University Catalog

Bachelor of Arts in Education (4-8 Middle-Level ELA/Social Studies Teacher Certification)

About This Program

The Bachelor of Arts in Education with EC-6 Bilingual Teacher Certification  prepares students to be early childhood and elementary teachers in bilingual classrooms. Course work is tied to Texas Educator standards. Additionally, course work prepares students to take the appropriate Texas certification exams.

Competencies

  1. Initial certification candidates will be able to demonstrate knowledge of instructional competencies including assessment of student learning, ability to plan and deliver instruction, ability to differentiate instruction to meet varying student ability levels and needs and demonstrate professional ethics and dispositions.
  2. Students will be able to display positive professional dispositions during courses and practicum settings.
  3. The candidate is able to design clear, well-organized, sequential, engaging, and flexible learning experiences that reflect best practices, align with standards and related content, are appropriate for diverse learners, and address all required accommodations and modifications.


 
 

Admissions Criteria

Students seeking admission to the College of Education must meet specific criteria established by the College of Education for unconditional admission:

  • Satisfy credit hour requirements for admission to a degree plan.
  • Application for admission.
  • Submit transcripts from each college or university the student has attended (reflecting all current/completed semesters).
  • Be TSI (Texas Success Initiative) complete.
  • Have a minimum GPA, not less than 2.75, for any applicant, that leads to a cohort average of 3.0 or higher.
  • Any other assessment requirements deemed necessary by the College of Education.
  • Students who have been suspended or expelled from The University of Texas at Arlington or any other university or program for reasons other than academic reasons may be denied admission or readmission to an educator preparation program in the College of Education.

Educator preparation program requirements are located on the College of Education website.

Curriculum

Foundations
General Core Requirements 42
Students must complete specific classes in certain core area.
For Communication select:
RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION I
RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION II
For Language, Philosophy & Culture select:
WORLD LITERATURE
BRITISH LITERATURE
AMERICAN LITERATURE
For Life & Physical Science biology is recommended
For Mathematics select:
COLLEGE ALGEBRA
ARITHMETICAL PROBLEM SOLVING
For U.S. History select:
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES TO 1865
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, 1865 TO PRESENT
Education Foundations
EDUC 2302THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR 13
Intermediate-Level Foreign Language
SPAN 2313INTERMEDIATE SPANISH I3
SPAN 2314INTERMEDIATE SPANISH II3
Social Studies
HIST 2321WORLD HISTORY TO 14003
HIST 2322WORLD HISTORY, 1400 TO THE PRESENT3
HIST 3345TEXAS TO 18503
HIST 3346TEXAS SINCE 18453
ECON 2337ECONOMICS OF SOCIAL ISSUES3
GEOG 2302HUMAN GEOGRAPHY3
English Language Arts
ENGL 3333DYNAMIC TRADITIONS IN LITERATURE3
ENGL 3371ADVANCED EXPOSITION3
ENGL 3384STRUCTURE OF MODERN ENGLISH3
ENGL 4370RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS3
ENGL 4366YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE3
or ENGL 4365 CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Education Specialization
EDUC 3301TEACHING DIVERSE LEARNERS3
EDUC 4318POSITIVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT3
EDUC 4319CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT3
EDUC 4340HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT3
ELED 4314TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES AND FINE ARTS IN EARLY AND ELEMENTARY EDUCATION3
LIST 4343CONTENT AREA READING AND WRITING3
LIST 4373LITERACY LEARNING FOR EC-6 STUDENTS: READING AND WRITING3
LIST 4376ASSESSMENT IN LITERACY LEARNING3
LIST 4378TEACHING READING, WRITING, AND LITERATURE IN THE MIDDLE LEVEL GRADES3
SPED 3301CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES3
Clinical Teaching
EDUC 4647CLINICAL TEACHING IN MIDDLE/SECONDARY SCHOOL/ALL-LEVEL CLASSROOMS6
Total Hours120
1

Satisfies the first-year experience requirement if taken at UTA; if not taken at UTA student must take UNIV 1101.

Program Completion

Eligibility for Program Continuation

Each candidate for certification must:

  • Demonstrate suitability for admission to the education profession.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of and adherence to the Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators.
  • Demonstrate the speech competencies associated with proficient oral communication in instructional settings. If a student is found to be deficient in these competencies, successful completion of COMS 3315 or an approved substitute will be required.
  • Demonstrate progress through committee assessment of the teaching field(s) or specialization(s) and maintain a 3.0 GPA in all College of Education certification courses with a grade of C or better.
  • See College of Education website for additional educator preparation program requirements.

Students/candidates who have been suspended or expelled from The University of Texas at Arlington or any other university or program for reasons other than academic reasons may be denied admission or readmission to an educator preparation program in the College of Education.

Our candidates must have a minimum overall grade point average of 2.75 or at least 2.75 in the last 60 semester credit hours of coursework.  Students who do not meet the grade point average of 2.75 should consult a program advisor to determine their eligibility.

Field Experience

Application for clinical teaching is required a year in advance of your clinical teaching semester.

Early Childhood - 6th Grade ESL and Bilingual Field Experience occurs in the fall semester. Candidates enroll in three on-campus courses and spend one day per week in a public school classroom. In this classroom, they will work with a cooperating teacher and complete assignments from their on-campus courses. Candidates may be offered opportunities for employment as early childhood teaching assistants in a kindergarten setting. To be eligible to participate in EC-6 field experiences, candidates must have:

  • Filed a degree plan with the COEd Advising Office
  • Completed all core and support system courses
  • Met all requirements (GPA, TSI complete, and prerequisite courses)
  • Pass a criminal background check

Clinical (Student) Teaching

Early Childhood - 6th Grade ESL and Bilingual Clinical Teaching is a full-time supervised and directed practice in an approved Pre-K- 6th grade classroom. Clinical teachers will have at least two placements. Clinical teaching lasts one semester; it begins with the school district calendar and ends with UTA Graduation.

Candidates must attend a mandatory orientation to become familiar with the Clinical Teaching Handbook and the requirements prior to beginning the clinical teaching assignment. For purposes of determining clinical teaching eligibility for all education candidates, the following must be completed:

  • Have a minimum GPA, not less than 2.75, for any applicant, that leads to a cohort average of 3.0 or higher.
  • 3.0 GPA in all College of Education certification courses with a grade of C or better in all College of Education certification courses.
  • Additional requirements specific to each certification level.

Oral Communication Competency Requirement

All students will satisfy the oral communication requirement during the professional development sequence leading to initial teacher certification. Students must complete the Field Experience semester with an acceptable evaluation of oral communication by university supervisors and assigned cooperating teachers in the field.

Criminal History Acknowledgement

As required by Texas HB1508, applicants need to be aware of the following.

  1. In order to receive educator certification in Texas, you must pass a criminal history background check.
  2. If you have been convicted of an offense that is considered not appropriate for an educator, you could be ineligible to earn this certification from the state of Texas.
  3. You have a right to request a preliminary criminal history evaluation letter from the Texas Education Agency prior to admission into this program. The Texas Education Agency currently charges a non-refundable $50 fee for this criminal history evaluation.

Out-of-State Students

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) requires candidates seeking certification to complete all clinical teaching/practica in a TEA-approved site. Out-of-state students who do not complete the clinical teaching/practicum at a UTA College of Education and TEA-approved site and meet all other TEA requirements do not qualify for Texas educator certification. If seeking certification outside of Texas, please work with your state agency in the state in which you are seeking certification to determine eligibility and to complete any additional requirements.  Please note that after successful completion of your UTA College of Education degree, you may request a memo indicating your degree completion.  UTA cannot recommend out-of-state students for certification and cannot recommend out-of-state students to take Texas certification exam(s). Additionally, UTA faculty and staff cannot complete out-of-state form requests for individuals seeking certification, licensure, and/or endorsements in another state according to TEA.

Professional Dispositions

Each student/candidate in the College of Education of UT Arlington will be evaluated on Professional Dispositions by the faculty and staff. These dispositions are identified as essential for a highly-qualified professional. Instructors and program directors will work with students/candidates rated as “unacceptable” in one or more stated criteria. The student/candidate will have an opportunity to develop a plan to remediate any digressions. If digression(s) are not, or cannot be successfully remediated as in the case of an egregious digression, a determination will be made by Committee on continuation or dismissal from the College of Education.

Changes

Program requirements may change as state/TEA certification requirements change.

Advising Resources

Location:

Trimble Hall, Room 105

Email:

coedadvising@uta.edu

Phone:

817-272-2956

Web:

Advising Information and Appointments