By Massiel Ladron DeGuevara
Staff Writer
Two for the price of one is how many refer to the Teacher Education program at Pepperdine. One additional semester, 33 extra units and 268 hours of fieldwork all equal a teaching credential upon graduation.
How is it that Pepperdine can offer the TE program at no further cost to students? Two words: integrated coursework. The courses required to complete certification overlap some electives, making it possible for students to fulfill TE and general education requirements at the same time.
“One of the main reasons I decided to come to Pepperdine was the cost efficiency of the Teacher Education program,” senior liberal arts major Kameron Major said. “It’s like getting both degrees for the price of one.”
TE is a California state-approved single subject or multiple subject-credentialing program. Upon completion, both are sufficient for the recipient to begin teaching. Multiple subject credentials are for prospective teachers looking to work in the kindergarten through sixth grade levels.
In order to become a teacher in the state of California, candidates must take an array of examinations, including the PRAXIS (Professional Assessment for Beginning Teachers), CBEST (California Basic Educational Skills Test) and the RICA (Reading Instruction Competence Assessment) test. Completion of a number of preparatory courses is also required, which can take up to two years. Pepperdine took those requirements and integrated them not only into possible electives, but the liberal arts major as well.
“The program Pepperdine has is really amazing,” Credential Analyst for TE Susan Giboney said. “It has integrated the credentialing requirements into undergraduate work and in some cases, majors, saving students time and money. The amazing part is that students can achieve their credential in only four years when other schools take five.”
The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing recognizes the liberal arts major at Pepperdine as preparing students to teach in all subjects as required by law to teach in the elementary school system. Majoring in liberal arts fulfills the requirement of taking the intense PRAXIS examination, which can cost up to $120.
The initial 40 hours of fieldwork required for certification are spent observing different elementary and high school classes within a 30-mile radius of Pepperdine. Fieldwork involves a student going into actual classrooms and interacting with children of grade levels they will one day teach. Gradually, the prospective teachers begin work with students while reading to them at the elementary school level, working toward the 160 hours of full teaching they will eventually be required to complete.
“Since every class in the TE program requires fieldwork, you have an opportunity to apply what you are learning from your textbooks,” Giboney said. “It’s what I call the ‘a ha’ experience.”
The “a ha” experience, Giboney further explained, is when a student completely understands why something is being taught in their courses at Pepperdine during the observation period of their credentialing.
The final 160 hours of the program, where the “a ha” effect is most likely to occur, are divided into nine-week segments to be spent in actual classrooms. The first weeks are spent at an elementary school where the prospective teachers are expected to learn how to put a lesson plan together, learn the students’ names and eventually take over the class completely. The subsequent nine weeks are then spent at a high school, where the same is expected of prospective teachers.
“I love the way the program is set up,” liberal arts major Natalie Martinez said. “I feel like I am being well prepared to go into a teaching situation.”
Participating elementary and high schools of the program are spread out through Oxnard, Moorpark, Conejo, Las Virgenes, East Los Angeles, Culver City, Santa Monica and Malibu.
“My experience with Pepperdine’s Teacher Education program has been a very positive one,” Santa Monica High School Assistant Principal Kathleen Martin said. “Our kids seem to benefit from their presence. I hope to continue having Pepperdine come to our campus.”
TE professor Stella Herbs shares similar sentiments.
“I know this is a good program,” Herbs said. “I was once a student at Pepperdine. I love the fact that I can now bring my experience back and let students know I was once in their seat.”
November 14, 2002