Teacher Education Program - Home
Welcome to the Teacher Education Program at Saginaw Valley State University. We are pleased that you are considering teaching as a profession. As a faculty, we have taught in varied school districts, in varied states at all grade levels of pre K-12 schooling. We can attest to the challenges and excitement of teaching.
Because of our past experiences and commitment to our profession, all of us have consciously chosen to become teacher educators. We are here to work closely with you so that the pre-service experiences from your professional studies courses and student teaching will help you develop decision-making skills and other pedagogical knowledge needed for the complex activity of teaching.
Educational researchers continue to examine the nature of pre K-12 education and make recommendations to improve the profession of teaching, highlighting and exploring a multiplicity of teacher responsibilities. We, in the Department of Teacher Education, support the new ideas that have developed from this research in education, especially the new idea that Teacher Education program standards need to be higher. These new standards are reflected in our requirements for admission to the Teacher Education Program as well as in the high quality of teaching and content that you will be exposed to in the education courses taken in your specific program area.
Upon your acceptance into the Teacher Education Program, you will have successfully met the first challenge on your journey. In each of your methods courses there will be further challenges as you learn the theoretical foundations of teaching and learning and begin to plan and teach content lessons in the university classroom and in your field assignments. This blending of theory and practice will prepare you as a competent professional, able to approach the social complexity of the classroom.
Talk to one of us if you have questions. We are here to help you through your professional preparation journey. We know that there will be high points as well as low points, but your destination is worth the rigor. We can think of no other profession in the world as exciting and important as teaching.
Mission
The mission of the Teacher Education Program is to effectively prepare pre-service Teacher Education students in basic and advanced programs. Basic programs include Elementary Education, Secondary Education, Special Education (emotionally impaired and learning disabled), and Bilingual Education. Advanced programs include Master of Arts in Teaching Degrees in Elementary, Middle School, and Secondary Classroom Teaching, Early Childhood Education, Special Education, Reading Education, and Natural Science. At both coursework levels, students engage in clinical/field-based experiences.