Don A. Williams School of Education

Associate Professor Sarah R. Hartman, Dean

Professors Don Ashley, J.B. Boren, Jo Beth DeSoto, Chaoqun Huang, Linda Hutcherson-Beckel, Keri James, Judy Jarratt, Don Knox, Michael Outlaw, Tony Strange

Emeritus Professors Kent Brooks, Patricia Herman, June Hogue, Jim Todd

Accountability

The Texas State Board for Educator Certification has assigned Wayland Baptist University teacher preparation program a rating of “Accredited” under the Accountability System for Educators Preparation Programs. Educator preparation programs are held accountable for the performance of teacher candidates on the statewide certification tests. Programs must achieve a minimum pass rate on the test by disaggregated subgroups to receive a rate of “Accredited.” A Teacher Education Advisory Council (TEAC) exists, per the recommendation of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for accountability, communication, and relationship-strengthening between the Don A. Williams School of Education and other entities. The TEAC consists of Educators (current and former), Administrators, community members, and both undergraduate and graduate students.

Vision

The Don A. Williams School of Education works to prepare every student and/or teacher candidate across four main domains–Spiritual, Physical, Cognitive, and Social-Emotional–in a Christian culture and positive learning environment, prepared with the information, skills, and mindsets, to be positive and effective influences on students, student achievement, and/or fellow staff members in their careers.

Mission Statement

The Don A. Williams School of Education exists to inspire the development of professionals based on Christian principles and practices.

Mission Objectives

1. Spiritual: encourage participation in Chapel and/or local church
2. Physical: incorporate active-learning strategies to support teaching and learning
3. Cognitive: provide rigor in all courses to foster critical thinking
4. Social-Emotional: model empathy as a way to connect with future students and/or colleagues

Master of Education

The Master of Education degree is designed to enhance the preparation and leadership of individuals both within the education profession and those seeking initial or professional teaching certification. The focus of the Master of Education is curriculum, instruction, and leadership. The degree program is a minimum of thirty-six (36) credit hours with a professional core and a professional specialization. The goals of the degree are the following:

1. To promote and enhance the knowledge base and skills necessary for effective teaching, leadership, and professional development.
2. To integrate theory with practice to enrich the quality of instruction and teaching and foster continuous improvement of the educational process.
3. To develop skills for analyzing decision-making and action based on a thoughtful reflection on pertinent data and current research.

Three (3) unique tracks are available to students seeking the Master of Education. One track can lead to initial teacher certification - elementary, secondary, or special education. A second track can lead to professional certification - educational diagnostician, principal, or school counselor (*for individuals seeking school counselor certification, refer to Master of Arts in Counseling description located within the School of Behavioral and Social Sciences). The Don A. Williams School of Education only recommends teacher (initial) and/or professional (Administration, Educational Diagnostician, and School Counseling) certification in the state of Texas, as per the authority of the Texas Education Agency (TEA). As such, candidates seeking Initial and Professional Certification in all fields must complete a supervised educator assignment in a public (or other) school accredited by the TEA. Because of the 80-mile-radius restriction for clinical teaching, practicums, and internships tied to Texas campuses of Wayland Baptist University, candidates who are part of the Don A. Williams School of Education Educator Preparation Program (EPP) should live in the state of Texas (or at most, within the 80-mile radius requirement of a candidate’s home campus), must attend a Wayland Baptist University (WBU) campus in the state of Texas, and must fulfill all Texas Teacher Certification requirements as mandated by TEA and the WBU School of Education.The third track is designed for those individuals in teaching, instructional leadership, and human services seeking to enhance professional skills and abilities.

edTPA

1. edTPA - edTPA is a performance-based, subject-specific assessment and support system used by teacher preparation programs throughout the United States to emphasize, measure and support the skills and knowledge that all teachers need. The assessment features a common architecture focused on three tasks: Planning, Instruction, and Assessment. Aspiring teacher must prepare a portfolio of materials during their student teaching clinical experience.
2. Completing edTPA Portfolios - All candidates completing Initial Certification will be required to successfully submit edTPA during their clinical teaching semester. Candidates must use the content assessment handbooks for their specific content areas to complete their edTPA portfolios and submit them through the Don A. Williams School of Education selected Integrated Platform and Pearson. Candidates must pay $318 out-of-pocket to complete the initial edTPA submission at the beginning of the clinical teaching semester. Candidates must meet or exceed the Texas edTPA cut score requirement in order to qualify for an initial teaching certificate issued by the state of Texas.
3. Retake of edTPA - If candidates do not pass one or more of the three edTPA tasks within their portfolios, their portfolios will undergo review by the edTPA Retake Advisory Committee at Wayland Baptist University. This committee will be comprised of the Dean/edTPA Coordinator, the Associate Dean/Director of Field Experiences, a Teacher Education faculty member from the Plainview campus, a Teacher Education faculty member from the Lubbock campus, and a Teacher Education faculty member from the San Antonio campus. Candidates whose edTPA submissions do not satisfy the Texas edTPA cut score requirement will have the opportunity to attempt additional edTPA submissions at their own cost. Candidates must pay $100 out-of-pocket each time they resubmit a task for edTPA scoring. Should candidates need to retake any tasks that require an additional clinical teaching semester, they will be required to pay for the additional semester hours of clinical teaching. If candidates are required to complete a full retake of the edTPA portfolio, they must pay the full $318 out-of-pocket and pay for the full additional semester hours of clinical teaching.

Admission Guidelines for the Teaching Certification Program

All students seeking admission to the Master of Education program must first seek admission to the University Graduate Program to include the following requirements:

1. complete an application for admission to the graduate program
2. pay the application fee
3. submit official transcript(s)
4. meet the entrance requirements set forth in the current catalog
5. request admission status as degree-seeking, conditional degree-seeking, or non-degree seeking (see current catalog for more information)
6. take and pass the TxPACT (Texas Preadmission Content Test) exam in chosen content area before admission to the Teacher Education program
7. take and pass the 5010 course and pay the $55 fee in the first 8-week session or semester of taking courses in the program

Requirements and information for those seeking a graduate degree and/or post baccalaureate certification from Wayland Baptist University School of Education:

1. A maximum of 12 credit hours of graduate study earned in a certification only, non-degree seeking category may be applied to a Wayland graduate degree.
2. The Graduate Council must approve the application of non-degree seeking hours to a graduate degree.
3. No grade below C in the area for which the student is seeking certification or in an education course required for certification.
4. GPA greater than or equal to 3.0 for all education courses.
5. No grade of less than C and no more than 4 credit hours with the letter grade of C earned at Wayland will be accepted as credit for any Master’s Degree.
6. If for some reason a student elects to a change of degree status, the student may do so by filling out the appropriate application and meeting all the requirements for the degree he/she seeks. A student must meet the criteria for admission to the teaching certification program.

Programs

• Educational Administration, M.Ed.
• Educational Diagnostics, M.Ed.
• Elementary Education Certification, M.Ed.
• Professional Studies, Education Literacy Specialization, M.Ed.
• Professional Studies, English as a Second Language (ESL) Education Specialization, M.Ed.
• Professional Studies, English Specialization, M.Ed.
• Professional Studies, History Specialization, M.Ed.
• Professional Studies, Human Resources Specialization, M.Ed.
• Professional Studies, Instructional Technology Specialization, M.Ed.
• Professional Studies, Leadership Development Specialization, M.Ed.
• Professional Studies, Special Education Specialization, M.Ed.
• Professional Studies, Sports Administration and Management Specialization, M.Ed.
• Secondary Education Certification, M.Ed.

• Alternative Certification
• Educational Diagnostician, Post Graduate Certificate
• Principal, Post Graduate Certificate
• Secondary Education, Post-Baccalaureate Certification
• Superintendent, Post Graduate Certification