The Teacher Education Program

The Teacher Education Program

Director of Teacher Education and Associate Professor of Education: Kimberly Crosby
Assistant Professors: Karin Brown and Nikki E. Yonts

Lyon College’s teacher education program is firmly rooted in the liberal arts. Accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), it offers programs for teacher licensure in K-6 elementary education; 7-12 secondary education in English, life science, math, and social studies; and K-12 vocal music. In order to pursue teacher licensure, all candidates must agree to a criminal records check and meet testing and grade point average requirements prior to internship placement in their senior year. While finishing their major(s) in the senior year, all candidates formally admitted by the Liberal Arts Teacher Education Committee participate in a teaching internship in one of several local partnership school districts. Candidates must earn passing scores on the state-approved content assessment and on the pedagogical assessment prior to recommendation for licensure. Candidates who are completing a licensure program may also pursue the K-12 Coaching endorsement by taking the required physical education courses and passing the state-approved content assessment in that area.

Our Mission

The education of the whole person built on the foundation of the liberal arts

Our Vision

Each child, regardless of gender, race, creed, family background, or socioeconomic status, has the right to a qualified teacher, a teacher who can help each child become all he or she can become. We wish to create a program for teachers that will bring that vision into practice.

Our vision is grounded in the following principles:

1. Qualified teachers need a liberal arts education.
   Sharing the CAEP vision of qualified teachers, Lyon College insures that its graduates who become licensed teachers have completed a liberal education by requiring them to major in a liberal arts discipline while completing a liberal general education program. We believe that liberally educated people are capable of "critical, creative thought" and demonstrate "ethical, spiritual growth" as stated in the college's mission. Lyon wants candidates with these dispositions to become teachers and future leaders in our schools.

2. Qualified teachers need pedagogical skill
   Evidence shows that subject matter knowledge is not enough for effective teaching. Teachers must also understand and be able to apply the growing knowledge base of pedagogy. Accordingly, the heart of our teacher education program is a series of observation, participation, and internship experiences that will prepare better practitioners.
    
3. Qualified teachers need to model and encourage critical thinking.
   Learning to think critically enables children to become responsible citizens able to respect differing points of view and to appreciate the contributions of diverse peoples. Liberally educated teachers provide children with an academic foundation that cultivates their critical thinking skills.

Upon completion of the core curriculum, the major, and the appropriate teacher education curriculum, students complete all requirements for a bachelor’s degree from Lyon and are ready to apply to the Arkansas Department of Education for the teacher licensure at the level of preparation.

Graduates of the teacher preparation program at Lyon must achieve the following outcomes:

• Be wise consumers of educational research
• Understand and address inequities in the classroom as they relate to race, gender, and social class.
• Instruct using instructional technology skills
• Lead in the continuous improvement of schools
• Teach effectively at the appropriate instructional level
• Be liberally educated and take liberal arts knowledge, skills, and dispositions into the classroom

Title II

Section 307 of Title II of the Higher Education Act mandates that the Department of Education collects data on state assessments and other requirements, standards for teacher licensure, and data on the performance of teacher preparation programs. In Arkansas, a system of multiple measures determines the quality of teacher education candidates using Praxis exams to measure content and pedagogical knowledge. Candidates must earn passing scores on the PRAXIS tests appropriate to their teaching areas.

Program Transitions/Admission Requirements

There are three specific transition points in Lyon’s teacher education program, including Transition One: Pre-Admission, Transition Two: Admission to Internship, and Transition Three: Exit from Program.

Transition One: Practicum Enrollment

Students wishing to begin the junior-level practicum sequence must provide documentation of a 2.75 cumulative GPA from Lyon or a transfer institution prior to enrolling in Practicum I. Students who do not have the requisite GPA must get permission from the instructor and the Director of Teacher Education in order to enroll in a practicum course. Practicum students should declare a major in Education upon enrolling in Practicum I.

Transition Two: Admission to Internship

Candidates for the student teaching internship must apply for admission during the semester immediately preceding the proposed placement. Candidates will be required to submit evidence of their preparedness for the internship and to sit for an interview with members of LATEC (Liberal Arts Teacher Education Committee) following submission of the required documentation. The following materials must be submitted electronically prior to the interview for admission:

• Candidate Information Form
• Names and email addresses of at least three references, one of whom must be the major advisor or another faculty member in the major discipline
• ​​​​​​​Philosophy of education statement or a typed statement explaining why you want to be a teacher
• Lyon transcript documenting at least a 2.9 cumulative GPA as well as a grade of “C” or higher in the following courses:
  • ENG 102 English Composition II
  • MTH 101 College Algebra OR MTH 105 Math for the Liberal Arts
  • EDU 202 Overview of Teaching
  • EDU 325 Practicum I
• Exam scores on the Praxis Content Knowledge Assessment in your chosen teaching field
• Formal observation evaluations from Practicum II

PLEASE NOTE: Transferred credits will not be included in the GPA calculation for admission to the student teaching internship. Students who do not meet the cumulative GPA requirement of 2.9 or the course grade requirements will not be admitted but may submit a written request to the Director of Teacher Education for reconsideration of admission upon meeting the requirements.

Transition Three: Exit from the Program/Internship Portfolio

Teacher candidates maintain a digital portfolio documenting their progress in the program beginning with EDU 202. The completed portfolio is submitted in the last semester of the senior year for review and final grading. The portfolio must be submitted electronically and must include a capstone narrative and selected artifacts from their education coursework. Candidates are provided with a checklist and rubric to aid them in preparing their portfolios for submission. All digital portfolios will be archived by Lyon in an electronic format. More information about the portfolio can be found in the Lyon College Teacher Education Handbook.

Licensure:

Students who meet the criteria and are in good standing will have completed the Liberal Arts Teacher Education Program and will be recommended for an Arkansas teaching license. Candidates should be aware that the Arkansas Department of Education has access to and must consider any background check reflecting a conviction (pleading guilty or no contest or being found guilty by a jury or judge) for any offense listed in Arkansas Code Ann. §§ 6-17-410 and 6-17-414 as well as any felony involving physical or sexual injury, mistreatment, or abuse against another, including records that have been expunged, sealed, or subject to a pardon. The discovery of a record of conviction for any felony/non-felony offense could result in the applicant being ineligible for an Arkansas educator’s license. For any questions about this, please call the ADE legal office at 501.682.4227.