Education

Faculty

Gloria T. Wenze, Ph.D., Chair
Dona Bauman, Ph.D.
Arthur Chambers, M.Ed.
Jennifer Cutsforth, Ph.D.
Darryl DeMarzio, Ph.D.
Patricia A. Gross, Ed.D.
M. Sandra Lamanna, M.Ed.
Sehba Mahmood, Ph.D.
Tata J. Mbugua, Ph.D.
Maria Oreshkina, Ph.D.
Vanessa Silla, Ed.D.

Mission

The Education Department at the University of Scranton are faculty and staff who embrace Jesuit educational principles by preparing teachers, supervisors, and administrators who are reflective practitioners whose decisions are informed by subject matter knowledge, educational research and theory, and who are driven by the care and service for others.

Programs

The Education Department offers degrees in Early and Primary Education, Middle Level Education, and Secondary Education, each leading to state teacher certification. Programs in Middle Level Education are English/Language Arts and Reading, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science. Secondary Education Programs include:

	Biology	General Science
	Chemistry	German
	Citizenship with History	Latin
	Citizenship with Political Science	Mathematics
	Communication	Physics
	English	Spanish
	French

Dual majors or the equivalent of a dual major are part of all secondary programs at the University.

Student Teaching Requirements

The Education Department ordinarily does not permit students to take courses concurrently with the student-teaching sequence. Students seeking deviations from this policy must complete a form requiring the approvals of the advisor, the appropriate program director, the department chairperson, and the dean. Student teaching requires application, which must be submitted to the appropriate advisor and approved by the program director, prior to registration for the student teaching semester. Current PA Criminal Records, PA Child Abuse Clearance forms, FBI fingerprint clearances indicating “no record,” and TB test results are required previous to receiving a field assignment. Students must comply with field and student teaching applicaton deadlines. Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from the student teaching site.

Accreditation

The Department’s programs are approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). The University’s Professional Education Unit is also accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Accreditation and interstate agreements between Pennsylvania and selected states assure that courses taken will be considered for certification in most states. Praxis Series I & II tests are required for Pennsylvania Teacher Certification.

Field Experiences/Student Teaching Requirements

In order to enter Pennsylvania schools or be placed at any field experience site that would place students in direct contact with children, including any and all University of Scranton clinics or tutoring sessions, all students must have a valid PA Criminal Record Clearance (Act 34), PA Child Abuse Clearance (Act 151), FBI Fingerprint Clearance (Act 114), and TB test results on file with the Education Department. Any citation on the Act 34, Act 151, or Act 114 will prevent students from participating in field experiences and student teaching, or admission into Teacher Education Programs. In no case will a student be provided with placement information previous to the instructor’s acknowledgment of current clearances or TB test results. Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from the field experience site.

Teacher Candidacy

Students are accepted to the University as Education majors, but progress beyond 48 credits may occur only upon application for Teacher Candidate status. Acceptance into Teacher Candidacy permits the student to engage in junior-level Education course work. From the freshman year, students are strongly urged to become aware of teacher candidacy requirements. Students are encouraged to take Praxis I in their freshman year and to attend the teacher candidacy informational seminar, which is offered each semester.

Semi-Annual Review of Student Dispositions

Education majors are evaluated regularly at a meeting of the Education Department faculty and professional staff to assess each student’s continuing potential to become a teacher. This determination is based on professional behaviors as outlined in The Education Student Handbook (available from the Education Department Web site). Students whose professional behaviors are unsatisfactory are subject to departmental probation and may be recommended to the dean of the college for dismissal from the Education program. The department’s probation policy and other information are presented in the Education Student Handbook.

Service Learning

The Panuska College of Professional Studies embraces a service learning experience to better prepare its students for professional careers that are service oriented. Education majors are required to perform 40 hours of service in order to graduate. Service is aligned with designated courses throughout the program of studies and is related to the content of the courses (see the Education Student Handbook available on the Education Department website).

Exit Portfolio and Interview

Students are encouraged to maintain artifacts of their professional experiences as they progress through their teacher training. Upon completion of the student teaching experience, students are required to submit an exit portfolio that documents their professional experiences. This portfolio is presented at an exit interview with faculty members. Education majors are required to successfully meet the exit portfolio and interview requirements in order to graduate.

Academic Advising

Students will confer with their academic advisors in order to plan the sequence of courses that will be taken for each term. Entering freshmen will be given the new program requirements prior to orientation. Following this narrative, all the courses mentioned are a part of the programs of study.

Title II

Federal regulations in the Higher Education Act of 1998 require that departments of teacher education report their students’ performance on the Praxis Series examinations.

Course Information

Courses for Education are listed under the prefix EDUC. For more informaiton on these courses, visit our Education Department Courses page. For more information on all courses offered, visit our Course Descriptions page.

Click here for information on the Accelerated Master’s Degree and Combined Baccalaureate/Master’s Degree Programs .

For more information about the Education department, visit its website.