School of Education

Criminal background check (CBC)

For our purposes, a criminal background check is a compilation of local, state and national criminal records on an individual. These records include details of an individual's past criminal history, everything from misdemeanors and felonies to pending charges and even acquitted charges.

Clinical Field Experience Program

Field experience refers to all forms of teacher candidate education that takes place in the classroom setting at an educational entity like a school or center under the supervision of a cooperating teacher and a university supervisor. Teacher candidates are engaged in at least two pre-student teaching experiences and a semester-long student teaching experience.

Cooperating Teacher (CT)

A highly qualified and experienced teacher who partners with the university to serve as a guide for the teacher candidate through the clinical field experience program. The cooperating teacher seeks and provides opportunities for the teacher candidate to practice the skills and dispositions of a teacher, and the cooperating teacher also provides continual verbal and written feedback on progress, growth and goals.

Department of Public Instruction (DPI)

The governing body for Wisconsin schools, colleges and universities.

edTPA

The edTPA is a teacher candidate assessment method used to determine if a student teacher is "ready for the job." It is a process completed during pre-service experience by the teacher candidate with the guidance of their university supervisor. The edTPA documents and demonstrates each candidate's ability to effectively teach his/her subject matter to all students.

Office of Field Experience (OFE)

This office within the School of Education supports teacher candidates throughout their clinical field experience program. The comprehensive experience is handled through this office, from ensuring prerequisites are completed prior to securing placements for pre-student teaching and student teaching experiences. Staff members are located in 260 Morris Hall.

Professional Development School (PDS)

Professional development schools (PDS) are innovative institutions formed through partnerships between professional education programs and P–12 schools. PDS partnerships have a four-fold mission: the preparation of new teachers, faculty development, inquiry directed at the improvement of practice, and enhanced student achievement. PDSs improve both the quality of teaching and student learning.

Standards in Practice (SIP)

This document is an assessment tool to be used by the triad to assess a teacher candidate's progress toward mastering the teaching standards. This assessment was designed to help support a teacher candidate's growth and development from his/her pre-student teaching field experiences through student teaching experiences.

School of Education (SOE)

The School of Education is comprised of programs that support the preparation of teachers, pupil services and administrative services. These programs extend across all the colleges and schools at UW-La Crosse.

Teacher Candidate (TC)

A student who is admitted to the School of Education at UW-La Crosse and is seeking a program degree with the eligibility to apply for a Wisconsin teaching certification(s).

Teacher Candidate Progress Review (TCPR)

The Teacher Candidate Progress Review (TCPR) Committee is charged with overseeing the development and assessment of knowledge, skills, and dispositions among teacher candidates as assessed by the multiple measures of the established teacher education assessment system.

Triad

The triad is the three-person team that guides each teacher candidate's growth and development during the clinical field experience program. The triad comprises the teacher candidate, the cooperating teacher, and the university supervisor. Assessment of all pre-student teaching and student teaching experiences takes place.

University Supervisor (US)

A highly qualified and experienced supervisor of teacher candidates who supports teacher candidates in conjunction with the cooperating teacher. The university supervisor provides the leadership and program support from the School of Education, University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. The university supervisor is the only member of the triad to submit official documents to UWL.