Overview
Enhance your skills to effectively teach students in middle/junior high school and high school. This certificate program consists of a series of methods courses which provide practicing teachers and other school professionals with the body of professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions that prepare them to work more effectively with learners in secondary classrooms.
- WHAT WILL I LEARN IN THE ONLINE SECONDARY TEACHING CERTIFICATE PROGRAM?
As a student, you will explore materials development, assessment and evaluation and cross-cultural communication. You will engage in hands-on field experiences and clinical practice under the supervision of the school’s administration and university supervisor. - WHAT CAREERS CAN I PURSUE WITH AN ONLINE SECONDARY TEACHING CERTIFICATE?
The Secondary Teaching Certificate will give you the background and skills you need to effectively teach in secondary classrooms. - HOW LONG WILL THE ONLINE SECONDARY TEACHING CERTIFICATE PROGRAM TAKE TO COMPLETE?
The Secondary Teaching Certificate program from start to finish is designed to be completed in 12 months. The total program credit hours are 30. - HOW MUCH WILL THE ONLINE SECONDARY TEACHING CERTIFICATE PROGRAM COST?
Learn more about our tuition and fees here.
When Can I Start?
There are five start dates in a calendar year: January, March, May, August, and October. The deadline to apply is two weeks before the start date for the term. Contact us at online@uvi.edu to learn more about this AAQEP accredited degree program and to be guided in the admissions process.
Secondary Teaching Certificate Program Outcomes
After successfully completing UVI’s 100% online Secondary Teaching Certificate, you will be able to:
- Apply principles of effective teaching to evaluate own teaching and the teaching of others
- Describe various ways of how the needs of students with disabilities can be met in a general education setting
- Design a comprehensive classroom management plan for a selected grade level grounded in research-based practices
- Understand reflective practice as a disposition to enquiry and process
- Evaluate complexity levels of texts used in the content areas
- Plan thoughtful and thorough lesson plans that integrate literacy into the content areas
curriculum
PROGRAM CORE:
UVI Online Course No : | Course Name : | Credits : | |
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GSS 5000 | Graduate Student Success | 1 | |
This course is designed to provide the students the opportunity to learn and improve strategies and skills that are essential for academic success at the graduate level. Through activities, application, and reflection, the material covered in this course should support and assist students in completion of their graduate program. Students should develop confidence in their ability to succeed as a graduate student. | |||
EDU 2210 | Foundations of Education | 3 | |
This course is essentially an historical study of the role of education in the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is designed to assist the student with a variety of significant education literature and provide an opportunity to examine the basic ideas (philosophical, sociological, and psychological) which have tended to give form and purpose to educational thought and practice in the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. | |||
EDU 2300 | Educational Psychology | 3 | |
An introduction to the ways in which psychological principles and theories of development apply to educational practice. The focus will be on the basic processes of development — cognitive, social and personality, moral, emotional, physical, language — from infancy through adolescence with special reference to their relationship to learning and instruction. The psychology of learning, motivation and social factors in education will also be considered. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing and PSY 1200. |
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EDU 2500 | Curriculum Development and Instruction | 3 | |
A study of the theoretical bases of curriculum planning and design, and of the influences of learner, society, and knowledge sources on the process of curriculum development and classroom instruction. Emphasis will be placed on the selection, planning and implementation of teaching strategies, methodologies, and instructional materials appropriate for individualized and group instruction. Prerequisites: EDU 2210, EDU 2300, and admission to the School. |
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EDU 3010 | Teaching Literacy in the Content Area | 3 | |
This course explores strategies for integrating literacy into secondary content areas, including content-specific vocabulary, and reading comprehension skills. Teachers will be exposed to literacy strategies (listening, speaking, thinking, reading, and writing) as they relate to the content areas. Teachers will learn to create content-specific lessons that integrate differentiated literacy strategies to ensure all learners succeed. |
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EDU 3020 | Introduction to Special Education | 3 | |
This is an introductory course designed to expose enrollees to children with exceptionalities. It will focus on the various categories of disabilities, the associated characteristics, etiology, prevalence, causes, and academic interventions based on the nature of the disability. The legal framework for services for students with disabilities as well as litigation that impacted legislation in the area will be explored. The foundation of special education along with current issues in special education will form a part of the course. Embedded in this course is 10 hours of classroom field work. Students will be required to work with or observe children with disabilities in preschool and/or elementary settings, offering direct exposure to and interaction with students with disabilities. |
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EDU 3500 | Instructional Design and Technology | 2 | |
Practice application of audiovisual methods and materials for instruction including the operation of equipment, computer uses and the planning and effective use of instructional technology with special emphasis on the development and use of training aids. Prerequisite: Admission to the School of Education. |
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EDU 3510 | Classroom Management | 2 | |
Principles and practices for managing classroom behavior including preventive strategies, group and individual techniques, and social, cultural, and psychological concerns. Emphasis is on the development of a personal philosophy and approach to effective classroom management. Prerequisites: EDU 2500 (may be taken concurrently) and admission to the School. |
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EDU 4010 | Secondary Teaching as a Reflective Practice | 3 | |
This course engages students in analyzing and reflecting on their current teaching practices to strengthen and extend their professional understanding of effective teaching and instruction. Students will plan and structure their own professional development through self-study and build a reflective portfolio to provide evidence into their professional growth and development. Students will learn how to engage in action research to empower their teaching practice and assess the quality of their teaching to maximize their pupils’ learning potential. |
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EDU 4500 | Measurement and Evaluation in Education | 2 | |
Study of measurement and evaluation techniques appropriate to the assessment of classroom instruction. Emphasis will be placed on test construction, criterion-referenced and norm-referenced testing, and on alternative evaluative procedures used to measure and report student progress. Prerequisites: EDU 2500 and admission to the School of Education. |
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EDU 4700 | Internship for Practicing Teachers | 6 | |
This course, designed for practicing elementary and secondary teachers who are employed full-time in Virgin Islands schools, but lack a course in student teaching or school internship, exposes students to research-based instructional practices and builds competence in teaching procedures and methodologies, classroom management, teacher-student relations, professional relationships, and oral and written communication. It provides students an opportunity to practice sound pedagogy within their own classrooms under the supervision of a university instructor. Prerequisites: A practicing teacher of three or more years with a bachelor’s degree and completion of pedagogy courses identified by the VI Board of Education as needed for certification. |
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Program Snap Shot |
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Program Core | 31 | ||
Program Electives | 0 | ||
Total Program Credits | 31 |
Career Outlook
The Secondary Teaching Certificate online program is intended for practicing teachers seeking certification to teach middle/junior high school and high school students.
Generally, the career path is teaching within your content area (e.g., English, Mathematics, Spanish or other foreign language, biology, chemistry or other science). These career paths will vary based on your undergraduate degree field.
The median annual wage for secondary education teachers was $61,820 in May 20211
1. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/high-school-teachers.htm
Employers can include:
- Public, private, and parochial schools
- Curriculum publishers
- Tutoring services companies
- Teacher certification exam preparation companies
- Non-profit Organizations
More Info
This certificate program consists of a series of methods courses which provide practicing teachers and other school professionals with the body of professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions that prepare them to work more effectively with learners in secondary classrooms. Additionally, this program provides training in materials development, assessment and evaluation and cross-cultural communication. The program requires participation in field experiences and clinical practice under the supervision of the school’s administration and university supervisor. Enrollment in individual courses is open to anyone who meets the stated prerequisite for each course. However, the certificate program is designed for in-service teachers holding at least a baccalaureate degree or equivalent from an accredited institution. Students at the University majoring in other content areas such as mathematics, science, social sciences, or English who aspire to one day become secondary classroom teachers may complete coursework except for the clinical course which can only be taken on the job in a secondary classroom.