Planning to Teach?

• English Teacher Preparation Program (ETTP)
• Field Experience Steps

Important Information for students planning on pursuing a single-subject English teaching credential

In order to meet your required "subject matter competency" for a single subject English teaching credential, you must do ONE of two things: 1) complete our CSUSB English department's English Teacher Preparation Program OR 2) pass all sections of the English CSET exam.

If you do option 1 (i.e., complete our English Teacher Preparation Program), you will have earned your subject matter competency and you will not need to take the CSET. The subject matter competency that you earn in our program will transfer to any teaching credential program in the state of California. Thus, if you complete our English Teacher Preparation Program, you can take your subject matter competency to any California teaching credential program. In other words, you do not need to do your credential at the same school in which you did your English subject matter program.

Our CSUSB English Teacher Preparation Program is one of the few State-approved English subject matter programs in California. If you graduate from CSUSB with your B.A. in English without having completed our English Teacher Preparation Program and then go to another university that does not have a state-approved subject matter program, you will have to pass the English CSET exam in order to earn your subject matter competency. In addition, if you graduate with your B.A. in English and later decide to come back to do our English Teacher Preparation program, you will have lost your catalog rights and will have to complete all of the requirements of whatever our current English Teacher Preparation program is. If you wish to avoid these potential problems, it is a good idea to complete our English Teacher Preparation Program while you are completing your English major here.

The requirements for the English Teacher Preparation Program are listed in the University Catalog under the B.A. in English (see the section labeled "English Teacher Preparation Program" in Catalogs for 2005-2006 to the present; for Catalogs prior to 2005-2006, the English Teacher Preparation Program is listed under the section labeled "Teaching Credential Program" for the B.A. in English). You should follow the Catalog for the year in which you declared your English Major (That year is listed on your PAWS report.).

An English major faculty advisor or an EPIC advisor can also advise you about the English Teacher Preparation Program for your Catalog year. The advisors' hours are posted in the English Department office (UH 334).

After you have completed our English Teacher Preparation Program, you must go to the CSUSB CASE office to receive a letter confirming that you have completed the requirements of the program. You can then take that letter to any California teaching credential program.

Field Experience Steps

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) specifies that students who:

1. declared their English major after June 30, 2005; and
2. intend to pursue a single-subject English teaching credential

must complete 12-15 hours of field experience in public middle schools or public high schools; these hours must be completed as part of ENG 327, ENG 329, and HUM 312, which each require 4-5 hours of field experience. Described below are important steps for completing this field experience requirement.

A. Steps for Gaining Clearance for the Field Experience

(These steps are to be completed as soon as possible in a student's English major and no later than the end of the first two weeks of the quarter in which the student is doing field experience)

1. Students pick up the blue Certificate of Clearance packet from their English advisor or professor, or from the CSUSB CASE office in Chaparral Hall 123, 537-5609.
2. Students take the blue packet (which contains a white form called "Request for Live Scan Service") to a police station. Our CSUSB police station can do Live Scans on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 1:00-5:00 pm. (Students should call 537-3552 or 537-5165 for an appointment. The total cost for the Live Scan there is $71, payable in cash or check at the time of the appointment; students must bring with them a California Driver's License or California I.D. card). Students can also do a Live Scan at another police station that offers this service, but the fee may be different. At the end of their Live Scan appointment, students will receive two copies of the "The Request for Live Scan Service" form, one which they provide to the CASE office (see step 3. below) and one which they keep to show to middle schools and high schools.
3. Students take the second copy of the "Request for Live Scan Service" back to the CASE office, along with the "Character and Identification Clearance Form" and "Affidavit for Certificate of Clearance," which are also in the blue packet. Students should also bring to the CASE Office a MONEY ORDER or CASHIER'S CHECK for $27.50 payable to C.C.T.C. This whole packet of materials will then be sent to C.C.T.C. for Clearance processing.
4. When students turn in all the materials to CASE in step 3 above, that office will give them one copy of their "Affidavit of Clearance" form (see back of the blue packet), signed by the Director of CASE. Students should make several copies of this signed Affidavit form, give one copy of it to the instructor of their CSUSB English course requiring field experience, and be prepared to show it to middle schools and high schools and to instructors for their other CSUSB English courses requiring field experience. Important: Students should also keep a copy of the completed "Request for Live Scan Service" (see step 2 above) and be prepared to show it to middle schools and high schools in which they do field experience.
5. Students should have official documented proof that they have had a T.B. test (e.g., documentation from the CSUSB health center or other medical center). They should be prepared to show this T.B. test documentation to middle schools and high schools in which they are doing the field experience.
6. When the CCTC has finished processing a student's Certificate of Clearance, the CASE office will mail the Certificate to the student or the student will access the Certificate on-line. Important: Students should hold on to their Certificates of Clearance because these are required in their future teaching credential programs and because they can use them to receive a $27.50 credit toward their California teaching credential application fee after they have finished their teaching credential program (see step D2. below)

B. Steps in Finding a Middle or High School Classroom in which to Do Field Experience

(These steps are to be completed by the end of the third week of the quarter in which a student is doing field experience)

1. Students can do their field experience in any public middle school or public high school in California.
   • Directory of all public schools in San Bernardino County
   • All school district web pages in Riverside County
2. Students should check with their ENG 327, ENG 329, and HUM 312 instructors for what specific types of secondary school English courses they should observe (e.g., ESL/ELD, sheltered/SDAIE, mainstream).
3. Students take the "Letter of Introduction for Field Experience" and the "Student Placement Form for Field Experience," which are found in the Field Experience Materials packet [PDF], to the principal's office of the middle school or high school site that they have selected. (Note: Some districts require that students first contact the district office, before going to the principal's office, to inform the district of their plans to do field experience. Students may thus wish to contact their selected school by phone first to see if this is the case.) Students should return to the principal's office a week later for their classroom placement, which will be marked on the bottom of the "Student Placement Form for Field Experience." Students should keep a copy of this form and turn in another copy to their ENG 327/ENG 329/HUM 312 instructor.

C. Steps in Doing the Actual Field Experience

1. Students should read carefully and follow the "Guidelines for Conducting School Field Work" (available from your ENG 327, ENG 329, and HUM 312 instructors) for standards of professional conduct, note-taking, observing, and participating during the field experience.
2. Students should follow the specific guidelines for the field experience assignments in ENG 327, ENG 329, and HUM 312.
3. At the end of each middle/high school class period in which students complete field experience, they should fill out the required information on the "Field Experience Time Log" and obtain the middle school or high school teacher's signature on the log.
4. Students should turn in the "Field Experience Time Log" (found in the Field Experience Materials packet), their field experience paper assignments, and field notes to their ENG 327/ENG 329/HUM 312 instructor. They also must turn in copies of this time log for each of these three courses in the senior portfolio for ENG 516: Senior Project. Thus, they should keep copies of their three logs.

D. Benefits for Students of Doing the Field Experience in their English Coursework

1. Students will gain experience in secondary school classrooms and understand connections between their CSUSB coursework and teaching and learning in middle and/or high school.
2. They will have already completed the Live Scan and Certificate of Clearance, which are required for admission to a California teacher credential program. In addition, if students finish a teaching credential program (at CSUSB or elsewhere) within five years of applying for their Certificate of Clearance, they can use their Certificate of Clearance to receive a $27.50 credit towards their first application fee for a California teaching credential.
3. This field experience will count toward the required field experience hours in K-12 classrooms for admission into CSU teaching credential programs.