Questions about Teach Now (PsyGuy please help me)

intotheblue
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2017 4:31 am

Questions about Teach Now (PsyGuy please help me)

Post by intotheblue »

Hi,

I have recently found out about the program Teach Now and read few related posts.
Thank you very much for all the information PsyGuy.

I would like to ask few questions to you or anyone else who is familiar with this program.

1. I am planning to apply to the elementary education program, and I wonder if there are certain courses I need to complete in order to receive a teaching certificate in D.C.

I am asking this question, because I found the following information on the webiste: https://www.american.edu/cas/education/ ... cation.cfm

LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR TEACHER CERTIFICATION: ELEMENTARY
To qualify for teacher certification, students must have completed all of the requirements from the specific curricular areas listed below. Some requirements may overlap with the university General Education requirements. Consult a School of Education advisor for more information.

Literature: 3 credit hours in addition to WRTG-100
The Arts: 3 credit hours
Health: 3 credit hours
United States history: 3 credit hours
Social science: 3 credit hours
Biological science: 3 credit hours
Physical science: 3 credit hours
Note: biological or physical science must include a lab.

I am wondering if there is no point of completing the teach now program if I haven't completed some of the courses listed above.


2. I am a Canadian and I do not have Permanent Residency in the States. For this reason, I plan to work at only international schools in East Asia or perhaps private schools in Canada. Has there been a case where Washington D.C. teaching certificate was successfully transferred to teaching certificate in Canada? I heard this may not be possible since Canadian teaching certificate specifically requires B.Ed from applicants whereas Teach Now program doesn't lead to a B.Ed.
If this is the case, is it possible to get QTS with D.C. certificate after completing Teach now program?
I think I once read a post where PsyGuy mentioning that QTS never expires.
If I plan to work only at international schools, then is QTS good enough?

Thank you very much for your time.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Response

Post by PsyGuy »

To begin with a little primer is in order. There are three main pathways, or types of EPP/ITT programs to obtain US certification:
1) Academic: This is the "traditional" go to uni take classes, do field work (student teaching), etc. and then get certified. This is the PGCE equivalent.
2) Skills: This is the "alternative" pathway, it involves some form or seminars or workshops and either a year long "internship" field experience or a shorter "clinical teaching" field work. This would be equivalent to the School Direct route in the UK.
3) Assessment: This is the "examination" route where you essentially take licensing exams in the US and obtain a certification. This would be closest to the AO (Assessment Only) route in the UK (though in the AO route in the UK its based mostly on a portfolio as opposed to exams).

You are confusing two different pathways one being the academic pathway offered by the American Uni in DC. They have a degree program and it is based on completing a certain sequence of courses. This has nothing to do with the Teach Now program, which is a skills based pathway. In Teach Now you page through seminars delivered primarily as a slide show and complete a field experience of 12 weeks and do some testing. Thee are no prerequisite courses for Teach Now assuming you have an earned Bachelors degree.
Certification is provided by the regulatory authority which in the case of DC is the OSSE (Office of the State Superintendent for Education), both Teach Now and the American University just provide approved EPP/ITT programs to qualify for recommendation by the OSSE. Neither one has anything to do with dictating standards for the other.

Yes there have been circumstances where a DC license was accepted for mutual recognition in CAN, but thats because you can earn a DC credential in a number of ways including the academic route which CAN provinces can accept for credentialing (and have) but also the skills based route which CAN provinces generally dont accept, unless the candidate is presenting with sufficient coursework to meet requirements for the province. If you dont have an academic background in professional education than a US credential earned by a skills based or assessment based route is very unlikely to be accepted.

You can use the DC regular credential earned through Teach Now to obtain QTS. The TCL generally recognizes academic and skills based EPP programs as equivalent to those of an ITT program. What the TCl generally does not accept is assessment based pathways to obtaining a credential. Assessment based pathways are relatively new and when they were first introduced a small number of applicants were successful in obtaining QTS using them.

QTS is a lifelong credential that does not require PD or renewal. QTS is pretty persistent. A DT in the UK can be barred from teaching but still maintain their QTS.

Is QTS good enough, thats a very objective question, the answer is that full QTS (as opposed to an NQT) is the working credential that recognizes an individual as a professional educator in the UK (England). It is equivalent to a professional grade credential in the US and full registration in both CAN and AUS.
Does that mean its enough? At the higher tier ISs a BS would want/require an IT with actual experience in the UK NC and an AS would want/require an IT with experience in the US NC as opposed to a certificate from the appropriate regulatory authority. Having QTS makes you legal it lets you and the IS check that box "eligible to provide instructional services (teach) in a western (home) country". It doesnt mean you really know anything. you can know nothing about the UK NC or the system and have QTS, and what recruiters and leadership want are ITs that now not just the curriculum but how it fits into that regions national framework/system. That being said the three primary IE curriculum at SLL are highly congruent across one another.
Does QTS make you a qualified professional educator, absolutely, will it alone impress everyone, no.
intotheblue
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2017 4:31 am

Re: Questions about Teach Now (PsyGuy please help me)

Post by intotheblue »

Thank you very much for the detailed information, PsyGuy.
I really appreciate your help.

So..Essentially speaking, are you saying that I will be able to get QTS (Full teaching license) and won't have to be bothered with fulfilling the professional development requirement once I get QTS, as opposed to DC license which requires PD requirement and renewal every four years?

Also may I ask you what TCL, ITT, DT, IE, and SLL are?
Moreover, I couldn't really understand what you meant by "That being said the three primary IE curriculum at SLL are highly congruent across one another" Could you please explain this little further?

I would like to ask you two more things, if you don't mind.

1. Is there a fixed amount of practicum hour required by DC state?

I got an approval from my school to do the practicum, but they said 20 hours per week for 12 weeks are just too much.
If there's no required fixed amount of practicum hour, will there be no problem of obtaining the DC license, as long as teach now is ok with adjusting the total amount of practicum hour for me?


2. How difficult are the Praxis tests?
I plan to get the elementary teacher certificate, and I believe I need to pass the following tests:

1. Core Academic Skills for Educators: Reading (Test Code: 5712)
2. Core Academic Skills for Educators: Writing (Test Code: 5722)
3. Core Academic Skills for Educators: Mathematics (Test Code: 5732)
4. Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades K–6 (Test Code:5622)
5. Elementary Education: Multiple Subjects (Test code: 5001) - comprised of 4 subsets (Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies)

Compared to GRE, and/or TOEFL, how difficult are these praxis tests?
Also, I have no background in US history (Social Studies) because I never took relevant courses.
Realistically speaking, how long do you think I need to prepare for these tests? (e.g. two full months)

Again, thank you very much for your help.
Hope you have a great holiday.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@intotheblue

Yes, once you have the DC standard license you can directly use that to obtain full QTS (no induction required). You can then allow the DC credential to expire, without having to do any PD. This works best if your academic preperation (degree) is in something related to what you teach. QTS is generally not grade and subject specific. The only identifiers are on your TCL profile (there is room for two content fields) but they dont appear on your QTS certificate.

TCL = Teachers College Leadership, its an old term for the National College for Teaching and Leadership. They are a UK agency that is the regulatory authority of teaching credentials in England.

ITT = Initial Teacher Training, its the term in the UK for a program that provides for the training, preparation, and education of entry level professional educators in the UK.

DT = Domestic Teacher, a professional teacher in a western system of education that they either trained in or have spent considerable time within that system.

IE = International Education

SLL = School Leaving Level, the period of a curriculum framework that encompasses those studies that directly result in a completion certificate of secondary education.

The three primary curriculum at SLL in IE are:
1) A* (thats A level exams) and IGCSE (International Graduate Certificate of Secondary Education) from the UK
2) AP (Advanced Placement) from the US.
3) IB DIP (International Baccalaureate Diploma)

At those levels of study content curriculum is very, very, very similar. IE. AP Psychology is effectively the same whether you are teaching it in a BS (British School) at A* or in an IBWS (Classical IB World School) at Diploma level or in an AS (American School) at AP. There are differing minor variations depending on the subject but they are typically very minor (the more technical the subject the less the difference, with History having one of the highest potential for variation and music having the least potential for variation). Essentially, if you are successful at teaching your subject area in one of them, there is very little accommodation needed to transfer that success into another curriculum, at SLL.

Yes, there is a fixed amount of practicum time required. When Teach Now had their program approved they stipulated what those field experience requirements would be. They arent allowed to deviate from them in substance. The requirement is FTE (Full Time Equivalence) over 12 weeks. There isnt an allowance for them to allow you to do less than that by teaching at .50 FTE or some other proportion over 12 weeks.

The primary PRAXIS exams are pretty easy, but every credentialing exam Ive ever taken I took cold (without preparation), passed and thought it was easy. The content of the exams is less about subject matter stuff, and more meds/peds (methodology and pedagogy) then it is about subject matter material.
The PRAXIS exams are very different from the GRE. The GRE is an aptitude test and the PRAXIS exams are achievement tests, though they split the achievement criteria between meds/peds and subject content. There arent spatial recognition and logical heuristic domains for the PRAXIS tests like there are for the GRE. if you know the date Columbus discovered America thats what matters. if you can figure out that you have a student who suddenly seems withdrawn that maybe you need to refer that child to someone and maybe ask a question or two. You need to know things like "Mandated Reporter" etc. which have nothing to do with aptitude.

As for the TOEFL the PRAXIS exams are much, much more difficult than the TOEFL, which Ive taken and scored REALLY REALLY high, but Im a native speaker of English. of the foreign students who have taken the TOEFL and the PRAXIS, most of them report that the TOEFL was harder and more difficult for them than the PRAXIS.

Thats okay most Americans have no background in US History outside the Civil War (the anti-slavery side won) and the American Revolution (the colonists won) and maybe that whole World dispute with Germany. Most wouldnt be able to tell you what WWI was about without a Google search. Old people know Vietnam. Most of them couldnt name all 50 states and know only a few of the past presidents (Washington, Lincoln, maybe Roosevelt and Nixon, then Bush, Clinton, Obama, and Trump). Essentially, if there wasnt a really popular movie made about it, most Americans dont know it. Most Americans dont know anything about things like the EU, NAFTA, etc. except that Brexit was a thing for a few weeks, and then Trump happened. Many Americans would happily give up civil rights, freedom, etc. for an iPhone X.
Most Americans know NOTHING about CAN except maybe where it is on a map and only if that map has lines and boundaries (give most Americans a map of North America without boundary lines and they get vague on where the US ends and CAN begins) that and the Horsemen (RCMP). Americans know more about Easter Island (Its an island, and it was discovered around Easter time) than they do CAN (find an American who knows why Canada is called Canada without Google searching it, I dare you).

How long do you need to study American History, I dont know how much wine do you have? How ever long the wine lasts thats how long you need to study American history or just watch 12 years a slave, pearl harbor, the patriot and the alamo. Most of American history is about shooting people and taking their stuff and WHEN.
intotheblue
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2017 4:31 am

Re: Questions about Teach Now (PsyGuy please help me)

Post by intotheblue »

@PsyGuy

Thank you very much for your quick response.
I would like to ask you few questions for clarification, if you don't mind.

1. Some information you gave me earlier seem to pertain to secondary school education.

I majored in psychology, and I plan to get the elementary education (Gr. 1 - 6) certificate through Teach Now.
Once I get the certificate, is it still possible to obtain full QTS with the elementary education certificate without having do do any PD? Again, my academic preparation is in psychology, which is not related to what I would be teaching as an elementary school teacher.

2. I also have Masters of Arts in psychology from a graduate school of education, but since it's not really a degree in education, I guess my application would most likely be rejected when I apply to Canada for the license to be transferred?
If I do the Master's program at Teach now, do you think Canadian provinces would accept that and give me a certificate?

If my main goal is to work at international schools in East Asia, would you say there is no real difference between having QTS or Canadian certificate? If that's the case, I think there's not much to gain by doing the masters program at Teach Now.


3. In regards to the required amount of practicum time, is Full Time Equivalence considered as 20 hours per week?
On the Teach Now website, the following statement can be found:

"The last three months of the TEACH-NOW teacher preparation certificate program require at least 200 hours of actual practice teaching in a classroom with a supervising mentor teacher―completed by teaching a minimum of 4 hours per day, 5 days per week, for 12 weeks (which allows for a couple of absences)."

As I said earlier, my school thinks 4 hours of teaching practicum, 5 days per week is too much since I have a full time non-teaching job at my current school. However, the school would allow me to spend more than 12 weeks on the practicum to meet the requirement. In other words, I would be spending less hours per day, such as doing practicum 2 hours per day 5 days per week but for 20 weeks to achieve the same total amount of hours stated on teach now website (200 hours).

Would this be OK as long as I get approval from Teach Now?
Or would DC State not accept such thing?

4. As for PRAXIS Core academic skills tests, did you find the reading section more difficult than the TOEFL reading?
For mathematics, would you say it's easier than mathematics on SAT or GRE?
Also, if you don't mind, could you please recommend me preparation books for PRAXIS tests?
If I study for these tests full time for 2 months during my summer break, do you think there's a good chance that I would
pass all of them considering the level of difficulties for these tests?

Again, thank you so much. I greatly appreciate your help.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@intotheblue

Absolutely, when you get your DC credential after completing Teach Now and submit it to the TCL they will add primary to your profile and social studies likely. Though you could also use your degree and have them add psychology then or at a later time. The problem would be if later after the DC credential expired you wanted them to add or change it to something else such as History or Economics or something else. They wouldnt add those areas if you couldnt show them a degree/transcript in those fields, and you wouldnt be able to add them to your expired DC credential and use that to demonstrate competency.
One possible solution for you would be after two years using the DC credential to apply for reciprocity for a credential in CA (California). You would have to add the ESOL credential in DC by taking the PRAXIS exams for ESOL. After two years of teaching experience you would then qualify for a CA CLEAR credential. The CA CLEAR credential is a 5 year credential that must be renewed but requires no PD to do so.

If you have the credits CAN provinces would likely give you some level of credential to teach psychology or social studies (depending on the province), but its not an extensive list of preparation requirements for primary, its usually about 6 courses, and one of them is some form of developmental psychology which you likely already have. The other requirements are a course in classics, a course in fine arts, a science course, a social studies course and a foreign language. Requirements vary across provinces though.

In IE there is no practical difference between QTS and a CAN credential. There are a handful of CAN ISs that have agreements with various DSs and provinces in CAN that require a CAN credential, but they arent a significantly sized group.

The Teach Now Masters is unaccredited, a CAN province regulating authority isnt going to accept it for anything.

FTE is about 20hrs/wk. The minimums are pretty hard and set. You really need to discuss this with Teach Now, but be weary they have given candidates one answer and then told later after they are deeper in the program and paid and then changed the answer. Its probably easier for you to work independently of Teach Now with your IS to structure the field experience so that it matches the requirements of Teach Now. Just arrange with your IS to start your field experience earlier and have the mentor structure the documentation to report it was 20 hours a week.

I found the reading section of the Core PRAXIS to be a higher level than the TOEFL but it wasnt something I paid much attention to, I found them exceedingly easy.
The maths Core PRAXIS was easier than the SAT, its all numeracy.
I can not recommend any preparation texts or programs. Ive taken all tests cold without any preparation, a couple of them with a headache from the previous nights festivities.

I have no idea how much study time you need. My feeling is that this is primary subject matter content and I consider myself at least as smart as a 5th grader. If you need to study material that primary students are learning maybe your not the person who should be their teacher. That being said I also passed the maths certification exam for secondary on my first attempt cold without any preparation and lots of candidates have trouble with doing that.
intotheblue
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2017 4:31 am

Re: Questions about Teach Now (PsyGuy please help me)

Post by intotheblue »

@PsyGuy

Thank you again for the detailed information.

So from my understanding, as long as I dont want to add other subjects (e.g. History or Economics), I should be fine by having QTS with just primary if i am only interested in teaching elementary school kids at International Schools in East Asia?

In other words, all I would have to do is complete Teach Now program, pass the relevant praxis tests and then apply for QTS with DC credentials in order to obtain a lifetime elementary teaching certificate that doesn't require PD?

Also, because you warned me about Teach Now saying one thing and then another thing later, I would like to ask you one more question to ensure that I will not find myself in trouble later.

The current school I work does NOT have international school license issued by the country (Korea) it is located in. Instead, it is operated with hakwon (private academy) license.
However, it is officially recognized as a school by one of the provinces in Canada. In fact, our school can be found under the off-shore school list on the province ministry of education website. Also, all our students receive Canadian highschool diploma issued by the specific province.

I explained this to Teach Now and gave them a link of the official website I mentioned above.
They replied back with the following statement:

"You will have no problem completing the practicum in your school. It does not need to be recognized by the on-site country in order for you to participate."

Is this true? I want to make sure that it is fine because I don't want all my tuition and time to be wasted after finding out that I can't do practicum at my current school after six months of my studies.

Thank you very much
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@intotheblue

Yes, if you never want to add subject areas, you can safety let the DC credential expire after you have QTS.

Yes, once you complete the Teach Now program (which includes the PRAXIS exams) you can apply for and receive QTS, and QTS is a lifelong credential and requires no PD.

Yes, your IS is fine. You still have the time and commitment issue with your field experience which you have to resolve.
intotheblue
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2017 4:31 am

Re: Questions about Teach Now (PsyGuy please help me)

Post by intotheblue »

@PsyGuy

Thank you very much for clarification.
Hope you have a great holiday.
Boomba
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:02 pm

Re: Questions about Teach Now (PsyGuy please help me)

Post by Boomba »

Hello,

digging up the topic for two reasons.... ;)

First, thank you for your answers. It was useful! (I always wonder what is your background but it must be interesting)

Secondly, I have a few questions related to the last news I received directly from T-Now:
QTS is not obtainable if we do our practicum out of the US according to a conversation through emails. When I ask if I can do my internship in the US, the lady says she cannot guarantee I could get a QTS. I asked why and wait for the answer.
However, I can still ask here: would it be possible to get the DC license after doing the 5 required Praxis for French and then still request a QTS?

My ITT is a bachelor of general education and sociology. Not a teacher training. Then I got a Master MEEF which was to prepare for Primary school. As you know, I would require a CRPE/CAPES certificate to become certified in my country (competition test + 1 year of internship).
As a French national, should I worry about the level of the 5 demanded Praxis:
-Core Academic Skills for Educators: Reading,
-Core Academic Skills for Educators: Writing
-Core Academic Skills for Educators: Mathematics
-French: World Language
-World Languages Pedagogy

Are there any mock exams somewhere or at least samples of the questionaries so that I can get a clue of what it is actually about?

If I choose later on to do extra Praxis, I could become a counselor (Psychology?) and then also move it to a QTS (if it is still possible)?

Many thanks in advance for your help.
Boomba
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:02 pm

Re: Questions about Teach Now (PsyGuy please help me)

Post by Boomba »

Also, can I/should I do the Praxis before enrolling in Teach-Now which is an expensive option?...
Boomba
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:02 pm

Re: Questions about Teach Now (PsyGuy please help me)

Post by Boomba »

Boomba
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:02 pm

Re: Questions about Teach Now (PsyGuy please help me)

Post by Boomba »

Update 2:
While I kept reading about the issues regarding the DC /Teach Now to QTS, I found that the issue is not new but I would appreciate if anyone knew what is the last update on the conversion policy.

Teach Now tells they can find me an internship in the US. I'm not sure if the state where I do it is important.

LOL, for a 3 months internship, I would appreciate to go where it's sunny. Any recommendation? 😎☀️😂
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@Boomba

The PRAXIS isnt the factor, its one part of the Teach Now EPP/ITT program. Its field work, you have to do 12 weeks. If you do it in the US you will very likely get QTS hen you apply. If you do it outside the US you probably wont. Its a long conversation and this is a transition period right now.

If you do your field experience in the US you will have to find a DS/IS that will sponsor a visa for you. Teach Now doesnt do that.

The core Praxis exams shouldnt be a problem they are very basic secondary SLL level exams. Equivalent to a entering 1st year Uni student.
You will have zero issue with the French: World Language exam, you will think it was a kids test. You will think it cant be that easy and you did something wrong.
The World Language: Pedagogy exam is more a language acquisition exam, with your edu background you probably wont have much trouble with the content.
Your only issues are going to be that these exams are reflective of the US education system and progressive approaches to edu and them being in English.

Yes, there are practice sample exams, you can find them on the ETS Praxis website. A number of publications are available to purchase that have full (previously administered) exams.

No, there is no current DOE that issues a counselor credential based on an assessment pathway. DC was the closest at one time, you could piecemeal together a group of courses with any Masters and meet the requirements, that is no longer possible. The closest is MS but you would still need a Masters in counseling.

You could do the Praxis in advance if you were concern you couldnt pass them. Understand though if you fail it may effect your ability to get into Teach Now, as your attempts and failures become part of Teach Nows determination as a program completer.

Its not important where you do the field work.

Hawaii is nice. Guam might be convenient for you.
Boomba
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:02 pm

Re: Questions about Teach Now (PsyGuy please help me)

Post by Boomba »

Thanks

Late reply but I wonder what you mean about the PRAXIS results and how the results can affect my entry in Teach Now. Do they have to know that I took/tried them??
I assume that PRAXIS tests can be taken as often as one needs?
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