the student teaching internship. Presentations of the capstone projects
take place immediately following the internship.
Nevada Department of Education Licensure Requirements
According to Nevada Revised Statutes, all teaching licenses in Nevada are granted
by the Nevada State Board of Education.
All Teacher Education Program students must meet the Nevada Department of Education
requirements in order to be licensed.