Welcome to the Single Subject Credential Option degree program in English. Our goal is to help you successfully complete your program and, should you pursue a teaching credential, become an excellent English teacher. To that end, we have prepared this Guide to help you through the process of seeking certification of subject area competency in English.
Please note: the Single Subject Credential Option has different quarter and semester requirements. Should you wish to verify your program requirements or ask additional questions, please contact the English Education Coordinator or schedule an appointment with an English department adviser.
Purpose and Overview
The purpose of this program is to certify subject area competency in English. Certification of subject area competency is mandated by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) for all students who intend to pursue a single subject credential and teach in a secondary school.
To demonstrate subject area competency, you need to
- take the required courses as described by the catalog and the program provided by your Department Adviser;
- maintain a 2.83 GPA in your degree program with no grade below C;
- complete 24 hours of field experience (to be deducted from the 45 hours required in EDCI 300/EDCI 4000);
- submit a passing portfolio to the English Education Coordinator at the end of your program.
You must successfully complete the above program prior to formal admission to the Charter College of Education; credential programs at other universities will also require the certification of subject area competency before tgranting the teaching credential. An alternative way of demonstrating subject area competency is to pass the California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET). Currently, the CSET is not a requirement for the credential, although some schools require it as a condition of employment.
Timeline
- Declare your major in a meeting with an English Department Adviser. Submit your sub-plan in GET (English Major Option: Single Subject Teaching).
- Apply for a Certificate of Clearance at least two months before beginning your field experience.
- Take English 310/English 3050 alongside one unit of English 398/English 3980; complete 12 hours of field experience.
- Take English 494/English 4910 alongside one unit of English 398/English 3980; complete 12 hours of field experience.
- Visit the English department adviser regularly (approximately twice a year or as necessary).
- To best prepare your portfolio, keep copies of graded papers from each English class you take.
- To best prepare for your portfolio, after the end of finals week, write a brief paragraph describing the pedagogical strategies used and the content learned in each upper-division English class taken that term.
- Submit your portfolio at the end of the program to the English Education Coordinator.
- Investigate teacher credential programs and submit your application during your senior year or after graduation. If you are interested in the Charter College of Education Credential Program, you may visit King Hall D2069 for deadlines and application criteria.
TPAC and Field Experience
In order to certify subject area competency and graduate in the Single Subject Credential Option in English, you must complete 24 hours of early field experience in secondary school English classrooms. Before beginning this field experience, you are required to apply for and receive a Certificate of Clearance. This multi-step process can take several weeks and we urge you to begin this process at least two months before beginning your field experience. The Teacher Preparation Advisement Center (TPAC) has instruction guides explaining how to apply for a Certificate of Clearance. Information about this process is also available in the English Department's Advisement Office or from the English Education Coordinator or department adviser.
You will complete 12 hours of field experience alongside English 310/English 3050 and 12 hours of field experience alongside English 494/English 4910. Approximately half of your hours will be at a middle school and half at a high school. The TPAC Office will work with you to arrange and coordinate these hours.
We strongly suggest that you take English 310/English 3050 early in your program and that you take English 494/English 4910 at the end of your program.
Portfolio Information
The portfolio is a collection of artifacts that demonstrates subject area competency in four domains:
- Literature and Textual Analysis
- Language, Linguistics, and Literacy
- Composition and Rhetoric
- Communications: Speech, Media, and Creative Performance
Starting in Fall 2016, students enroll in ENGL 4950 (Senior Capstone) to complete a portfolio. This fully online course provides step-by-step guidance on compiling the portfolio.
In brief, to demonstrate competency, you need to submit a 5-10 page analysis of and reflection upon your program and fieldwork and four graded assignments from classes that indicate your competency in these four domains. For more information on the portfolio, its contents, and the rubric, please pick up the handout "Checklist for Teaching Portfolio Contents" from your department adviser or from the English Education Coordinator. You can also get a description of these four domains from the English Education Coordinator. Successful portfolios will be complete, thoughtful, and reflective.
We hope that you will become more conscious of how your professors teach, as well as understand what they teach. To that end, we suggest that you keep all of your class notes. Organize them in any way that makes sense to you (by author, text, historical period, etc.). Note class assignments and activities that are particularly effective. Note the ways in which the professor is modeling pedagogy for you. What works very well? What could you adapt to your own teaching style? What could be better? How and why?
We also urge you to keep copies of all of your graded essays and assignments, including any graded responses to oral presentations. You will be including some of these in your portfolio.
The English Education Coordinator or the department adviser will inform students of any deficiencies, including inadequate GPA, incomplete or non-passing portfolio, or incomplete field experience. Students may resolve these deficiencies by retaking courses, revising and resubmitting portfolios, or by finishing field experience.
Good luck. We wish you well!
Forms
ENGL 310/3050 Early Field Experience Observation Guide
ENGL 494/4910 Early Field Experience Observation Guide
For More Information
English Department Adviser
Engineering and Technology A638
(323) 343-4140
English Education Coordinator
Dr. Perry: Office hours Wednesday, 11am -12pm
Engineering and Technology A638
(323) 343-4140
TPAC Office
(323) 343-5434