How to Choose a Teaching Program

In North Carolina, most licensure-only programs are residency licensure programs. However, a few universities also offer “traditional” licensure-only pathways. These take less time than a master’s program and include a student teaching component. 

A licensure-only program may be a good fit if:

• You decide later in college or after earning a degree that you want to teach in a field closely related to your undergraduate major.
• You want a more affordable teaching program option. 

With a licensure-only program, you can:

• Practice teaching with a mentor teacher before you lead your own classroom.
• Explore full-time and part-time program options.
• Control when you enroll in your program.

An undergraduate licensure and bachelor’s program may be a good fit if:

You know what subject and grade level you want to teach. 

With an undergraduate licensure and bachelor’s program, you can:

• Complete your teaching program as part of earning your bachelor’s degree.
• Reduce the total cost and time you spend working toward your license.

Most colleges and universities with an undergraduate teaching program also have a master’s program.

A master’s degree and licensure program may be a good fit if:

You decide later in college or after earning a degree that you want to teach in a field closely related to your undergraduate major. 

With a master’s degree and licensure program, you can:

• Gain even greater knowledge of your content and practice teaching before you lead your own classroom as a “teacher of record” (a.k.a. the primary adult in the classroom).
• Explore full-time and part-time program options.
• Control when you enroll in your program.

Residency licensure programs are one-year programs for candidates who have mastered their subject matter but still need to learn how to teach. You’ll teach in your own classroom and take coursework in the evenings. 

A residency licensure program might be a good fit if: 

• You’re a career changer.
• You want a lot of hands-on practice and mentorship support.
• You need a more affordable teaching program option.

With a residency licensure program, you can…

• Teach in a school district while you meet your licensure requirements. 
• Earn a paycheck during your licensure program.

For more information about residency licensure, visit the TeachNC Alternative Licensure page.

What is hands-on, pre-service experience? 

Pre-service experience refers to any teaching practice you get before you lead your own classroom. This experience can come in a variety of forms.

Pre-service experience in traditional licensure programs

In traditional undergraduate, master's or licensure-only programs, your pre-service program typically includes one or two semesters of working in an experienced teacher’s classroom. This is usually called "student teaching" and often occurs during your final year. 

Why is hands-on experience important? 

Teachers are more likely to feel prepared for their first year in the classroom if they get plenty of classroom experience as a part of their prep program. Opportunities to observe other teachers and to practice teaching can make all the difference for early-career educators. 

As a rule, more pre-service experience is better, but quality definitely matters. 

Make sure to ask any prospective programs about what their pre-service experience entails, including:

• How long it lasts.
• How the program selects mentor teachers.
• How you will receive feedback on your practice.

What does “teaching diverse populations” mean? 

Your teaching program should prepare you to teach students with diverse learning styles, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and social and emotional needs.

Preparation to teach diverse populations can include: 

• Coursework that specifically addresses the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse student populations.
• Training on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) or trauma.
• Coaching and feedback on culturally relevant pedagogy. 
• Learning how unconscious biases can lead to disproportionately disciplining some students, especially students of color.
• How to check for biases when teaching.

Why is preparation to teach diverse populations important? 

North Carolina schools have some of the most diverse student populations in the nation. Over 50% of students are students of color, and with a growing immigrant population and a high percentage of rural students, diversity is a key strength and core value for North Carolina communities. 

Many students, especially those experiencing poverty, come to school impacted by trauma. Trauma can cause students to enter "fight or flight" mode more often, making it harder for them to absorb lessons. There’s a growing body of research helping educators understand how to effectively support these students, so that they are able to thrive in school.

North Carolina needs more teachers who are licensed in special education and bilingual education. These teachers sometimes receive signing or yearly bonuses from their districts.  

Ask teaching programs about how they prepare teachers to work with diverse students, including:

• What, if any, required courses focus on diverse populations.
• What hands-on practice you’ll get working with diverse students.
• What skills you’ll build to work with diverse students. 

What does “mentoring and coaching” mean? 

Your teaching program should provide an experienced and highly effective mentor and coach to give meaningful feedback during your training process. 

Mentorship in the classroom

Most programs will put you in a classroom under the supervision of a mentor, master or host teacher (different names for essentially the same thing) during your pre-service experience.

You might start off only observing and then start teaching more and more. Mentor teachers give you constructive feedback to help you grow in ability and confidence.

Program coaches

Programs also send coaches to visit and observe you in your classroom at regular intervals. Coaches can give you additional feedback and help you think through challenges you're experiencing. 

Sometimes, coaches will visit you even after your pre-service experience is over, when you’re the primary teacher in a classroom. 

Preventing burnout 

Some teaching programs also dive into how stress might impact your well-being, and how to develop tools to keep you healthy and thriving in the classroom. After all, teaching—like all impactful professions—is challenging. Having strategies for self-care will help you avoid burnout. 

Why is mentoring and coaching important?

When you’re starting out as a teacher, you want to learn from someone whose work you want to emulate. Many teachers will tell you that having a mentor teacher, especially a mentor who is in a similar subject area and grade level, is critical for success.

Your mentor teacher will have a big impact on the kind of teacher you’ll become, your attitude toward teaching and your professional growth mindset. 

Ask prospective programs about their mentoring and coaching support, including:

• How they select mentor teachers and coaches.
• How they match you with a mentor teacher or coach.
• What they expect from mentor teachers and coaches.
• How they ensure that mentor teachers and coaches model effective practices and give helpful feedback. 
• How they help teacher candidates learn to manage stress and avoid burnout. 
• Whether they provide any continued support during your first few years as a teacher.

Be picky! You will be better prepared if your mentor is an engaged, highly effective teacher in your chosen field. The most highly rated teaching programs typically have strong mentor teachers.

What does “commitment to improvement” mean?

Your teaching program should show commitment to the continuous improvement of its teacher preparation practices. This might be the hardest criteria to spot as you shop for programs. 

Programs with a strong commitment to improvement might: 

• Ask for regular feedback from students, recent alumni, partner schools and districts. 
• Research data on child development, learning styles, and instructional practices. 
• Actively work to recruit and retain diverse teacher candidates, mentors, professors and instructors. 
• Partner with diverse schools, districts and professional enrichment programs.
• Set clear goals and standards for student achievement and skill-building. 
• Make changes in response to current events in education, policy and cultural shifts. 

Why is commitment to improvement important? 

Our world is changing rapidly, and so are the skills you’ll need to teach students. To be prepared for the classrooms of today and tomorrow, you’ll want your program to be up-to-date on research about childhood development, serving diverse populations and how humans learn and grow. This benefits you and your future students!

You can ask prospective programs about their improvement practices, including: 

• How they collect, share and use research and data with teaching faculty and students.
• How they gather feedback from students and alumni.
• How they assess partnerships with schools and districts.
• How they respond to school and district needs. 
• How they stay up-to-date on effective, relevant educational practices. 
• What their goals are for their teaching programs’ growth.

The North Carolina Educator Preparation Program Dashboard has data on each teaching program in the state, so you can choose the program that’s right for you. 

What’s the difference between the educator prep program dashboard and the TeachNC program explorer? 

The dashboard is a great additional resource to use alongside the TeachNC program explorer. 

The TeachNC Program Explorer

Our program explorer offers in-depth information and nitty-gritty details about teaching programs: things like tuition costs and in-person vs. hybrid classes. You’ll also find semester-by-semester overviews of each program, so you see exactly what you’ll learn and how you’ll learn it. This is a great tool to find programs that fit your needs and learning style! 

The NC Educator Prep Program Dashboard

You can use the Educator Prep Program Dashboard to compare teaching programs more broadly. The dashboard shows trends like program completion rates, post-graduation employment rates and how many teacher candidates passed their licensure exams. 

All data is broken down by race/ethnicity, gender, pathway to licensure and license area, so you can see the experiences of candidates who share your background. 

What does the educator prep program dashboard include? 

The dashboard covers four main areas for each teaching program:

• Candidate selection and completion: See trends in applications, admissions, current enrollment, completion rates and the average time it takes candidates to finish the program.
• Knowledge and skills: Find out what alumni say about how well their program prepared them for the classroom. You can also see how many teacher candidates passed their licensure exam.
• Employment after the program: Learn how many candidates get licensed in North Carolina, begin teaching (and where) and stay for at least two years.
• Performance as teachers: See classroom performance of different teaching candidates, including student growth, classroom management and their principal’s satisfaction in their first year of teaching.