Political Science, Government Education 6-12 Concentration, (BA)

Degree Requirements: 120 Credits

The government education, 6-12 concentration requires admission to the Teacher Education Program. Teacher Education program admission, retention, practicum, and student teaching requirements can be found in the Interdisciplinary Studies (BA)  section.

Education programs at Tusculum University adhere to the requirements and guidelines established by the Tennessee State Board of Education (TSBE) and the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE). Modifications in initial and advanced education programs and curriculum may occur as the result of TBOE or TDOE actions and regulations. Tusculum University reserves the right to revise academic programs as deemed necessary to meet accrediting and approval criteria.

Assessment in Teacher Education Coursework

1. edTPA: edTPA is a subject-specific nationally-scored performance assessment for prospective teachers required for licensure in the state of Tennessee. Beginning in the Fall of 2018, all students will prepare and submit their edTPA portfolio during their first placement of student teaching. Students who do not receive a passing score with their first submission must resubmit the assessment a second time to meet graduation requirements.
2. LiveText, Critical Tasks, and Key Assignments:
   1. All students in this program are required to have an account for LiveText, a web-based electronic portfolio service. The subscription access code for LiveText will be emailed to your Tusculum account the third week of your first semester after admission to teacher education. Your LiveText account is valid for 7 years and will be used throughout your program for submission of course-based Critical Tasks and Key Assignments in your education courses.
   2. Critical Tasks and Key Assignments are used to evaluate your progress toward meeting program and applicable state and/or national standards and to inform program improvement. Once your task/assignment is uploaded to your portfolio, it will be assessed by your instructor using a 4-point rubric (4=Exemplary, 3=Proficient, 2=Developing Proficiency, 1=Not Proficient). You must earn an average score of 3 or better on each Critical Task to receive a passing grade in the course. If you score less than 3, you will be given feedback to guide your remediation of the work for resubmission. Key Assignments do not require a minimum score but must be uploaded to LiveText to receive a passing grade in the course.

The government education, 6-12 concentration is comprised of 120 credits, as follows: