 |
Prescott College students can complete degrees in:
Students choose an individualized concentration, called a competence, within these degree areas. The possibilities for competences are extensive. Currently, students
are pursuing concentrations in such areas as anthropology, art, communications,
creative writing, ecopsychology, holistic health, humanities, natural history,
photography, political science, psychology, public administration, sustainable community development, and women's
studies.
Some of our diverse Prescott College education students have already earned an undergraduate degree in education, or have been involved with their local schools and communities in a variety of ways, and are now eager to become certified teachers. Others who possess an undergraduate degree in subjects from engineering to fine art are just discovering their desire to pursue the teaching profession. All look forward to providing rich and exciting learning environments for elementary, middle, and high school students. For those who already hold an undergraduate degree and are interested in teacher certification, we offer three options:
Option #1: A post-bachelor's teacher certification program in the Adult Degree Program (ADP).
Option #2: A "Fast Track" program that combines the ADP with our Master of Arts Program (MAP) and leads to both certification and an M.A. in education. This option can save time and money for students who envision graduate study as part of their goals.
Option #3: Post-bachelor students can complete their teacher certification while obtaining a Master's degree through our Master of Arts Program (MAP). In MAP, each student works with a graduate advisor (usually at a distance) who assists and guides the student in planning, carrying out, and evaluating all stages of graduate study.
Teacher Education
Program
Prescott College's Teacher Education Program includes all the necessary courses for these Arizona teaching credentials:
- Elementary Education
- Secondary Education
- Special Education (retardation, emotional disabilities, learning disabilities, and early childhood special education)
- Early Childhood Education*
Students may fulfill
requirements for a teaching credential while earning their bachelor’s
degree; or, if already possessing a degree, may complete the requirements for teacher certification. Upon successful completion of the Teacher Education Program, students apply to the College for an institutional recommendation, which facilitates the students; certification through the Arizona Department of Education.
The Teacher Education Program requires that students are dedicated, informed, and resourceful learners. These are the same qualities teachers need in order to provide a dynamic, learner-centered classroom for their students. Courses emphasize current educational research and theory as well as practical experience in the classroom. Students are expected to master educational principles and experiential strategies. They are expected to apply their learning in problem-solving situations in their courses and student teaching assignments as they pass on the skills, knowledge, and tools of successful learning.
Students entering the Teacher Education Program generally enter the program with a background of courses in the liberal arts. Students without this background may be advised to take courses at a local community college before enrolling in the program.
Examples of Teacher Education
Program courses include "Learning theories," "Curriculum
Design and Application," "Educating for the Future: Multicultural
and Environmental Issues," and Classroom Management."
Arizona State Certification Requirements: For an institutional recommendation leading to Arizona certification in education, students
are required to complete or to have already earned a bachelor's degree; meet the College's
general education requirements; and complete student teaching. Students are also required to complete
Arizona Constitution, U.S. Constitution, and Structured English Immersion requirements and pass the Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments (AEPA). Students schedule and take these series of tests in professional knowledge and content area knowledge (for more information on these tests, see www.aepa.nsince.com). If a student is planning to obtain certification in a state other than Arizona, he or she will be required to research that state's requirements for certification to ensure compliance.
*The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) has recently added teacher certification in Early Childhood Education (ECE). The ADE is currently working with the state's colleges and universities, including Prescott College, to finalize the approval of statewide ECE teacher certification programs.
Teacher Certification Requirements
Back to
top
Center for Indian Bilingual Teacher Education (CIBTE)
In keeping with our community-based model, the Center for Indian Bilingual Teacher Education (CIBTE) was designed in 1988 as an alternative teacher education and certification program for Native American teachers on Arizona reservations.
This model has been expanded to provide Native Americans throughout the Southwest and other parts of the country opportunities to complete a wide range of Bachelor of Arts degrees and teacher certifications. These programs are structured like other ADP offerings so students can continue their regular employment while maintaining family and cultural ties. Courses are offered as independent studies, either one-on-one or in small groups with mentors recruited by students in their home communities.
For more information,
contact: Vicky Young, Coordinator for CIBTE and Native American
Students: vyoung@mail.prescott.edu,
or 877-350-2100, ext. 3006, or Melanie Lefever, Admissions Counselor,
admissions@prescott.edu,
or 877-350-2100, ext. 2106.
Back to
top
The Management Program
The Management Program combines traditional
leadership theories and practices common in most organizations
with a study of the complex human factors involved in organizational decision-making, and the role of human enterprise in the well-being of the natural world.
Students often enter the Management Program with considerable professional management experience that can be documented for college-level credit. Students who do not have previous experience or college credit in traditional management foundation courses may be advised to complete courses at a community college before enrolling in ADP.
A typical management curriculum
includes core themes, such as planning, organizing, controlling,
staffing, and goal setting; employee development and motivation; the accounting cycle and information
processing; the management of human
and natural resources; leadership styles; communication skills; negotiation, decision-making,
and conflict resolution; business and the environment; and international management.
Recent competence areas have included: Accounting; Finance; Marketing; Human Resource Management; Computer Applications for Management; Ecological Economics; Environmental Planning; Environmental Resource Conservation; Nonprofit Management; Small Business Management.
Examples of Management
Program courses include "Management Theories and Practices,"
"Human Resource Management ," "Green
Economics," "International Management," and "Marketing."
Back to
top
The
Human Development/Human Services Program
Students focusing their
studies on counseling psychology, human development, or human services and related fields usually design a competence in human services, psychology, counseling, or counseling psychology. They can also create an interdisciplinary program in ecopsychology, healing arts, or holistic health, depending on their career goals. These graduates often pursue their careers
in community mental health or social welfare organizations.
Students seeking the well-rounded, theoretical preparation necessary for graduate
school generally choose psychology as their competence area. All of the program areas offer a broad theoretical foundation,
practical skills, and the in-depth specialization needed for work in the human services field.
An important element in
the Human Development/Human Services Program and related areas is its application in real-life
settings. Students observe and engage in client interactions through internships in community mental health clinics, shelters, substance abuse treatment programs, and state assistance
agencies.
Students with years of professional
experience may choose to document this learning through Life Experience Documentation. These students usually design courses that
deepen their theoretical understanding of the field.
Recent competence areas have included: Expressive Art Therapy; Substance Abuse Treatment; Transpersonal Psychology; Gerontology; Adolescent Psychology; Wilderness Therapy; Somatic Psychology; Ecopsychology; Human Development; Human Services; Sociology; and Political Science.
Examples of Human Development/Human Services
courses include "Personality Theories," Lifespan Development," "Family Systems," "Group Dynamics," "Ethics and Legal Aspects of Counseling," "Research Design," and "Multicultural Counseling."
Back to
top
The
Environmental Studies Program
The student of Environmental Studies is a student of the earth, its dynamic processes, diverse habitats, creatures, and organisms, and of the relationships between the human species and our home world. Prescott College students are encouraged to spend time in the natural world as their primary classroom, and to learn in three primary areas: Natural History, Natural Stewardship and Human Ecology, and Natural Interpretation and Outreach.
Natural History
Initial courses can include natural history of the student's region, natural history writing and documentation, and indigenous peoples. With this foundation, students may deepen their study with courses in geology or hydrogeology, ecology, field ecology, botany, zoology, and the wider applications of ecological principles, including conservation biology or restoration ecology.
Natural Stewardship and Human Ecology
Humans are an inextricable part of nature, and the study of the natural environment includes psychological, social, and political landscapes. Students are invited to ground themselves in courses that explore the human and natural relationship from societal as well as individual, small group, and community levels. Stewardship explores the social contract regarding land use, water, and related natural resource law, and it explores various stakeholder perspectives, including scientific, policy-making, and diverse citizen viewpoints.
Natural Interpretation and Outreach
Students are encouraged to design classes that allow them to effectively and memorably communicate their explorations to diverse populations. These can include examination of the agenda-setting nature of the mass media, natural history writing, and the use of diverse communication media.
Some examples of courses
in the Environmental Studies Program include "Environmental
Chemistry," "Fundamentals of Zoology," "History
of Land and Water Use in the Southwest," "Biophilia Studies,"
"Green Economics," "Indigenous Culture and Agriculture," "Restoration Ecology ," and "Environmental Ethics," "Grant Writing," and "Mass Media and the Environment."
Back to
top
Sustainable
Community Development
The Sustainable Community
Development program supports students in manifesting their personal visions of ecologically and socially healthy communities. Sustainable Community Development Program graduates lead meaningful lives in diverse fields: as sustainability educators and program leaders in the nonprofit sector; as advisors in the private sector; in public lands agencies; and through international sustainable agriculture projects.
Employment and entrepreneurial opportunities continue to grow as the business sector turns "green" from the inside out. There is an increasing need for corporate community relations professionals and resource managers who can analyze and respond to the needs of ecosystems and human communities. Social service agencies may require sustainable community development visionaries to help them link regional organic farms and alternative shelter designers to serve the poor, the infirm, and the elderly in ways that preserve their health and dignity, as well as that of local ecosystems. Above all, Sustainable Community Development Program graduates work with communities of all kinds to identify genuine needs and engage participants in an inclusive process of vision-making, forecasting, decision-making, implementing, and appraising sustainable projects.
There are four core areas
of the Sustainable Community Development curriculum:
- Natural History of the Region
This area focuses on field-based studies of the proximate ecosystems,
as well as patterns of past and current human habitation and use
of the land. Examples of courses include "Conservation Biology,"
"Field Research Methods," "Physical Geography,"
"Disturbed Lands Ecology," and "Therapeutic Use
of the Wilderness."
- Appropriate Technologies
Course themes for this are include planning, design, materials,
and assessment to accommodate needs for food, water, shelter,
transportation, waste-handling, aesthetics, recreation, entertainment,
and other daily living activities in ways also compatible with
the needs of natural living systems. Examples of courses include
"Sustainable Shelter Design," "Permaculture,"
"Urban or Rural Planning," "Alternative Energy
Sources and Systems," and "Technology and Values."
- Social, Spiritual, and Philosophical Foundations of
Community
This area includes course themes exploring the psychological connections
among members of a community and its natural environment, the
evolution of values and behaviors expressed in the community,
and influences of social and culture groups. Examples of courses
include "History of the community," "Human ecology,"
"Overview of Land and Water Law," "Regional, National,
and International Politics," :Ecopsychology," and "Comparative
Beliefs, Consensus and Decision-Making Models."
- Communication, Education, and Celebration in the Community
Course themes in this area include the investigation of the means
and mechanisms by which members of communities identify and express
challenges, engage in problem-solving, learn interactively, assess
worthiness of community efforts, celebrate accomplishments, preserve
and pass on collective wisdom to future generations. Examples
of courses include "Small group dynamics," "Educational
psychology," "Participatory research," and "Documentation
and performance of community history and rituals."
Find out more about the
Sustainable Community Development program by visiting
their program web site. Information there includes the curriculum
framework and how it can be matched to your personal interest in
creating community or other sustainable paths. You'll also find
a program overview, profiles of students in the program, and resources
useful for study in many aspects of community development with a
sustainable approach.
Back to top
Post-Bachelor's Teacher Certification
There are three options available to students who already hold an undergraduate degree and are interested in teacher certification. Below is information about how each of these options work.
Option#1
Students can earn a post-bachelor's teacher certification in the Adult Degree Program (ADP).
In Option #1, courses in the ADP are designed as mentored study with mentors who are typically working teachers or school administrators from the student's home communities. Core faculty provide support and oversight throughout the program.
The ADP model operates on a year-round quarter system, consisting of six-month enrollments. A student with no prior credit in education can expect to spend approximately 1 1/2 years (3 enrollments) in the ADP for elementary or secondary education and 2 years (4 enrollments) for special education. Secondary education students who have not completed a teaching competence (teaching subject area) will need to extend their programs to obtain the necessary coursework. Students who enroll with pre-existing, transferable credits in education may have shorter programs. All students work with faculty to plan the timing of their courses and student teaching.
Option #2 Fast Track
Fast track students start with one or two enrollment periods in the Adult Degree Program, completing foundational courses through mentored study. Students then enroll for three additional terms (1 1/2 years or three semesters) in the limited residency Master of Arts Program (MAP), following the MAP model of study. MAP students work with a graduate advisor (usually at a distance) who assists and guides them in all stages of graduate study, including the timing of the courses, student teaching, and/or practicum. Students incorporate into their graduate program a specific focus or area of interest within the field of education. MAP students attend two three-day-weekend colloquia on the Prescott Campus each term. Download brochure.
Back to top
|
|
