Kathy+Boyer+Q+&+A

Please post questions that you have for Kathy Boyer after watching the video of her presentation. Do this on the Discussion Section of this Wiki page. Kathy will check periodically to comment on the discussion. This page will be open for questions through June 17th. Links to the handouts distributed during her visit have been posted under Weekly Assignments: Week 1b. There are also several PDF's (example Ag Roadmap to __Certification__) posted to guide you as you think about certification.

Tiffanie Gray To be certified in other states, are you usually required to take their form of the OPTE as well or does being certified in Oklahoma usually allow you to be exempt from their test? Tiffanie, this varies from state to state. Oklahoma has agreements with most of the other states in the US and it could actually be anywhere from no additional requirements to transfer to minimal requirements to transfer a certificate between states. It all just depends on what state and the best way to determine what they will require is to check the individual state's website.

Jessica, A lot of it depends on the program you are doing, however, the process of placing students in the schools for field experiences or clinical practice placements are basically the same for graduate or undergraduate students. Placements are still handled by our office and requirements to be placed are the same.
 * Jessica Slanker**
 * Kathy,**
 * For graduate students seeking initial certification, are there any differences in the school placement process for field experience versus in the __undergraduate__ program? Thanks!**
 * Jessica Slanker**
 * -Anna Levine**
 * Kathy, As you discussed the three tests Elementary Education Majors must pass to obtain their teaching certification for the state of Oklahoma, I was wondering what you need to do to obtain a certification in another state after you graduate. When I graduate I would like to move to Texas and teach at a school there and was wondering what I would need to do to do this. Thanks!**
 * -Anna Levine**
 * Anna, **
 * I always strongly encourage students to complete the certification process here in Oklahoma and then transfer that certification to whichever state they are going to. The requirements for transferring certificates between states will vary from state to state, however, we do have agreements with most other states which means that you can transfer and Oklahoma certificate to them with either no additional requirements or minimal additional requirements. Texas is the one that does things a little differently than the others in that they accept some of our tests (you need to check their website) and they will issue a one year temporary to allow this time to meet any requirements they will ask of a candidate and then at the end of that time, they actually have you recommended by a local institution for your Texas certificate. **

Tracy, This is actually a recent modificaiton we have made in Professional Education. We have replaced the on-line community modules with the "Roadmap to Certification" which is a PDF for your class. We discovered that the modules were not as effective as we had hoped and are trying to improve that with a document that your can use "at a glance" to determine where you are in your Professional Education Process.
 * Kathy, how do students taking the __online course__ become part of the online classroom community that you mentioned during your presentation?**
 * --Tracy Roberts Hoover**


 * -Jake Niles**
 * Kathy, You mentioned in your presentation that teaching certificates have to be renewed every five years. What is the process involved with renewing your __certificate__? You also mentioned that you aren't allowed to student teach in a school you attended. What if you only attended a school for one year of elementary school and have had no other contact with the school?**
 * -Jake Niles**
 * Jake, **
 * Certificate applications and renewals are an on-line process now. While we (Professional Education) assist with the initial application process, you simply go to the on-line system at the Oklahoma State Department of Education's website and follow a wizard to renew a certificate. **
 * As for the student teaching question - our goal is to provide our students with quality, unbiased (either positively or negatively) placements. I won't say that it would absolutely be out of the question for you to do a placement in a secondary school in the example you gave, however, you have already experienced that district even for a short time, so my hope would be that we would try for one nearby where you have not had an experience previously. **

Kristin, The majority of the classes which require full admission as a prerequisite are considered "methods" courses or student teaching. For elementary education majors this would be your semester Y and Z courses. As for the field experience hours, you will actually far exceed the minimum of 45 because you will actually have two additional observation courses besides August Experience.
 * -Kristin Finnicum**
 * What are some of the full admission __classes__ that you mentioned and when do we start taking them? Also, I know that 30 hours of observation are obtained through the August Experience class, but what about the other 15?**
 * -Kristin Finnicum**
 * Kathy,**
 * Are you allowed to hold multiple state certifications at one time? For instance, have one in Oklahoma and Texas active at the same time, or do you have to transfer everything? If or when you get National Board Certified, does that certify you in every state with every part of your certification? If you're certified in Special Education in Oklahoma, does that transfer also, or do you have to re-test for the other state? If you are student teaching in a place a considerable distance from your home are you responsible for travel/housing expenses, or does the COE place you with a host family?**
 * Thanks!**
 * -- Kaci Botts**

Kristin, The short answer to your question is yes. Requirements to be in the schools, whether as a teacher or service position will vary from state to state but should fall under the same reciprocal agreements as teaching certificates. Anna, Unfortunately, I do not have any information for over seas teaching. Kalleigh, Since Speech Pathology students are certified using their national PRAXIS testing instead of the ceoe exams, to add a subject area to your speech path certification you would need to pass both the OSAT and the OPTE tests to do so. Also, remember that the three exceptions of elementary ed, early childhood, and special education apply here as well. The only course that is required for coaching is the care and prevention of athletic injury which is a state requirement and then the test to add the physical education to the certificate. Judy, Submission one of the portfolio is usually done during the field experience course. Elementary education has more than one field experience so it is usually the second one in that program but secondary only has one and that is when they do it. The things that go into the portfolio will be artifacts (lesson plans, philosophy statements, memberships, etc.) that you have from classes that you use to demonstrate that you understand and can meet the competencies required at each submission. Therefore, my advise is keep everything! Jessica Stromski Kathy, -For the OGET testing, you mentioned that you had 4 hours for each exam. Does that mean you have 4 hours for each section, and how many sections are there? -Are there practice exams for the OPTE and OSAT tests? -Before we take our observation class, is there a special meeting that we are required to attend before we can enroll? And what is the coarse number for that class? What are the prerequisites for that class? -Are there student loan payback programs offered by other states, and how would you get the information on them? -I beleive there is also a federal loan payback program, how would you find information to apply for it. Can the federal and state programs run cocurrently? Thank you. You did a great job at presenting the information! Jessica Stromski Jessica, The four hours is for each test and OGET is one test, however, there are six subareas on the test but they make up just the one test and one four hour session. The only difference here would be the elementary education OSAT which is broken down into two subtests - subtest I and II together make up one test but between them have seven subareas. Unfortunately, at this time the testing company has not developed the full practice test for OSAT or OPTE so the only preparation materials are the study guide or the materials that are available in the student success center. There is a meeting that you need to attend prior to enrollment in observations - for secondary it is CIED 3313 and for elementary it is CIED 2450. For CIED 3313 the enrollment is set at "0" and you must attend the meeting to get enrolled. You will need to be admissable when you go into the class which means that you have successfully completed the OGET, have a 2.50 GPA, and have successfully completed or be enrolled in your foundations class. For CIED 2450 - this is the first early observation meeting and your meeting for it is actually your first class meeting for the course. As for the financial aid question, I'm sorry but I do not have the answer. For other states you might need to contact the Financial Aid office or the specific state to ask about that. For Oklahoma, check the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education website. Jessica,
 * Kathy,**
 * I'm studying speech pathology and would love to work in the school districts. I'm taking this class as part of my requirements to work in public __schools__ because of course we also have to have a separate certification just for school districts. I'm not sure if your department covers this, but I was wondering - if I ever choose to move to a different state, will the requirements for certification change from state to state for supporting staff in elementary schools as it does for teachers?**
 * Thank you!**
 * --Kristin Stanberry**
 * Kathy,**
 * I was wondering if you knew anything about teacher certification for over seas teaching? Would it be best to get state certified as well as whatever it takes to teach over seas, in say Korea?**
 * Thanks**
 * Anna Mason**
 * Kathy,**
 * I am a Speech Pathology major and am taking this class as part of the requirements to work in public school systems. I was wondering if a Speech Pathology major would want to take the tests to become a teacher can they do so? or Would the student have to go back through all of the education classes? Also in order to become a Coach is there any other classes that are recommended besides physical education?**
 * Thanks**
 * -Kalleigh Chrz**
 * Judy Schillo**
 * Kathy,**
 * I know that throughout the course of studying to become a teacher, students have to create a professional portfolio? When do students usually begin working on this portfolio and what sort of things are required to be in it?**
 * Thanks,**
 * Judy Schillo**
 * Jessica Robinson**
 * Hi, Kathy!**
 * Whom do we contact about transferring the ok certification? How does that process begin?**
 * Thanks!**

this is a state by state thing so you would contact whatever state you are wanting to transfer to. Depending on the state, it is usually paperwork that needs to be completed by you and your recommending institution.

-Kristin Mapel Kristin, As an elementary education candidate, your certification will be for grades 1-8 and your test will focus on the various subjects taught at the elementary level for those grades. To be able to coach in the state of Oklahoma, it is required by law that you have a course in care and prevention of athletic injuries. If you do not aspire to be a head coach who assigns grades for athletics, then this is all you would be required to have. However, if you want to have the capability to be a head coach then you would also need to take and pass the Health/Physical Education/ and Safety test. Also, the on-line community is being replaced by the "roadmap to certification" which has been provided for this course as a PDF. the loan forgiveness grants are through the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education so my recommendation would be to check their website for information.
 * Kathy,**
 * First off I'd just like to say that I just transferred to the COE this last semester and still learning all of the requirements for being accepted into the teaching program and the testing required to someday be certified. So this video was beyond helpful to me :)**
 * My questions to you are though, you said when taking the OSAT we can take more sections based on what we would like to specialize in, but if I am only doing Elem. Ed. but hope to maybe (in the far future after I have taught a while) assistant coach at the middle school level someday what would my test be like?**
 * Also could you give me some more information on joining the "community" of education majors I'd love to get as plugged in as possible.**
 * Final question, I am interested in the loan pay back programs that are out there, I have heard small bits of information about them but was wondering if you could tell me anymore, like what I should be doing with my loans currently if I'd like to get this someday?**
 * Thanks so much!**
 * Kristin Mapel**
 * Sarah Bond**
 * Hi Kathy,**
 * I am curious about OSU's Teacher Excellence Network. I know you are to attend it during your Senior year, but where does it take place and what does the network consist of? It sounds very interesting and informative.**
 * Thank you Kathy!**
 * Sarah Bond**
 * Sarah, **
 * Actually, the Teacher Excellence Network (TEN) is to provide support for our graduates during their first year of teaching. This program is currently in a "pilot" phase but we are hopeful that it or a similar program will continue to be offered since the State Board has suspended the Resident Teacher Program which was our former first year teacher program. For information about TEN I would suggest just waiting and if we are still active with the program, then information will be provided in senior seminar classes during student teaching semester. **