Elementary Education License: Transition to Teaching Program
The Grace College Transition to Teaching program is a graduate-level, non-degree licensure program aimed at serving 21st-century, post-baccalaureate candidates seeking to expedite their elementary educator training toward licensure. Upon successful completion of the program and passing scores on all required licensing tests, candidates can be recommended for an initial elementary education teaching license.
The innovative program takes 1.5 years to complete and provides seven graduate-level courses culminated by a practicum and clinical student teaching experience in the final 16 weeks. The program targets elementary curriculum, instruction, assessment, and classroom management, and prepares candidates to meet the needs of all learners, understanding their cultures, ability levels, and developmental characteristics.
Grace College Transition to Teaching courses and clinical experiences are designed with flexibility to meet the needs of 21st-century candidates and optimize their successful program completion. Online coursework can be completed around the teacher candidates’ schedules.
All Grace College School of Education licensure programs have been approved by the Indiana State Board of Education and meet requirements for Indiana state licensure.
Admission Requirements
To be eligible to participate in a Transition to Teaching program in elementary education within the state of Indiana, applicants must meet one of the three conditions:
- Bachelor’s degree with cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale from an accredited postsecondary educational institution
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited postsecondary educational institution with a GPA of at least 2.5 AND provide evidence of 5 years RELEVANT professional experience
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution AND pass the following Indiana state required content exams: (Elementary Generalist STEM subtest 5008 and Elementary Generalist Humanities subtest 5007).
If you are eligible under condition #1 (you have a bachelor’s degree and your GPA is 3.0 or higher), submit your transcripts to Grace College.
If you are eligible under condition #2 (you have a bachelor’s degree and your GPA is between 2.5 to 2.9 on a 4.0 scale, AND you have worked in a related field/education for at least five years, submit your transcripts to Grace College and a letter of reference from your employer providing the following details (your role, number of years you were in that role, how it is relevant to teaching).
If you do not have/did not have a supervisor to provide a reference for this experience (i.e., self-employed, unattainable contact information) submit a letter/email from yourself along with employment evidence to Grace College admissions. In the letter/email provide the following information: 1) your name and contact information along with your professional experience (where you worked- name of the employer, address, any contact information), 2) years you worked at this location/employer, 3) your role (what you did relevant to teaching), 4) evidence of your employment or self-employment in this role (i.e., tax documents, pay receipts/stubs, etc.). The Director of Alternative Programming & Partnerships at Grace College will evaluate your professional experience as it relates to the elementary education licensure requirements in consideration of your eligibility. You will be contacted for further information and if additional verification is required.
If you are eligible under condition #3 (you have a bachelor’s degree) then you will need to complete and pass the following assessment Elementary Education Assessment 5006 with two content area sub-assessments: (Elementary Generalist STEM subtest 5008 [passing score is 158] and Elementary Generalist Humanities subtest 5007 [passing score is 160]).
These exams are offered by Praxis. Information on when, where, and the costs for these exams is available here: https://www.ets.org/praxis/site/test-takers/where-to-test.html
Study Tools & Practice Exam Resources
https://www.ets.org/praxis/site/test-takers/resources/prep-materials.html?examId=5006
https://www.ets.org/praxis/site/test-takers/resources/strategies-tips.html
Looking for a scholarship specifically for this program?
Enrollment Deposit
Upon acceptance, submit your $100 Enrollment Deposit to accept your offer of admission. Your $100 deposit will be credited to your student account. Welcome to the Grace College community!
*Please note: Acceptance is given pending the receipt of a clear background check for you, which Grace College will request. Once this is received, you will be officially enrolled in the program. Grace College will have a link emailed and texted to you for you to complete the background check requirement. It is free and takes less than 5 minutes to complete.
Course Overview
In this course, candidates will survey the career opportunities of education and discover the role the teacher serves in relation to diverse student populations, parents/caregivers, school, and community along with the principles and theories of educational psychology.
Candidates develop a repertoire of teaching methods and strategies, techniques and skills for managing a classroom, constructing and analyzing tests and evaluation tools for classroom teachers, and develop a working knowledge of responsive instruction by applying differentiation strategies and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles.
The 16-week seminar is paired with a supervised, 5-week, scaffolded application of methods through clinical practice in a K-6 school setting. Following successful completion of the clinical practicum, candidates participate in a supervised, 10-week student teaching experience in a K-6 school setting.
Commonly Asked Questions
Additional Program Details
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No. That is entirely up to you! You can commute to Grace College campus each day of the 5-day residency, or you can stay on campus or in one of the nearby hotels. Be sure to ask for the Grace College discount!
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Yes. You need to have a bachelor’s degree earned from an accredited institution.
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If you have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited postsecondary institution we can consider your GPA and how you might qualify for admittance to the Grace Transition to Teaching program based on the following Indiana state requirements for acceptance:
- Baccalaureate degree from an accredited postsecondary educational institution with a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 point scale; or
- Both a baccalaureate degree from an accredited postsecondary educational institution with a grade point average of at least 2.50 on a 4.0 point scale, and five (5) years of professional experience; or
- Both a baccalaureate degree from an accredited postsecondary educational institution, and proof of passing state approved content area examination(s) in the subject area.
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Yes, you can continue to work while taking these courses. The only time you will need to be on Grace campus is during five days at one time in the beginning of the program. You will likely need to make other arrangements during your final semester when you are in practicum and student teaching for 15 weeks.
