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Feedback and evaluation happen in a variety of ways in the School of Education--during class, during clinical experiences, during your communications and interactions with others. As a teacher candidate, you decided to pursue a career where your skillset and success depend upon more than your ability to write effective lesson plans--your success also depends on your ability to reflect, build relationships with others, maintain professionalism, and act ethically.
Developing these skills does not happen overnight; they develop with time, conscious effort, and of course, feedback.
You will receive feedback on your assignments and teaching performance in the form of written comments and grades, discussions with your advisor and teaching mentors/supervisors, and various rubrics. School of Education faculty, supervisors, and mentors are always looking to support your development of professional skills and attributes, and the best way to do so is to assess, coach, and provide ongoing feedback throughout your program. So even if you are "just in class" on campus, your instructor might take the opportunity to share advice or feedback for "if this happened in a K-12 school setting." Try to welcome the unexpected opportunities to receive feedback, even if they trigger some feelings of frustration. Breathe, take it in, and know that every experience or challenge is an opportunity to grow and develop your skills!
Throughout your School of Education program, you are evaluated in various longitudinal, formal and informal ways using the following three documents/processes: Essential Functions of an Educator, the Professional Behaviors Assessment, and GPA Monitoring. They are outlined below and it is important that you are familiar with them.
Formal assessments and rubrics for use during Clinical Experiences are overviewed in the tab labelled Clinical Experiences and in the Guide to Student Teaching and the Guides to Undergraduate or Graduate Practicum. You should download and read these documents separately (you will also review them during program-specific orientation sessions for clinical experiences).
Essential Functions of a Professional Educator
Performing successfully as a teacher candidate requires a broad array of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Admission and retention decisions are based not only on satisfactory prior and on-going academic achievement, but also on non-academic factors that serve to ensure that the teacher candidate can complete the essential functions of the academic and field-based program components required for graduation.
Essential functions, as distinguished from academic standards, refer to those cognitive, social, and communication abilities that are necessary for satisfactory completion of all aspects of the teacher education curriculum and the development of professional attributes. Upon graduation, students from this program are expected to deliver instruction in a safe, inclusive, and ethical manner. This document delineates specific demands of a teacher candidate and professional teacher.
Teacher candidates are expected to demonstrate the functions articulated in this document. When a teacher candidate desires reasonable accommodation to assist in completing the field-based and non-field-based
coursework of this program, they must request this assistance from the Student Accessibility Services. This office, in consultation with the program director, Office of Clinical Experience and Partnerships and other inclusive education faculty members, will collaborate to determine whether or not reasonable accommodations can be provided. Providing reasonable accommodation does not imply that a student will be exempt from performing any tasks essential to completion of the program. There can be no exemption for performing functions necessary and required during field placements, including practicum experiences and student teaching.
Teacher educator programs at Nazareth assume that teacher candidates can complete the following:
✔ Tasks Requiring Social Skills
✔ Tasks Requiring Communication Skills
✔ Tasks Requiring Cognitive Skills
✔ Other Tasks
Professional Behaviors Assessment
The Professional Behaviors Assessment (PBA) is designed to help you understand our expectations for non-academic elements that help you to be a successful teacher and professional colleague. These attributes and dispositions are the qualities, beyond your abilities to know your content and write lesson plans, that make you “hire-able”--someone that school administrators will understand to be an asset to their school community. They are predictive of success as an education professional.
The intent of this assessment is threefold:
For teaching candidates to self-assess, identify areas for development, and reflect on their behaviors as professional educators throughout their program experience.
For program directors, course instructors, and other university-based teacher educators to facilitate discussion with, assess and monitor progress of, and counsel, teacher candidates as needed on issues related to professional behaviors.
For school-based teacher educators to assess teacher candidates' professional behaviors in clinical experiences.
The PBA is used in rubric form during your Clinical Experiences and coursework as an opportunity to give you feedback about how these attributes are developing and what you can do to improve them. Below, we have highlighted the Exemplary descriptor in each of the 9 categories of the PBA. To see the full rubric, visit our Office Clinical Experiences & Partnerships website here.
One thing to note: A lack of development of these attributes--that is, displaying behaviors that are unprofessional, unethical, irresponsible, and disrespectful of diversity--is cause for dismissal from the School of Education. Nazareth University and the School of Education neither graduates nor recommends for certification teacher candidates who cannot display Professional Behaviors.
Professional Behaviors Assessment Categories & Descriptions
Communication
Communicates effectively with others in a variety of modes. Communication is professional, and appropriate for the intended setting and audience. Recognizes the two-way nature of communication and listens effectively.
Confidentiality
Protects confidentiality of all potentially sensitive information.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Candidate demonstrates an awareness of how race, class, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, and ability may privilege some and marginalize others in our educational system. Candidate is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion as evidenced in their word choices, actions, instructional choices and interactions.
Candidate demonstrates an asset-based outlook on B-12 students, their families, and communities, school and university-based teacher educators, instructors, and peers.
Feedback & Reflection
Reflects on own identity, positionality, and effectiveness as an educational professional. Accepts and integrates feedback from others, to contribute to a cycle of personal and professional growth.
Health and Safety of
Self & Others
Actively attends to the physical and mental health and safety of self and others. Is knowledgeable of, and follows appropriate protocols and procedures, when addressing safety, emotional and emergency situations.
Initiative & Independence
Demonstrates an appropriate level of initiative and independence with respect to role and setting. Asks questions to clarify appropriate levels of engagement based on role and setting. Takes the initiative to seek out resources and information that will support professional growth.
Learning Mindset
Demonstrates growth mindset toward professional responsibilities.
Embraces new challenges as opportunities for growth, and recognizes that effort is a natural part of the learning process that requires persistence.
Relationships
Develops and maintains constructive, supportive and cooperative professional relationships with B-12 students and staff, school and university-based teacher educators, instructors, and/or peers/colleagues.
Responsibility
Demonstrates responsibility in meeting commitments by being punctual and prepared, submitting assignments and professional materials on time, and communicating in a timely manner.
GPA Monitoring
The School of Education believes teacher candidates are some of the most versatile and bright students on campus. Being a teacher requires a creative mind and strong academic skills. To be a teacher is to know your field and to be able to communicate about it thoughtfully and reflectively.
Teachers are required to analyze learning situations, apply theory to their practice, observe and document learning, advocate for their programs by writing lesson and unit plans that connect their subject to the rest of the world, communicate professionally within their teaching communities and with parents and students. This requires excellence in all of your education courses. As such, both New York State and Nazareth University have high expectations for teacher candidate minimum overall GPAs:
• Undergraduate Programs: Overall 2.7 Cumulative GPA (by the time of junior-level coursework)
• Graduate Programs: Overall 3.0 GPA
This means that you should be aiming for A’s and B’s in all of your education classes. C’s are a cause for concern and you can expect your advisor to follow up when midterm and final grades of C appear in your records. All required courses for certification in New York State must be completed with a grade of C or better. If you earn a grade of C- or lower in a required course for New York State certification, you will need to repeat that course. Additionally, graduate students should be familiar with the "C Grade Policy" in the graduate catalog: No more than two C grades (C or C+) in graduate-level work earned at Nazareth College will be counted as part of the degree program.
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Freshman & sophomore students: While the School of Education will monitor your GPA, we understand that your first year or two of college is a time of transition and that there is a learning curve to acclimating to your college life/experience. You will receive notifications if your GPA is below expectations for the School of Education (2.7), and suggestions for improving it, but you will not yet be placed on education probation. You should expect to follow up on any low grades with your advisor. Please remember, however, that any grades below "C" in courses required by New York State for certification will need to be repeated.
A note for all undergraduate students: Your undergraduate college experience is a time of learning, growth, and transformation. Students develop their skills at different times and at different rates. If you end up on Academic Probation for your education program, you need to focus on developing your skills—in organization, time management, studying, and writing. These things can be learned with time, motivation, and persistence; many helpful resources are available through our Center for Student Success. If you find yourself in danger of being dismissed from your undergraduate education program, and you know you want to teach, you should consider the option of dropping your education program and focusing on your College of Liberal Arts, Sciences, Business, and Education major and grades. You may then be able to apply to a graduate education program that would lead to teacher certification.
A note for Graduate students: Students with full acceptance status who earn a grade point average of less than 3.0 in their current program of study for the first time are placed on Academic Warning. Students whose cumulative GPA falls below 3.0 for a second time are placed on Academic Probation. Should a student’s cumulative GPA fall below a 3.0 for the third time, they are dismissed. Graduate students who have been placed on Academic Warning are eligible to receive federal financial aid (student loans). Based on federal guidelines and requirements, graduate students who are placed on Academic Probation are NOT eligible for federal financial aid (student loans) unless they have submitted a financial aid appeal due to extenuating circumstances and the appeal has been approved. Graduate students who are dismissed from the Graduate School are not eligible to reapply to Nazareth University. Students with an admission status of “provisional with monitoring of grade point average” must have a 3.0 by the end of 12 credits. See the Graduate Catalog for full explanation of policies.
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