University of North Carolina at Asheville

Post-baccalaureate students typically complete the program in four semesters, if they start in a fall semester (longer if they start in a spring semester). Licensure courses are sequenced with pre- and co-requisites to provide for scaffolding of pedagogical and professionalism skills.

The second year of the program is called the professional year. In the fall semester candidates complete the capstone teaching methods course appropriate for their licensure area and begin working with the cooperating teacher with whom they will intern in the spring semester. The spring semester of year 2 is dedicated to the 16 week full-time clinical practice internship. 

UNC Asheville licensure candidates complete field placements in a wide range of schools, gaining experience with students from different backgrounds. They log and reflect on cultural, linguistic, gender, academic and socioeconomic factors. Courses emphasize teaching students with different needs, and some are designated as Intensives focused on representation. All candidates take a course on working with a wide variety of learners.

Each teacher licensure candidate is assigned a Department of Education advisor to meet with throughout the semester. The Department of Education hires accomplished teacher licensure students each semester to serve as peer mentors. Student teachers receive support and guidance from both their mentor classroom teacher and a university supervisor. An Induction Committee provides forums for initially licensed teachers/alumni on such topics as student motivation, time management, new teacher coping skills and national board certification.

The UNC Asheville Department of Education operates according to a Conceptual Framework which addresses three tenets: Content, Pedagogy, and Professionalism. Licensure candidates receive a rigorous, balanced education. Department faculty aim to develop teachers of broad perspective who think critically and creatively, communicate effectively and participate actively in their schools and communities. The objective is to provide each candidate with the best possible opportunity to acquire the skills, knowledge and dispositions necessary to pursue their chosen career as an effective teacher in today's society.

UNC Asheville candidates grow in professionalism through their study of the role of professional teachers throughout the program. Department of Education faculty partner with university and P-12 clinical faculty to instill in candidates the content knowledge, pedagogical skills and professional dispositions vital to teaching.

The Department of Education uses a comprehensive assessment system, overseen by the department’s Assessment Committee and based on continuous improvement, to implement a process to strengthen the use of data for improving candidate teaching and learning. Licensure program coordinators study these data to determine action steps for program improvement. Trends in program data are studied by department faculty, and discussed with University School and Teacher Education Partnership (USTEP) committees (made up of department faculty, university Arts and Sciences liaisons, and a representative from each of the department's five partner school districts) and the University School and Teacher Education Council (USTEC) (made up of administrators and teachers from each of the department's partner school districts, department faculty, candidates, and university Arts and Sciences liaisons).