TITLE II, HIGHER EDUCATION ACT
INSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
ON THE QUALITY OF TEACHER EDUCATION
2001-2002
Title II of the Higher Education Act requires institutions of higher education that prepare teachers to report the pass rates of their graduates or program completers on teacher licensure exams taken by 10 or more students to the State Education Agency. Additional information that relates to the quality of teacher preparation is also reported. The State Department of Education must then submit a state report summarizing the results of all teacher preparation institutions that is submitted to the U. S. Department of Education. This web site discloses the results from the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Reno for its 2001-2002 program completers.
Section 1. Pass Rates
The UNR pass rates were calculated by the Educational Testing Service. The following tables represent those data. To view the tables, choose the following link:
Get tables
Section II. Program Information
- Total number of students enrolled during 2001-2002: 469*
- Total number of students in programs of supervised student teaching during academic year 2001-2002: 242
- Total number of faculty in supervision of teacher preparation students during 2001-2002: 52
9 Appointed full-time in professional education
2 Appointed part-time in professional education and full-time
in the institution
41 Appointed part-time in professional education, not otherwise
employed by the institution
- The student/faculty ratio: 4.65 students per faculty member
- The average number of hours per week required of student participation in supervised student teaching was: 37.5hours. The total number of weeks of supervised student teaching required is 16 weeks. The total number of hours required is 600 hours. Twenty weeks totaling 750 hours is required for elementary/special education dual majors.
- The teacher education program is currently approved by the state.
- The teacher preparation program is not currently designated as “low-performing” by the state as defined by section 208 (a) of the HEA of 1998.
*This number includes only those students who have been admitted to a teacher education program.
Section III. Contextual Information
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION VISION AND MISSION
Vision
Commitment to inspire learners through collaboration and innovation
Mission
We strive to be a College of Education where faculty, staff, and students are engaged in significant work and dedicated to improving education for each person. We seek to inspire those who pursue careers in education to value learning and the learner. Together, we provide information, service, and support to community members, including families, allied professionals, and policymakers.
To Share Core Values. Faculty, staff, and students are guided by a strong sense of community that encourages collaboration, innovation, and involvement in a diverse society. We are lifelong learners, who make decisions about our learning. We strive to respect and express concern for each other and we are motivated by a spirit to risk. We value trust, fairness, and open-mindedness.
To Create Learning Environments. We seek to create dynamic learning environments with services and programs for licensure, professional development, and preparation for positions in leadership and higher education. Faculty, staff, and students strive to work together in mutual respect and are enriched by each other's ideas and dedication. Our work is supported by research and scholarship in order to improve professional practice and contribute to the knowledge base in our fields of study. We engage in outreach activities that are informed by scholarship and that influence educational practice and policy.
To Accomplish Results. We prepare professionals who embody the conceptual framework of the College of Education by demonstrating a love of learning, a strong fund of knowledge, an ability to reflect as practitioners, and a commitment to democracy and multiculturalism. We are scholars who conduct research and disseminate findings that inform our practice and policy, as well as that in the broader educational community. We provide educational leadership to the state and the nation.
Together We Make A Difference!
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The conceptual framework for basic and advanced professional preparation programs at the University of Nevada, Reno is organized around four themes: a lifelong love of learning; a strong fund of knowledge concerning all aspects of education; reflection on educational practices, and valuing democracy and multiculturalism. Although the term "conceptual framework" implies a fixed structure, we view this framework as being dynamic and one in which professional educators must immerse themselves. The framework changes as the paradigms held by science, art, and technology shift. The framework changes with the unique circumstances of the individual educator.
Love of Learning
Knowledge is not a fixed set of truths which are handed down. Therefore, educators must be open to discovery and derive pleasure as the mind extends life themes into new realms of meaning. Learning is intrinsically rewarding, combining the cognitive with the affective. Mastery, curiosity, and the desire to know become animating forces in the intellectual life of a learner. Because of a love of learning and desire to meet the needs and desires of students, educators must seek to build a growing repertoire of knowledge, as well as professional skills.
Strong Fund of Knowledge
Educator's intellectual resources and dispositions largely determine their capacity to engage students' minds and hearts in learning. Therefore, a strong fund of subject matter knowledge is essential in professional preparation. Educators must possess knowledge of, knowledge about, and a positive disposition toward subject matter. Educators must also possess a strong fund of pedagogical knowledge in order to adequately represent subject matter to students, or to translate knowledge into classroom curricular events. Pedagogical content knowledge represents a blending or melding of content and pedagogy that is uniquely the province of teachers, their own special form of professional understanding. To maximize the use of pedagogical knowledge, educators must possess a rich knowledge base about learners; including knowledge about physical, cognitive, and affective development and the role of a student's experiential background in the learning process. Educators must also possess a strong fund of curricular knowledge including different views of curriculum and ensuing consequences for the role of the educator; some conception of curricular planning processes and the knowledge necessary to carry it out; and the realities of curricular decision making. Educators must be able to link subject matter with pedagogy as they shape experiences that enable students to develop and learn.
Reflective Practice
Educators should be able to make sound judgments and choices in selecting particular approaches and adapting them in ways that are consistent with their goals and that serve the best interests of their students. Educators who become experts at their craft have learned how to reflect systematically and develop strategies for learning from their experiences. Such an ability will depend on the acquisition of a reflective attitude toward teaching. Reflective teaching should be thought of as a general professional disposition, regardless of the philosophical framework out of which one works. Reflective practice informs decision-making, which is a key element in the instructional process, and is essential to effective participation in an educational setting.
Democracy and Multiculturalism
We live in a pluralistic society that reflects a rich and diverse mixture of cultures and experiences. Consequently, schools should provide learning opportunities that give all students access to forms of social, political, and economic power. The purpose of educational institutions should be to give voice to the diversity of its people, as well as represent dominant values and positions. This must be done within a critical framework that supports open forums for discussion and debate, as well as toward forms of schooling that are empowering in intent and are rooted in forms of social justice and community. Representation of the diversity of thinking that is reflective of a multicultural society is mandatory within educational institutions that support multiculturalism. Open access to information is of critical importance within a multicultural democratic community.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Teacher education students at the University of Nevada, Reno can choose from among five majors: elementary education, special education, dual elementary/special education, early childhood education, and secondary
education. There are 25 teaching majors and 34 teaching minors from which secondary education students may choose their teaching specialty. The elementary education, special education, and early childhood education majors are considered four-year programs in which students complete all course work as well as their student teaching internship within the Bachelor's degree. The dual and secondary education majors are four and one-half year programs in which students complete all course work within the Bachelor's degree and do their student teaching internship at the post baccalaureate level.
The student internship is sixteen weeks in length for students majoring in elementary, special, early childhood, or secondary education. Dual majors intern for a period of 20 weeks in which 10 weeks are spent in a regular elementary classroom and 10 are spent in a special education setting.
Students may become certified through one of three different programs at the University of Nevada, Reno. The programs include the regular undergraduate degree program, a "professional degree" program, and a Master of Education/First Time Licensure program. The professional degree program is for individuals who have a Bachelor's degree and wish to complete only their Nevada licensure requirements. Those students take the necessary content and pedagogy courses for licensure in Nevada. The Master of Education/First Time Licensure program combines licensure course requirements with a Master's degree. However, completing the licensure courses will not meet all requirements for the Master's degree; students must complete additional course work to finish the degree.
The College of Education at the University of Nevada, Reno is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), 2010 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036; phone (202) 466-7496. This accreditation covers the institution's initial teacher preparation and advanced educator preparation programs. Programs within the College of Education are also approved by the Nevada State Board of Education.
Demographics
During the fall semester of the 2001-2002 reporting year, the College
of Education at the University of Nevada, Reno had approximately 469(see
note below) students admitted to and enrolled in various teacher education
programs. The demographic breakout of those students was as follows:
| Demographic Information |
Number |
| Male |
90 |
| Female |
379 |
| American Indian/Alaskan Native |
12 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander |
7 |
| Black, Not Hispanic |
5 |
| Hispanic |
3 |
| Non-resident Alien |
1 |
| White, Not Hispanic |
392 |
| Unknown |
19 |
Additionally, the College had 834 students (233 males and 601females) enrolled as pre-majors in education. These are students who have not yet been admitted to a teacher education program.
Note: Those students enrolled in the Master of Education/First Time Licensure program are classified by the university as graduate students, and are not included in this count. We do not have a system of identifying those graduate students separately as individuals also in a teacher education licensure program. Therefore, our total number of teacher education students is slightly more than the numbers reported above.
CLINICAL EXPERIENCES FOR STUDENTS
Our teacher education programs are considered to be field-based. As such, students spend a great deal of time in practicum experiences working with children/pupils prior to their semester long student teaching internship. These experiences are progressive in nature in that students begin by observing and assisting the classroom teacher. Later, they will be co-teaching or solo teaching lessons to the entire class. The following table depicts the amount of time in each course in the various programs that students spend in practica prior to their internship.
Courses with Teacher Education Number of hours
practicum component Programs in practicum during
the semester
EE* ECE* XE* Dual SE*
CI 160 Intro to Elementary Ed XX XX XX 30
CI 201 Society, the Student and
the Secondary Schools XX 10
CI 260 Classroom Learning Envir XX XX 30
CI 212 Exceptional Child Exper XX XX XX 30
CI 350 Secondary Pedagogy I XX 30
CI 360 Language Arts and
Literature K-3 XX XX 9
CI 361 Language Arts and
Literature 4-8 XX XX 9
CI 363 Practicum in K-8 Math XX XX 30
CI 365 Practicum in Elem Science XX XX 39
CI 403 Special Ed Practicum: Elem XX XX 30
CI 405 Literacy Instr: Indiv and
Small Group XX XX XX 24
CI 437 Special Ed Practicum: Sec XX XX 30
CI 450 Secondary Pedagogy II XX 30
HDFS 233 Practicum with Children
and Families XX 112
HDFS 428 Preschool Curriculum I XX 45
HDFS 429 Preschool Curriculum II XX 45
*EE = Elementary Education, ECE = Early Childhood Education, XE = Special
Education, Dual = Dual Elementary/Special Education, and SE = Secondary
Education.
In summary, students in teacher education programs at the University of Nevada, Reno spend the following number of hours in various practica prior to their semester long internship:
| Program |
Total Number of Hours |
| Elementary Education |
201 |
| Early Childhood Education |
202 |
| Special Education |
144 |
| Dual Elementary/Special Education |
261 |
| Secondary Education |
70 |
Additionally, many students seek out other field experiences on their own such as private tutoring, tutoring for agencies, and substitute teaching.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION TO TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Students wishing to pursue a teacher education major may enter the College of Education as a pre-major until they meet the requirements for admission to teacher education. As a pre-major, students can take introductory courses, educational psychology, computers in education, and the school law course. They cannot take upper division methods courses until they have been admitted to teacher education. In order for students to be admitted to teacher education, they must:
- Have completed 30 credits of college course work. The college course work for secondary education majors should include the core curriculum requirements in English, mathematics, and natural sciences.
- Have a minimum overall grade point average of 2.75 or a 2.5 for secondary education majors.
- Pass the basic skills tests in reading, writing, and mathematics. Tests are any of those allowed by the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) for teacher licensure - PPST, CBT, or CBEST. Passing scores are the same as those required by the NDE.
- Complete an application form for Admission to Teacher Education.
- Submit two confidential letters of recommendation.
- Submit a typed one to two page essay entitled "Qualities I Bring to the Teaching Profession".
- Secondary education majors must also complete CI 201 Society, the Student and the Secondary School with a grade of C or better.
Individuals with Bachelor's degrees may obtain an exception to the basic skills testing requirement consistent with those offered by the Nevada Department of Education. For example, the NDE does not require the basic skills test of individuals who have a Master's degree. Therefore, if an individual enters a teacher education program with a Master's degree, he/she is not required to take the basic skills test. Graduate level students who have taken the Graduate Record Exam may use their GRE scores in place of the basic skills test if they 1) have completed an undergraduate degree with a grade point average of 3.0 or better (as shown on transcripts), and 2) show GRE scores that meet the following minimums: a) GRE verbal: 420, b) GRE Quantitative: 460, and c) GRE Analytical: 430.
On rare occasions, faculty members within a program area have made an exception to the basic skills test requirement at the time of admission. A few exceptions have been granted to students who are non-native English speakers, and faculty members believed those students to have the potential to become an excellent teacher. Those students are still required to meet the Nevada testing requirements for their teaching license, however.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION TO STUDENT TEACHING
In order for a teacher education student to enter the required student internship, he/she must meet the following requirements:
- Complete all course requirements.
- Meet the overall grade point average of 2.75 or 2.5 for secondary education majors. Secondary education majors must also have 2.5 GPA in their teaching major, a 2.3 GPA in their minor, if they have a teaching minor, and a 2.75 in their education course work.
- Hold a valid Nevada substitute teaching license, including fingerprinting and background check.
- Have a valid TB skin test (satisfied through holding a valid substitute license).
- Have the approval of his/her major advisor
.
- Be qualified in the professional judgment of the faculty.
- Secondary education majors must also complete the methods course in their teaching major with a grade of C or better if taken at the 400 level and a B or better if taken at the 500 level.
A performance assessment system is being implemented whereby teacher education students have to demonstrate their ability to meet the INTASC Principles, which faculty have refined into five Domains of Professional Competence. Candidates submit a portfolio prior to being admitted to the internship and at the time of their program completion.
Pass Rate Summary
The College of Education pass rates reported for 2001-2002 indicate that we were at or above the statewide pass rate in almost every area. Our overall pass rate was 96% and the statewide rate was 96%. The following summarizes the institutional and statewide pass rates for each category of tests in which there were 10 or more students from our institution who took the exams:
| Basic Skills |
Institutional |
100% |
Statewide |
97% |
| Professional Knowledge |
Institutional |
96% |
Statewide |
97% |
| Academic Content Areas |
Institutional |
94% |
Statewide |
95% |
| Teaching special populations |
Institutional |
70% |
Statewide |
80% |
| Summary Total |
Institutional |
96% |
Statewide |
96% |
May 2003
