General Studies Program

Description

The graduate program in General Studies in Education is designed to provide the broadest possible service to residents of New York's North Country. It is being modified to meet new Regents regulations for teaching certification. The new regulations go into effect in February 2004 and the modifications to the General Studies Program will be in effect for all students who matriculate in June 2002 or after. This catalog features a description of the program that is currently available in General Studies in Education, and it also features a description of the proposed program to take effect in June 2002. Students should check with the program coordinator to regarding changes in state regulations and the status of the new program throughout the 2001-2002 academic year.

Over the years, the General Studies Program has been refined to keep in mind the needs of parents, social service professionals, community college teachers, governmental agency personnel and other community leaders, in addition to the public school professionals for whom the program was created many years ago. New courses in Conflict Resolution, Applications of Educational Technology, and Issues and Ethics in the Human Service Professions are examples of ways in which we continue to adapt this program to the prospective students' needs. This program offers excellent opportunities for people who occupy virtually any kind of leadership position, including the all-important one of leadership within one's own family unit.

To apply, or request further information, regarding all aspects of this graduate program, contact Dr. Jim Shuman, Coordinator, Graduate Program in General Studies in Education, 315-229-5847.

II. Current Requirements for the M.Ed. in General Studies - 33 sem. hours
This program will continue to be offered to students admitted and matriculated prior to June 2002. A Permanent Certification Option and a Non-Certification Option are available. Both options require 33 semester hours (11 graduate courses). Teachers who have been issued a New York State Provisional Teaching Certificate prior to June 2002 may use this program to qualify for a New York State Permanent Teaching Certificate. Students seeking admission to the General Studies program during or after June 2002 must meet the requirements of the new program, not this current program.

A. Permanent Certification Option
Area 1. Educational Foundations (3 sem. hours)
Select one course:
EDUC 507. Philosophy of Education.
EDUC 515. Conflict Resolution.
EDUC 516. Issues and Ethics in the Human Service Professions.

Area 2. Research (6 sem. hours)
Select two courses:
EDUC 519. Educational Statistics and Research.
EDUC 548. Educational Tests, Measurements and Evaluation.

Area 3. Human Development and Behavior (6 sem. hours)
Select two courses:
EDPS 535. Mental Health in the Schools. OR
EDPS 536. Individual Differences in Children.
EDPS 538. Learning Disabilities. OR
EDUC 581. Principles and Practices of Guidance.

Area 4. Applied Research (3 sem. hours)
Select one course:
EDUC 500. Research Project in Education.
EDUC 600. Graduate Thesis.

Area 5. Teacher Internship or Mentorship Program (3 sem. hours)
EDUC 595. Teacher Internship/Mentorship Program. OR

Select one course:
EDUC 532. Supervision of Instruction.
EDUC 573. Seminar in Teaching.
EDPS 536. Individual Differences in Children.
EDPS 538. Learning Disabilities.

Area 6. Electives (12 sem. hours)
Select four courses, by advisement:

No more than two courses in educational psychology (counseling) may be used in this section. Educational administration courses cannot be used in this section. A second research project may be considered for this area.

B. Non-Certification Option
Same as the Certification Option, but students may substitute courses of interest in Areas 5 and 6 with approval of the advisor.

Note: In both options, the coordinator may approve equivalent substitutions in extraordinary cases.

III. Permanent Certification
The M.Ed. in general studies is currently a "functionally related" degree and may be used by people with provisional certification in any teaching category for permanent teacher certification. It is the student's responsibility to apply for his or her permanent teaching certificate through an area BOCES certification officer or the state education department. Students who apply directly to the State Education Department for permanent teacher certification must include proof that they have participated in two state-mandated workshops - a workshop on child abuse identification and reporting and a workshop on school violence prevention (Project SAVE).

IV. The Current Post-Baccalaureate Provisional Teaching Certification Program
St. Lawrence University's current Post-baccalaureate Teaching Certification Program is offered to students who have graduated from St. Lawrence and other accredited institutions. This program will be replaced by a new post-baccalaureate program for initial teaching certification for graduate students matriculating in June 2002 or after. The current program (and the new program) may be completed as a complement to the master's degree program in general studies in education, or may be completed as a stand-alone program by students who are seeking only provisional teaching certification. The current program provides a pathway leading to New York State provisional teaching certification in the following fields:

Grades 7-12 Grades 7-12 Grades K-12
English Mathematics Art
Social Studies Biology
German Earth Science
French Chemistry
Spanish Physics

The current New York State provisional teaching certificate is accepted in many other states through reciprocal agreements with the New York State Education Department. Students interested in teaching certification in other states should consult with the program coordinator early in their program.

Requirements for Completion of the Current Provisional Certification Program
1. A bachelor's degree with a major in a discipline germane to the certification area (or 36 semester hours in the area). The undergraduate GPA must be at the 2.5 level or higher.

2. Two semesters of successful study of college-level foreign language (or equivalent of three years of secondary school foreign language).

3. Completion of the following four courses in education (or their equivalents) at the 2.5 level or higher:
EDUC 507. Philosophy of Education.
EDPS 550. Human Development and Lifespan Counseling.
EDUC 573. Seminar in Teaching.
EDUC 555. Language Acquisition and Literacy Development Across the Curriculum.

(Note: These four specific courses may by applied toward the requirements of the master's degree in general studies as well.)

Equivalents to EDUC 507 include EDUC 203, Contemporary Issues in Education (an undergraduate course at St. Lawrence), or a comparable foundations course in education at another accredited institution.

Equivalents to EDPS 550 include EDUC 305, Educational Psychology (an undergraduate course in education at St. Lawrence), or a comparable course in educational psychology and/or development at another accredited institution.

Equivalents to EDUC 573 include EDUC 301, Principles of Teaching (an undergraduate course at St. Lawrence), or a com-parable course at another accredited institution that incorporates educational technologies, teaching laboratories and field-work/observation to help students develop NYSED competencies in effective instruction and curriculum development.

Equivalents to EDUC 555 include EDUC 436, Language Acquisition and Literacy Development Across the Curriculum (an undergraduate course in education at St. Law-rence), or a comparable literacy development course at another accredited institution.

4. Completion of Student Teaching (the Professional Semester).
Requirements 1, 2, and 3 above must be completed before stu-dents are admitted to the Professional Semester. Applications to the Professional Semester must be approved by the Univer-sity's Teacher Education Advisory Committee. Enrollment in the following four courses comprises a full load and requires full-time commitment and work for the 15-week semester:
EDUC 585. Seminar: The Dynamics of School Teaching.
EDUC 586. Supervised Student Teaching.
EDUC 587. Supervised Student Teaching.
EDUC 590. Methods of Teaching in the Content Area.

(Note: Different sections of EDUC 590 are offered for each of the certification areas listed above. Students seeking certification in social studies, math, English or the sciences must enroll for a fall semester; applications are due by the previous March 1. Students seeking certification in foreign language, art or physical education must enroll in a spring semester; applications are due by the previous Oct. 1. All student teaching placements will be in or near St. Lawrence County; they will be arranged by the program coordinator and school principals only.)

5. The New York State Education Department currently requires passing scores on the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST) and the written portion of the Assessment of Teaching Skills (ATS-W) of the New York State Teacher Competency Examination (NYSCTE) in order to issue provisional teaching certification. For applicants who did not complete their bachelor's degree at St. Lawrence, a passing score on the LAST is required for admission into student teaching. While a passing score on the ATS-W is not a program requirement for the Provisional Certification Program at St. Lawrence, the program helps to prepare the student for both of these examinations, which must be passed before application can be made for the teaching certificate. For applicants whose undergraduate major was not in the certificate area, NYSED requires a passing score on the appropriate Content Specialty Test (CST) as well. The NYSED also requires completion of two mandated workshops, one on the identification and reporting of child abuse and one on the prevention of school violence. These workshops are provided during the Professional Semester.

(Note: In 2001-2002, 97 percent of St. Lawrence University teacher education students passed the LAST, and 97 percent of the teacher education students passed the ATS-W on the first time they took the exams. Data regarding achievement on the CST are not available for 1999-2000.)

V. New Requirements for the M.Ed. in General Studies - 36 sem. hours
(effective beginning in June 2002)

A. Professional Certification Option
(This program of study is valid for recommendation for the following New York State professional certificate areas: adolescence education; middle childhood education (specialist); teacher of students with disabilities in middle childhood education (specialist); teacher of students with disabilities in adolescence education; teacher of a special subject; or teacher of the career field of agriculture, or business and marketing.)

Area 1. Foundations of Education (6 sem. hours)
EDUC 507. Philosophy of Education.

Select one course (3 sem. hours):
EDUC 516. Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions. OR
EDUC 515. Conflict Resolution.

Area 2. Educational Research (9 sem. hours)
EDUC 512. Educational Statistics and Research.
EDUC 548. Tests, Measurement and Evaluation.

Select one course:
EDUC 500. Research Project in Education. OR
EDUC 600. Thesis.

Area 3. Learning and Behavior (3 sem. hours)

Select one course:
EDPS 536. Individual Differences in Children.
EDPS 538. Learning Disabilities.
EDPS 550. Human Development and Lifespan Counseling.
EDPS 560. Cognitive Science and Learning Theory.

Area 4. Curriculum and Instruction (6 sem. hours)
EDUC 595. Internship/Mentorship Program. (6 sem. hours) OR

Select two courses:
EDUC 504. Applications of Educational Technology.
EDUC 530. Constructivist Practices for Learner Centered Classrooms.
EDUC 540. Language Acquisition and Literacy Development across the Curriculum.
EDUC 599. Curriculum Development.

Area 5. Pedagogical Content and Subject Matter Studies (12 sem. hours)
Select four courses:
EDUC 566. SpTp: Pedagogical Content in the Certificate Area.
[The new NYSED regulations require "at least 12 semester hours in graduate study in the subject of the certificate or that links pedagogy and content in the subject of the certificate or a related subject." New courses in Pedagogical Content Studies will be offered every year. They will be transcripted under the education departmental title (e.g., EDUC 566, SpTp: Constructivist Approaches to Teaching Geometry).] OR
DEPT 566. SpTp: Subject Matter Studies.
[Graduate students may take selected graduate-level versions of upper-level (300-400 level) undergraduate courses in the academic departments at St. Lawrence. In order to enroll, a student must have permission of the instructor, who will provide a separate syllabus (or addendum) with appropriate graduate-level expectations, assignments, and grading criteria. The courses will be transcripted under the departmental title (e.g., English 566, SpTp: Shakespeare's Tragedies).]

B. Combined Initial and Professional Certificate Option
Specific entrance requirements for the option:
1. Bachelor's degree from accredited institution of higher education (verified by official transcripts).

2. Undergraduate content coursework equivalent to St. Lawrence University's registered program in the certificate(s) sought. (Deficiencies in the content core must be made up by approved coursework at SLU or other accredited institutions of higher education, either on the undergraduate or graduate level.)

3. Undergraduate cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher, or demonstrated promise for success in teaching

4. Application essay (writing sample)

5. Three (3) recent recommendations for prospects in teaching in certificate area, to be sent directly to the program coordinator.

Part 1. New Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program
(Stand-alone program leading to Initial Certification in Adolescence Education in 7-12 English, Foreign Language, Math, Science and Social Studies; or in Special Subjects: K-12 Art- 27 sem. hours required for initial certification.)

Foundations and Prerequisites (15 sem. hours- applied to M.Ed.)
EDUC 507. Philosophy of Education.
EDUC 573. Teaching and Learning in Public Schools.
EDPS 538. Learning Disabilities.
EDPS 550. Human Development & Lifespan Counseling.
EDUC 540. Literacy and Language Development across the Curriculum.

Professional Semester (12 sem. hours- not applicable to the M.Ed.)
EDUC 585. Seminar: Dynamics of School Teaching.
EDUC 586. Supervised Student Teaching.
EDUC 588. Individual Differences in Inclusive Classrooms.
EDUC 590. Methods, Materials and Literacy in the Content Area.

(Separate sections for each certificate area)

Part 2. Additional Requirements for the M.Ed. in General Studies
(leading to Professional Certification - 36 sem. hours total required for M.Ed.)
Educational Research (9 sem. hours)
EDUC 519. Educational Statistics and Research.
EDUC 548. Educational Tests, Measurements and Evaluation.
EDUC 500. Research Project. OR
EDUC 600. Thesis.
Pedagogical and Subject Matters Studies (12 sem. hours)
EDUC 595. Internship/Mentorship Program. (6 sem. hours)

Plus select any two courses below. OR
Select four courses:
EDUC 504. Applications of Educational Technology.
EDUC 530. Constructivist Practices for Learner Centered Classrooms.
EDPS 560. Cognitive Science and Learning Theory.
EDUC 599. Curriculum Development.
EDUC 566. SpTp: Pedagogical Content Studies.
DEPT 566. SpTp: Subject Matter Studies (in academic departments)

C. Non-Certificate Option

This program of study is open to all students interested in advancing their knowledge in the field of education at any level. It does not qualify for recommendation for any teaching certificate in New York State.

Area 1. Foundations of Education (6 sem. hours)
EDUC 507. Philosophy of Education. [required]
Select one course:
EDUC 515. Conflict Resolution. OR
EDUC 516. Issues and Ethics in the Human Service Professions.

Area 2. Educational Research (9 sem. hours)
EDUC 512. Educational Statistics and Research.
EDUC 548. Tests, Measurement and Evaluation.
EDUC 500. Research Project in Education. OR
EDUC 600. Thesis.

Area 3. Learning and Behavior (6 sem. hours)
EDPS 535. Mental Health in the Schools.
EDPS 536. Individual Differences in Children.
EDPS 538 Learning Disabilities.
EDPS 550 Human Development and Lifespan Counseling.
EDPS 560 Cognitive Science and Learning Theory.
EDUC 581 Principals and Practices of Guidance.

Area 4. Curriculum and Instruction (6 sem. hours)
EDUC 504. Applications of Educational Technology.
EDUC 530. Constructivist Practices in Education.
EDUC 540. Literacy and Language Development across the Curriculum.
EDUC 573. Teaching and Learning in Public Schools.
EDUC 599. Curriculum Development.

Area 5. Electives (12 sem. hours)

Under approval of the advisor, these electives can be appropriate courses in EDUC, EDPS, EDAD, or DEPT. They can also be approved graduate courses transferred from other accredited institutions.

VI. Placement Information for St. Lawrence University Graduates

Approximately 65 percent of students completing teacher preparation programs at St. Lawrence in 2000-2001 entered the teaching profession as new teachers within one year after graduation. Approximately 20 percent entered full-time graduate school and the remaining 15 percent followed other career paths.

Teacher supply and demand data from the American Association for Employment in Education for the year 2002-2003 indicate that there is moderate demand throughout the U.S., including the Northeast, for teachers of 7-12 English, sciences, mathematics, Spanish and German. Demand for teachers of K-12 art and 7-12 social studies and French is balanced.