Education Department

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Great educators and leaders shape the future. Whether you’re preparing to teach or lead, programs give you the skills to make a meaningful impact. Start with a teacher education degree tailored to your preferred age group and subject, or specialize in special education.

Already on a different path? The leadership studies minor pairs with nearly any major, helping you develop the vision and empathy needed to guide others—no matter where your career takes you.

Majors

Early Childhood Education

Impact a child’s life as an educator.
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Elementary Education

Build skills and gain qualifications as an educator.
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Middle School Education

Become a certified and licensed educator.
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High School Education

Inspire the next generation through real classroom experience.
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Special Education

Build the skills needed to empower and educate students of all ages with diverse learning needs.
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Art Education

Build the skills needed to teach visual arts from.
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Music Education

Educate in music studies or performance.
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Education Studies (Non-Licensure)

Pursue your career goal of working with children and adolescents within educational spaces without teaching in front of a classroom.

Online Programs

Higher Education Administration & Leadership (EdD)

Learn to employ practical applications of theories, best practices, and leadership strategies in education, all through a flexible online program.
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Minors

The education studies minor is to address the needs of students who want to work with children or work in educational spaces, but whose goal is not necessarily to become a certified classroom teacher. Majors such as engineering, psychology, criminology, sociology, social work, and health science to name a few may find this minor helpful in pursuit of their career goals that involve children, adolescents and young adults across educational spaces.

Departmental Resources

If you plan to teach in Illinois public schools, you’ll need to obtain a Professional Educator License (PEL).

All education candidates must pass all Illinois Licensure Testing System (ILTS) content-area tests required for licensure by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
Candidates are also required to pass the edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment) prior to licensure. The edTPA requires candidates to demonstrate the knowledge and skills required to help all students learn in real classrooms.

Teacher Education
Student teaching is an important experience for each teacher education program. It is the policy of the department that all student teaching assignments be in or immediately near Peoria. Exceptions may be considered on a case-by-case petition when there are extenuating circumstances. Students with questions about student teaching should contact Dr. Quentin Wherfel, Teacher Education Program Director. Student teaching and all other field and clinical experiences must be taken for a pass/fail grade.

Field Experiences
There are two field experiences. The first requires a minimum of 25 hours of directed observations in a setting appropriate for the education major. The second experience involves an in-depth study of an individual learner, which includes a minimum of 25 hours in a clinical experience.

Novice Teaching
Supervised teaching experience in P-12 setting. Planning and implementing instruction in the student’s teaching area.

Student Teaching
Placement in Peoria-area classrooms. Instructional planning and implementation in a P-12 setting.

Teacher Education

All candidates seeking a Professional Educator License (PEL) are required to take a minimum of two assessments. The first assessment is a Content Area Test (CAT) appropriate to the candidate’s teaching field. The CAT will also need to be passed prior to student teaching. Listed below are the appropriate Content Area Tests for the respective teacher education programs:

Program	Test Code	Content Area Test
Early Childhood (Birth through Grade 2) (w/ESL Endorsement)	206	Early Childhood Education
Elementary Education (Grades 1-6) (w/ESL Endorsement)	305	Elementary (Grades 1-6)
Family and Consumer Sciences (Grades 6-12)	217	Family and Consumer Sciences
High School Education Biology (Grades 9-12)	239	Science: Biology
High School Education Chemistry (Grades 9-12)	240	Science: Chemistry
High School Education English (Grades 9-12)	207	English Language Arts
High School Education History/Social Sciences (Grades 9-12)	246	Social Science: History
High School Education Mathematics (Grades 9-12)	208	Mathematics
High School Education Physics (Grades 9-12)	243	Science: Physics
Middle School Education (English/Language Arts w/ESL Endorsement)	201	Middle Grades (5-8) Language Arts
Middle School Education (Mathematics w/ESL Endorsement)	202	Middle Grades (5-8) Mathematics
Middle School Education (Science w/ESL Endorsement)	203	Middle Grades (5-8) Science
Middle School Education (Social Science w/ESL Endorsement)	204	Middle Grades (5-8) Social Science
Special Education	290	Learning Behavior Specialist I
PK-12 Art Education	214	Visual Arts
PK-12 Music Education	212	Music

The second assessment is the edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment), which is completed during student teaching.
Advanced Level:

The Content Area test would need to be passed for licensure.

Program	Test Code	Content Area Test
Professional School Counseling	235	School Counselor

Preparing and Registering for a Content Area Test:

Education Department