https://www.uwplatt.edu/department/school-education

Director: Tim Buttles
Email: buttlest@uwplatt.edu
Office: 139 Dounda Hall
Phone: 608.342.1485

Teacher Licensure 

• Licensure Requirements
• Approved Licensure Programs
• Statutory and Administrative Code Requirements

Teacher Education

• Elementary and Middle Level Education (K-9th grades)
• Middle - Secondary (4th-12th grades)
• Elementary - Middle - Secondary (K-12th grades)
• Special Education K-12 Minor

Mission of the School of Education

The mission of the School of Education is to provide knowledge, skills and experiences that will prepare a teaching workforce responsive to the needs of rural schools and communities and creates equitable educational experiences for all students.

Baccalaureate

The undergraduate curriculum prepares candidates for initial licensure as professional educators.

Partnership

The School of Education is committed to the UW-Platteville mission. To help meet that mission, many formal and informal partnerships have been developed and are maintained within the university community, local school districts, and other agencies and industries.

Educator Standards

The Wisconsin Educator Standards outline characteristics of good educators by identifying the components and defining qualities of best professional practice.  UW-Platteville incorporates the Wisconsin Educator Standards into all educator preparation programs. Wisconsin educators use these standards to guide career-long professional development.

The ten teacher standards for teacher development and licensure are:

1. Pupil Development. The teacher understands how pupils grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas. The teacher designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences for pupils.
2. Learning Differences. The teacher uses his or her understanding of individual pupil differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each pupil to meet high standards.
3. Learning Environments. The teacher works with others to create environments that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
4. Content Knowledge. The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of each discipline he or she teaches. The teacher creates learning experiences that make the discipline accessible and meaningful for pupils to assure mastery of the content.
5. Application of Content. The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives to engage pupils in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving related to authentic local and global issues.
6. Assessment. The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage pupils in their own growth, to monitor pupil progress, and to guide the teacher’s and pupil’s decision making.
7. Planning for Instruction. The teacher plans instruction that supports every pupil in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, pedagogy, pupils, and pupils’ communities.
8. Instructional Strategies. The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage pupils to develop a deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to develop skills to apply knowledge in a meaningful way.
9. Professional Learning and Ethical Practice. The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning. The teacher uses evidence to continuously evaluate the teacher’s practice, including the effects of the teacher’s choices and actions on pupils, their families, other educators, and the community. The teacher adapts the teacher’s practice to meet the needs of each pupil.
10. Leadership and Collaboration. The teacher seeks appropriate leadership roles and opportunity in order to take responsibility for pupil learning, to collaborate with pupils, their families, educators, and the community, and to advance the profession.

Please contact the School of Education for further details regarding the assessment plan.

About the School and Majors

The School of Education includes all teacher education licensure areas.

Teacher Education

Contact: Tim Buttles
Phone: 608.342.1485
Email: buttlest@uwplatt.edu

The School of Education has a rich history at UW-Platteville. The university has been preparing teachers since the first Normal School was established in 1866. The school takes great pride in this tradition and is committed to the continuation of quality in its educational offerings and programs.

Our degree programs focus on building a teaching workforce that is responsive to the needs of the community in which our students choose to teach.  While our ‘place’ focuses on the unique needs of rural communities, the skills and strategies are transferable to whatever community in which graduates may find themselves.  Students will have multiple opportunities to implement the skills they learn on campus into classrooms in local school systems.  This connection of pedagogy and practice is a cornerstone of our program.

The School of Education administers professional education programs at UW-Platteville and is responsible for the preparation of teachers. The School of Education is responsible for all professional and clinical programs; serves as a resource center for students, faculty, program directors, and administrators; maintains appropriate student records; and maintains appropriate records for accreditation and Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction program approval.

Accreditation

As an institution, UW-Platteville is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).  The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) serves as the accreditation agency for all approved education licensure programs offered at UW-Platteville.  UW-Platteville's education programs are required to complete the continuous review process set by Wisconsin DPI.   The review process ensures that the entity meets the performance-based standards and statutory and rule requirements specified in Wisconsin Statute 118.19 and Wisconsin Administrative Code section PI 34. 

Teacher Licensure Requirements

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) makes periodic changes in teacher licensure requirements that may affect teacher education programs. It is the responsibility of all students to contact the Director of the School of Education to make certain that they have the most current information to ensure proper planning. All students enrolled in teacher preparation programs must proceed through three steps:

1. Admission to the School of Education
2. Admission to student teaching
3. Completion of student teaching and any additional licensure requirements

Note:

1. Any student seeking teaching licensure who has been convicted of a criminal offense must contact the Wisconsin DPI to discuss eligibility for a teaching license.
2. The DPI regularly changes licensure requirements. Any requirement changed after publication of this catalog will still be required of the student to be licensed. Students should check with their advisors regularly to determine needed changes in their programs due to changes in licensure rules.

Level 1 Benchmark: Admission to the School of Education

All students majoring in a program that leads to a teaching license must meet the School of Education admission requirements. Admission to the School of Education is required to enroll in restricted education courses. Students must be admitted to the School of Education for one full semester prior to student teaching. It is recommended to apply by the second semester of the sophomore year. Transfer students that have met requirements upon entrance to UW-Platteville may apply for admission through an accelerated application process. Transfer students should contact the School of Education for details.

Applications are due October 1st for the fall semester or February 1st for the spring semester. Students should apply during the semester they will complete the requirements. Admissions are effective January 1st or June 1st once grades are posted. Students who have met all requirements will be notified of their admission through an email from the School of Education.

Requirements

To be eligible for admission, teacher candidates must meet the following minimum requirements:

1.  Cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.75 or higher.  

2.  Have grades of “C” or better in the following courses:

• ENGLISH 1230
• SPEECH 1060 or equivalent
• MATH 1620 or above (a Mathematics & Quantitative Reasoning Core General Education course)
• TEACHING 1230 or HHP 2320
• TEACHING 2130 or one of the following: PSYCHLGY 2730, PSYCHLGY 3130, PSYCHLGY 3230
• TEACHING 2170, if required for the major

3.  Have earned at least 30 accredited college credits.

4.  Have a current satisfactory criminal background check through the School of Education's approved process.

5.  Complete a professional self-assessment of dispositions and request one faculty member to complete a professional disposition assessment.  

Level 2 Benchmark: Admission to Student Teaching

After admission to the School of Education, students complete coursework, including methods courses and pre-student teaching field assignments, which give students the opportunity to demonstrate content knowledge, teaching skills and professional dispositions. 

Requirements

To be eligible for admission to student teaching, a candidate must:

1. Meet or exceed the minimum required GPA of 2.75 overall, including major coursework, teaching minor(s) and professional education courses (Note: A GPA of 3.00 is required in major and professional education for Elementary - Middle K-9 program);
2. Have completed appropriate methods course(s) for the major and minor, as well as TEACHING 2130 or equivalent and TEACHING 3320 or equivalent courses;
3. Have grades of “C” or better in required professional education courses, "C-" or better in content area courses for 4-12 & K-12 majors, (Note: grades of "C" or better are required in Elementary - Middle K-9 program);
4. Have passed the appropriate Praxis Subject test(s) or a major/minor GPA of 3.00.  Elementary - Middle K-9 students will be required to pass the Wisconsin Foundations of Reading test (FoRT) in order to obtain a provisional teaching license.  Foreign Language majors are required to pass the OPI & WPT of the ACTFL language tests.  The 3.000 major GPA is not applicable to the world language programs. 
5. Have been admitted to the School of Education for one full semester prior to student teaching;
6. Provide proof of a negative TB skin test; and
7. Have a current satisfactory criminal background check verified before placement into student teaching.

Level 3 Benchmark: Student Teaching/Internship Experience and Licensure

Student teaching is the final component of the teacher education program and is scheduled for a full semester consisting of full days for the length of the college's semester or the local school calendar. Normally, student teaching is completed in a school district within a 100-mile radius of Platteville. 

Intern Teaching

A limited number of students are permitted to complete an internship in lieu of regular student teaching. Intern candidates must have a minimum GPA of 3.00. Intern candidates are carefully screened by faculty and are interviewed by school districts as part of the selection process. The intern works in a team relationship with one or more teachers in the school system, spends a full semester under contract with the school district, is licensed by the DPI and receives compensation for duties performed. Contact the coordinator of Clinical Experiences for more information.

Licensure

To become licensed to teach in Wisconsin, students must complete the following steps before a license recommendation form is submitted to the Wisconsin DPI or other state:

1. Complete the teacher education program with the minimum required GPA in the major, minor and professional education courses;
2. Meet the minimum overall GPA of 2.75 required to complete the program;
3. Be assessed as meeting all required performance standards reflected in the Wisconsin Teacher Standards and the knowledge, skills and dispositions of the UW-Platteville School of Education program and state mandated test(s).
4. Complete the license application on the DPI Educator Licensing Online (ELO) website once the certification officer has notified you of your program completion.

After transcripts and other measures of program completion have been reviewed, the certification officer may recommend licensure to the DPI.

Teacher education programs at UW-Platteville meet the educational requirements for initial licensing in the State of Wisconsin.  Wisconsin teaching licenses are highly regarded in other states; however, each state establishes its own set of rules for licensing teachers. While the School of Education assists with all aspects of the licensure process, it is ultimately the responsibility of those individuals planning to seek licensure in states other than Wisconsin to verify that they will qualify for licenses in those states.  The program may not meet requirements of other states. If you are interested in certification outside of the state of Wisconsin, contact the appropriate state licensing agency to seek guidance and verify requirements before beginning a program, as well as during your program of study. See Professional Licensure Directory by State. 

Approved Licensure Programs

• Elementary - Middle (K-9th grades)
• Middle - Secondary (4-12th grades), which applies to English, mathematics, science, and social studies
• Elementary - Middle - Secondary (K-12th grades), which applies to special wide-range fields such as agriculture, art, music, physical education/health, Spanish, special education, and technology and engineering education

All licensure programs require the completion of a major and a professional education component.

Approved academic majors and minors are listed below. More detailed information on individual majors and minors (and the course descriptions) can be found by looking under the department or school that houses the major or minor. The listing will also include the college in which the department is housed.

Approved Majors

• Agricultural Education, Comprehensive Emphasis (K-12): School of Agriculture (BILSA)
• Agricultural Education/Technology Education Dual Licensure (K-12): School of Agriculture and Department of Applied Engineering Technology Management (BILSA)
• Elementary - Middle (K-9): School of Education (LAE)
• English, English Education Emphasis (4-12): Department of Humanities (LAE)
• Fine Arts, Art Education Emphasis (K-12): Department of Performing and Visual Arts (LAE)
• Health and Human Performance, Physical Education Teaching Emphasis (K-12): Department of Health and Human Performance (LAE)
• Mathematics Education (4-12): Department of Mathematics (EMS)
• Music, Choral Music Education Emphasis (K-12): Department of Performing and Visual Arts (LAE)
• Music, Instrumental Music Education Emphasis (K-12): Department of Performing and Visual Arts (LAE)
• Science Education (4-12): Department of Environmental Sciences and Society (LAE)
• Social Studies Education (4-12): Department of History (LAE)
• Spanish (Foreign Language Major, Spanish Education Emphasis) (K-12): Department of Humanities (LAE)
• Technology and Engineering Education (K-12): Department of Applied Engineering Technology Management (BILSA)

• Licensable Minors

Health Education: Department of Health and Human Performance (LAE)
Special Education (K-12): School of Education (LAE)
Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) Licensure Minor: Department of Humanities (LAE)

Licensable Concentrations or Concentration Equivalent

• Adapted Physical Education: Department of Health and Human Performance (LAE)

I want to teach...

Use the table below to determine the required major or minor required to earn a Wisconsin Teaching License to teach a particular subject/content area:

I want to teach

Subject/Content Area	Major/Minor	WI Teaching License
Agriculture	Agriculture Education Major, Comprehensive Emphasis	Agriculture #1200, Kindergarten-12th grades
Agriculture and Tech Ed	Agricultural Education/Technology Education Majors Dual Licensure	Agriculture #1200, Technology Education #1220. Kindergarten-12th grades
Art	Fine Arts Major, Art Education Emphasis	Art #1550, Kindergarten-12th grades
Elementary	Elementary Education Major	Regular #2088, Kindergarten-9th grades
English	English Major, English Education Emphasis	English & Language Arts #2300, Grades 4-12
English as a Second Language	Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) Licensure Minor	ESL, #1395, Kindergarten-12th grades
History	Social Studies Education Major	Social Studies #2700, Grades 4-12
Math	Mathematics Education in Secondary Education Major	Mathematics #1400, Grades 4-12
Middle School	Elementary Education Major	Regular #2088, Kindergarten-9th grades
Music: General, Instrumental & Choral/Vocal	Music Major with Choral Music Education Emphasis K-12 or Instrumental Music Education Emphasis K-12	Music #2500, Kindergarten-12th grades
Physical Education & Health	Health & Human Performance Major, Physical Education Teaching Emphasis	Physical Ed #1530, Health #1910, Adaptive Physical Ed #1860, Coaching Athletics #1540 Kindergarten-12th grades
Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physical Science and Physics)	Science Education Major	Science #2600, Grades 4-12
Social Studies (Economics, History, Geography, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology)	Social Studies Education Major	Social Studies #2700, Grades 4-12
Spanish	Foreign Language Major, Spanish Education Emphasis	Spanish #1365, Kindergarten-12th grades
Special Education	Special Education Minor - Must be completed in combination with the Elementary-Middle K-9 Major	Cross-Categorical Special Education #2801, Kindergarten-12th grades
Technology Education	Technology & Engineering Education Major	Technology Education #1220, Kindergarten-12th grades

PI 34.022 Statutory and Administrative Code Requirements

Environment

Teachers of science, social studies, elementary and middle-level education programs are required to complete coursework in environmental education. ENVSS 3330 or ENVSS 2370 partially fulfills this requirement. A specified field experience completes this requirement.

Cooperatives

Wisconsin statutes specify that “in granting certificates for the teaching of courses in economics, social studies, and agriculture, adequate instruction in cooperatives shall be required.” AGBUS 2500 fulfills this requirement. Also, ECONOMIC 2230 includes a unit on cooperatives that satisfies this requirement for social studies teachers.

Reading and Language Arts

Programs leading to licensure in grades K-9, Wisconsin requires instruction preparing teacher candidates to teach reading and language arts using science-based early reading instruction, as defined in s.118.015 (1c) (b).

Equity

Wisconsin requires that all students completing teacher preparation programs demonstrate knowledge and understanding of minority group relations including:

1. The history, culture, and tribal sovereignty of American Indian tribes and bands located in Wisconsin.
2. The history, culture, and contributions of women and various racial, cultural, language. and economic groups in the United States.
3. The philosophical and psychological bases of attitude development and change.
4. The psychological and social implications of discrimination, especially racism and sexism, in American society.
5. Evaluating and assessing the forces of discrimination, especially racism and sexism on faculty, students, curriculum, instruction, and assessment in the school program.
6. Minority group relations through direct involvement with various racial, cultural, language, and economic groups in the United States. To satisfy this requirement, students need to complete an approved service learning experience prior to graduation.

Conflict Resolution

Students must demonstrate knowledge of conflict resolution including:

1. Resolving conflicts between pupils, and between pupils and school staff.
2. Assisting pupils in learning methods of resolving conflicts between pupils, including training in the use of peer mediation, and between pupils and school staff.
3. Dealing with crises, including violent, disruptive, potentially violent or potentially disruptive situations that may arise in school or activities supervised by school staff as a result of conflicts between pupils, or between pupils and other persons.

Teacher Responsibilities

Wisconsin licensing rules require understanding the role and responsibility of a teacher through a student teaching experience that meets all of the requirements under s. PI 34.023.

Children with Disabilities

All applicants for teaching licenses must meet the code requirements with regard to Children with Disabilities. Procedures used for identifying, assessing, and providing education for children with disabilities, including the roles and responsibilities of regular and special education providers and curriculum modifications.  TEACHING 3320 meets this requirement.

Professional Responsibilities

Licensing rules require preparation in professional ethics and responsibilities, including mandatory reporting requirements under s. 48.981, Stats.

School Setting Field Experiences

Effective teacher preparation includes clinical experiences with K-12 students during their preparation. These experiences are designed to acquaint teacher candidates with a variety of schools and settings, and to encourage them to connect educational theories with practice. Experiences are developmental, structured and supervised by university and school faculty. Teacher candidates will spend more than 150 hours in school settings prior to student teaching. Many professional education courses include additional opportunities to work with school age youth.

Faculty and Lecturers

Additional information about the Faculty and Lecturers below may be found in the Faculty and Academic Staff section of this catalog.