Chapter 5

• WUSEA
• Kappa Delta Pi (Alpha Epsilon Mu Chapter)
• Student Advisory Board
• Barbara Steel Kane Memorial Award
• The Virginia Lucas Silver Apple Award
• Departmental Honors in Education
• Excellence in Pre-Service Teaching
• Transfer Credit
• Curriculum Resource Center / Barbara Steel Kane Center
• Appeals Procedure and Suggestion / Recommendation / Complaint Procedures

WUSEA

The Wittenberg University Student Education Association (WUSEA) provides a link and insight to schools and school culture through programming and presentations on current topics and issues in education. WUSEA is open to all students interested in education and  teaching. Officers of WUSEA are Education major and minor students at Wittenberg. Nominal dues ($10 per semester) are expected each year and support the many activities in which members are involved. Students interested in joining WUSEA may contact any of the officers (listed at this link), the faculty advisor, or Education Department faculty.

Kappa Delta Pi — Alpha Epsilon Mu Chapter
(Education Honorary)

The Education Department is committed to producing the finest teachers possible for the nation's youth. We feel responsible, furthermore, for identifying those pre-service teachers who possess unusually strong affective and intellectual characteristics, which are desirable in teachers. The faculty commits itself to interact with such students to promote their development in a manner more personalized and intense than is possible through regular course structures.

This international education honor society consists of students who apply and meet the requirements for membership. Students majoring or minoring in education are eligible for membership if they have earned a GPA of 3.50 or higher in education courses and an overall GPA of 3.30. Membership recruitment occurs during each spring semester. Students must complete an application, provide a list of extracurricular activities, and write a short essay in response to a given prompt. Applicants must also have completed 36 semester hours and be enrolled in or have completed all education entry-level courses. In addition, they need to have exhibited qualities of leadership, commitment to teaching, critical analysis, etc. that distinguish them as scholars and potential leaders. Application materials are considered by current members through a blind review process. Current members selected for Fall and Spring, are listed under "Organizations and Advisory Groups".

Student Advisory Board

Because the quality of their teacher education program at Wittenberg will determine, to a large degree, the success of their teaching careers, students have a legitimate right to be involved in decisions affecting their professional training. Therefore, an Advisory Board composed of students pursuing licensure in the Teacher Education Program was established in 1968.

The purposes of the Advisory Board are:

1.     To have voice and vote in curriculum and policy decisions of the Department.

2.     To communicate the concerns of students to the Department.

3.     To provide a communication link between faculty and students.

4.     To help the Education Department strengthen the Teacher Education Program.

The Advisory Board shall consist of junior and senior elementary and secondary education students distributed as follows:

1. One delegate representing the Wittenberg University Education Association (WUSEA).
2. One delegate representing Kappa Delta Pi (Education Honorary).
3. Three student delegates appointed by the faculty of the Education Department.
4. Three seniors and three juniors elected from a list of interested applicants by junior and senior teacher education students. One senior and one junior of these six delegates must be secondary majors.

The Board members shall be elected in the Spring of each school year and serve for one academic year. Meetings of the Board are held monthly and are open to all students. Students are notified in early Spring that if they are interested in serving, to contact the Education Department main office. Current members can be found under "Organizations and Advisory Groups".

Barbara Steel Kane Memorial Award

The Barbara Steel Kane Memorial Award was established in 1979 in memory of Barbara Steel Kane, a 1978 Wittenberg graduate who majored in elementary education and psychology and who died in September, 1978 in an airplane crash.

This monetary award is given annually to a graduating education major and minor who have demonstrated excellence in the teacher education program and service to the teaching profession. Eligible for nomination is any senior who:

1. Will graduate in May of the award year;
2. At the time of graduation will have completed a major or minor in education;
3. Has a cumulative GPA of at least 3.50 at the conclusion of Fall semester of the award year.
4. Has actively participated in at least one of the following organizations: WUSEA, Student Advisory Board, or Kappa Delta Pi (Education Honorary).

Award nominations will be accepted from the Education Department faculty and from education majors or minors. The winner will be announced at Wittenberg University's Honors Convocation, held each Spring semester and the recipient's name will be added to a plaque displayed in the Department.

The Virginia Lucas Silver Apple Award

The Wittenberg University Student Education Association (WUSEA) sponsors an award to honor a junior education major or minor who displays the following qualities, modeled by Emeriti faculty member, Virginia Lucas.

1. is enthusiastic about teaching
2. is involved with Wittenberg within and outside of the Education Department
3. builds rapport easily
4. has a great sense of humor
5. is hardworking and productive
6. is service-oriented

Selection of the recipient of the Silver Apple Award will be made by a committee of WUSEA members, their advisor, and education faculty. The Silver Apple Award is announced at Wittenberg University's Honors Convocation held Spring semester each year.

Departmental Honors in Education

Departmental Honors Program in Education is intended to provide qualified students who are majoring in education with an opportunity for in-depth, focused scholarship and/or creative, substantive materials design. Students may qualify for and complete the criteria for Departmental Honors whether or not they are members of the University Honors Program.  Students who are completing University Honors as well as Departmental Honors, must fulfill the requirements for Departmental Honors in addition to any University Honors requirements.  Upon completion of the program's requirements, "Departmental Honors in Education" will be recorded on the student's official university transcript.

Criteria for Applying for Departmental Honors

Application for Departmental Honors in Education will be reviewed based on the following criteria:

1. Education Department GPA of 3.50
2. Cumulative GPA of 3.50
3. Demonstrated personal and professional attributes of self-discipline, integrity, initiative, and commitment.
4. Admission to the Teacher Education Program

Procedures for Selecting and Working with an Honors Committee

After consultation with their department advisor, students should meet with a department faculty member who will agree to chair the student's Departmental Honors Committee. With the guidance of this faculty member, the student should prepare a project proposal (see guidelines below) and submit the application for the honors project on or before April 10 of their Junior Year. Students interested in Departmental Honors in Education should consult with their advisor and secure a faculty member to chair their committee as early as possible in order to meet this deadline.

The student, with the guidance of the chair of the student's Honors Committee, will identify two additional faculty to evaluate the project proposal, oversee the project's progress, evaluate the completed project, and make the final determi­nation that all program requirements have been fulfilled. Usually the committee will include three faculty — two from the Education Department and one additional faculty member who may be outside the department. The proposal will require approval from the chair of the Education Department as a final signature for registration for the honors project.

Criteria for the Project

The project must include both written and oral components. The project should represent approximately 8-10 semester credit hours work during the senior year. Students may elect to receive 0-10 semester credits for the project.

Satisfactory Completion of Departmental Honors

Candidates for Departmental Honors must maintain admission criteria 1 through 4 (above) throughout their involvement in the Program.

The student's Honors Committee will do final evaluation of the project. If the student is also in the University Honors Program, the committee will forward its evaluation results to the University Honors Program Director. Notification of successful completion of Departmental Honors in Education will be forwarded to the Registrar for notation on the student's official Wittenberg transcript. In the event that the Honors Committee evaluates the project as having merit but not having the high quality required for honors work, the student may receive credit for the project without receiving Departmental Honors.

Excellence in Pre-Service Teaching

This is an honor awarded by the department to those candidates (majors and minors) who have achieved and performed at consistently high levels throughout their teacher education program. To honor this achievement, the notation "Excellence in Pre-Service Teaching" will be stamped on the qualifying candidates credential file that is sent to prospective employers.

Criteria for Selection:

1. Superior student teaching and field experiences
2. Leadership or significant involvement in education activities or organizations
3. Enthusiasm for teaching
4. Personal regard for learners and colleagues
5. 3.50 GPA in education course work.
6. 3.30 cumulative Wittenberg GPA (approximate)
7. Pass Praxis II tests
8. 2/3 vote of education faculty

Transfer Credit

Students who enroll at other institutions with the intent of transferring credits to meet licensure requirements of the Wittenberg Teacher Education Program should receive approval from the Chairperson of the Education Department, as well as the Director of Teacher Licensure, prior to enrollment. University policy requires that at least half of a student's program of study in the major be completed at Wittenberg. As a general policy, all methods courses should be taken through the Wittenberg program.

Courses intended to meet general education requirements require the approval of the Registrar and courses intended to meet requirements that satisfy departmental majors require the approval of the respective department chairperson.

Curriculum Resource Center / Barbara Steel Kane

A Curriculum Resource Center of elementary and secondary school materials containing textbooks, courses of study, units of work, curriculum guides, media, and other library materials used by students preparing to teach is located on the third floor of Wittenberg's Thomas Library.

Barbara Steel Kane graduated from Wittenberg in 1978 as an elementary education and psychology major. She died tragically in an airplane crash in 1979. Barbara’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. George B. Steel, Jr. funded an award in her memory. Over the years they continued to contribute to the fund and made their final gift to it as a bequest in 2003, the result of which became the Barbara Steel Kane (BSK) Center. This valuable resource has also been endowed by other generous donors and contains many of the tools and supplies that students need to create educational materials, such as die cut machines (Ellison and Accu-cut), a comb book binder, laminator, paper cutter, shredder, scissors, three hole punch, etc. The BSK Center is now located on the ground floor of the Education Department in the newly-renovated Blair Hall.

Appeals Procedure

An appeals procedure is established for seeking exceptions to Education Department policies or decisions.  Students should submit a written petition stating the cause for the appeal by using the petition form established by the department (Education Department Petition).  The form is meant to help the student to direct the petition to the proper person or persons and to help the department faculty consider a case carefully.  For this purpose, students should carefully provide evidence and reasons.

The Education Department will notify the student in writing as soon as possible regarding the approval or denial of the petition.

Suggestion / Recommendation / Complaint Procedure

When students wish to provide a suggestion or file a formal complaint concerning the teacher education program, we recommend the following:

• Discuss the matter first with the person most involved.  Direct communication many times will resolve an issue and more quickly help secure the desired changes.  It may help to put the suggestion in writing and share it before the meeting.  Quick e-mail communications are not recommended because they may hide tone and emphasis.
• Discuss the matter with your education advisor.  He or she might be able to provide a context and suggest how to best direct your concern(s).
• Discuss the matter with a member of the Student Advisory Board.  Especially when the issue or suggestion affects and might help other students, this can be a good option.  Advisory Board members meet regularly with the Department Chair. (Click here for a current list of members)
• Compose a letter to the Chair of the Education Department and request a meeting.
• In all cases, act with due promptness and thoughtful consideration.  

The Education Department deeply appreciates comments and suggestions from teacher candidates because it helps improve teaching and learning for all of us.  It models the care for a supportive environment expected of all educational professionals.