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© Oregon University System, 2008
A comprehensive publication about teacher preparation in Oregon is available online www.ous.edu/teachedguide.htm.
Teaching is one of the most complex and intellectually demanding professions you can choose. It is also one of the most rewarding, dynamic, creative, and fun. Teaching is about conveying a love of learning and discovery, and giving students tools they can use throughout their lives.
LEARN ABOUT TEACHING
Some people will enter a four-year undergraduate program right after high school and begin taking prerequisite courses for the teacher preparation program; some will transfer to a teacher preparation program from a community college; some will decide to seek a teaching credential through a fifth-year/MAT/MEd program after completing an undergraduate degree; and others may decide to pursue a teaching career later in life.
SEEK ADVISING EARLY
Early contact with a postsecondary academic advisor is key!
See pages 30 and 31 in the online Advising Guide at www.ous.edu/teachedguide.htm for the contact persons within Oregon community college’s and within Oregon’s teacher preparation programs.
Think about what ages (authorization levels) you want to teach. Oregon’s teacher education programs prepare candidates for the unique learning needs within four authorization levels that are aligned with licensure requirements:
AUTHORIZATION LEVELS
(certain conditions apply. See the full guide at www.ous.edu/teachedguide.htm for details.)
Nearly all candidates complete one of the following three combinations of contiguous authorization levels:
Early childhood / Elementary
Elementary / Middle level
Middle level / High school
ENDORSEMENT AREAS
Think about the subject matter (endorsement area) that you want to pursue. Currently, there are thirty-five endorsement areas, such as:
Some Oregon institutions offer undergraduate teacher preparation programs, some offer fifth-year/MAT/MEd teacher programs and some offer both.