You will declare your major and/or minor during the second semester.

You'll complete EDUC 2000: Introduction to Teaching and Educational Technology, take and pass PRAXIS Core by April and apply to the teacher education program and complete a criminal background history.

Complete your junior year professional sequence. You will maintain a required academic average, take and pass appropriate specialty area tests required for licensure (pre-requisite for admission to student teaching). Apply and be admitted to a student teaching program.

Enroll in a student teaching and EDUC 4500 Professional Leadership Seminar. Complete the appropriate edTPA portfolio. A passing score on edTPA is required for licensure.

All undergraduates participate in internships and service learning during their coursework, providing them with the hands-on application of their learning in real-world, on-the-job situations. Catawba’s Elementary Education majors engage in a year-long internship and mentoring experiences at a local public school. Dual Elementary/Special Education majors participate in an additional semester of internship. Middle, secondary, and special subject majors enroll in content-specific methods classes with internship experiences of 30 or more hours per semester. Enrollment in Internship in K-12 Education allows additional classroom experience ranging from 1 to 40 hours per week of classroom experience.

Students can actively engage in Teacher Education activities outside of the classroom through participation in the Student North Carolina Association of Educators chapter at Catawba.  Activities sponsored by the chapter include community service events in the local schools, Professional Learning Community and Professional Development activities, as well as social events.

Prospective education teachers learn to provide instruction to children with disabilities in courses such as Psychology of Exceptionalities and Adapting Activities for Special Populations. In literacy methods coursework required for all candidates, students receive instruction in best practices for supporting ELL students. Candidates in Learning Environments and Professional Practice and methods classes learn strategies for providing instruction to children with disabilities, children from low income families, and limited English proficient students. Effective strategies for working with diverse populations are learned in specific methods classes which are connected with internship experiences in local schools that serve diverse populations.

Students enrolled in methods courses are partnered with a mentor teacher where they observe best practices of experienced classroom teachers. Mentor teachers and college supervisors provide oral and written feedback for informal and formal lessons taught by the intern. During the student teaching semester, the student teacher is placed with a cooperating teacher who provides support and gives oral and written feedback throughout the semester. Each student teacher is observed by the college supervisor numerous times and is given written feedback.

The Catawba College Department of Teacher Education has partnerships with Rowan-Salisbury Schools and surrounding county school systems through Memorandums of Understanding. The conceptual framework, Teacher as Reflective Practitioner, provides the philosophical foundation for Catawba College’s teacher education undergraduate programs. Feedback and evaluation about performance are received from college faculty and school-based partners as a candidate progresses through the program. Students complete an evaluation of their internship experience. Program completers have an opportunity to complete the Survey of New Teachers one year after completion. Data from these evaluations is used in guiding program development.