The Mount Union College's Teacher Education Program's mission statement is derived from the vision expressed in the College's mission statement, but it offers a version more particular to the preparation of teacher candidates.
Mount Union College's Teacher Education Program prepares candidates for meaningful careers in the field of education. Building upon a solid liberal arts foundation, the Teacher Education Program assists candidates in developing knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to become effective and caring teachers in an ever-changing society. Mount Union College's candidates are prepared to become reflective, lifelong learners.
This mission is realized for all candidates through the attainment of eleven common goals that are aligned with Ohio Teacher Education and Licensure Standards, INTASC, PRAXIS, and NCATE Program standards. The Teacher Education Program has established programs in Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, Adolescence to Young Adult, and Multiage Education to assist candidates to:
1) develop an understanding of subject matter areas and to create meaningful learning experiences based on this knowledge.
2) develop an understanding of students' cognitive, social, physical, and emotional
development and to create learning opportunities that support student academic
development.
3) recognize and value student diversity and the differences in how students learn and provide instruction to accommodate such diversity.
4) develop instructional plans based on students' needs, curricular goals and models, subject matter, and community.
5) develop pedagogical knowledge and skills and to use this expertise to encourage each student to develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
6) create a classroom environment that facilitates learning and a climate that
encourages fairness, positive social interactions, active learning, and self-
motivation.
7) develop effective verbal, nonverbal, written, technological, and media
communication skills to support and enhance student learning.
8) understand the role of assessment and the use of formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate student learning.
9) develop skills necessary for self-reflection and to use this knowledge to analyze past experiences and to pursue professional development opportunities.
10) collaborate with students, candidates, parents, community members, and
professional colleagues in order to support student learning and development.
11) demonstrate a sense of caring.
Performance-based assessments are used to monitor candidates' performances and to determine the extent to which candidates meet goals and standards. The predominant assessment tool relied upon in the Teacher Education Program is the candidates' professional portfolios. The portfolio is used as a continuous assessment tool not only for individual candidates but also to determine and re-examine trends in candidate development within and across programs. The portfolio contains products/artifacts chosen by the candidate with the guidance of professional community members in order to provide evidence of content, pedagogical and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn. The artifacts/projects included in the portfolio are judged at transition points by using holistic and analytical rubrics as evidence of goal attainment with the aim of becoming Competent, Capable, and Caring teachers. Additionally, small teams consisting of representatives from the professional community conduct interviews with candidates at selected transition points to affirm their proficiency of program standards. The transition points are 1) program admission, 2) entry into clinical practice, 3) exit from clinical practice, and 4) program completion.

Entry into Clinical Practice
The next phase of candidate assessment takes place prior to admission into clinical practice. Grade-point averages, an interview, and a portfolio review are all indicators for this transition point. In order to be admitted to clinical practice, the candidates must have successfully maintained admission in the Teacher Education Program and have achieved a cumulative GPA of a 2.5 or higher, GPA of a 2.5 or higher in the major, and 2.67 GPA or higher in education courses (a minimum of a "C" in all 300 and 400 level courses offered by the Education Department). Additionally, a candidate must have senior standing and have positive references from the field experience cooperating teacher and Teacher Education Program faculty. In their portfolio and during the interview process, the candidates must show that they can create meaningful learning experiences for students based on their content knowledge, create learning opportunities that support student academic development, provide instruction to accommodate diversity, design and utilize instructional plans, develop their pedagogical knowledge and skills, create a fair and positive classroom environment that facilitates learning, increase effective communication skills to support student learning, understand the role of assessment, and pursue professional development opportunities. Additionally, the portfolio and interview at this stage must show further development of the goals required for entry into the Teacher Education Program.

Exit from Clinical Practice
At the next transition point, exiting clinical practice, the candidates are assessed by clinical practice evaluations, portfolios, and interviews regarding their proficiency to deliver content, to use the pedagogical and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn, to positively impact all students, and to exhibit a sense of caring. The candidates' portfolios must also reflect that they have pursued professional development opportunities and that they have collaborated with students, candidates, parents, community members, and professional colleagues to support student learning and development. The portfolio and interview at this point must show competencies that have progressed from the introductory to emergent to proficient levels. This means that a portfolio should indicate that candidates are approaching proficiency for each of the program goals at an entry-year teacher level.

Program Completion
The final phase for the candidates in the Teacher Education Program is completion of the program. The exit assessments focus on content, pedagogical and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn. All goals must be documented in the candidate's portfolio. Candidates must have maintained a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5, have a minimum of 2.5 GPA in their major, and have a minimum 2.67 GPA in education courses that are prescribed for their licensure area (a minimum of a "C" in all 300 and 400 level courses offered by the Education Department). Portfolios are displayed to the professional community and other candidates at a portfolio showcase. At the portfolio showcase, the candidates explain how documentation serves as evidence of proficiency regarding all goals. Additionally, the candidates present their interpretations of the Teacher Education Program theme: "Caring Teachers Live What They Believe." Candidates are proficient in all of the Teacher Education Program goals upon completion of the program. External candidate information from state licensure exams (PRAXIS II) further adds to this multidimensional process.

Appeals Process
Any decision made by Teacher Education Program Committees/Teams or Chair of the Teacher Education Program may be appealed in writing to the Subcommittee of Teacher Education within thirty days of the date of the notification. The Subcommittee will review the written appeal and make a recommendation. The candidate will be notified in writing within thirty days of the appeal's receipt.

Higher Education Report Card
The Higher Education Report Card is a federal requirement of Title II for all colleges and universities offering teacher preparation. Mount Union College is proud to announce that in the second year of reporting, the 2000-2001 academic class of new teachers exceeded the national pass rate in all aggregated areas related to PRAXIS II tests in which the College prepares teachers. Those include professional knowledge, Principles of Learning and Teaching, and academic content areas.
This information will serve as a benchmark as the College continues to build upon its rich tradition of preparing new educators.