About Lipscomb
Teaching Licensure Program
If you’re seeking to become a teacher for the first time and do not want to earn the Master of Education degree, you should earn Tennessee teaching credentials through Lipscomb University’s Teaching Licensure Program (TLP). Whether you seek a license for elementary, middle grades or high school, the TLP will enable you to develop the skills you’ll want and earn the license credentials you’ll need to begin your teaching career. Coursework completed in the TLP is transferable to the Master of Education programs should you desire to earn the Master’s degree in addition to the teaching license. Earn your teaching license in any of over 20 different subject areas and complete the TLP in 12 months or so on a schedule that will work with most candidates’ busy work and family lives.
For more information, please contact Kristin Baese at kristin.baese@lipscomb.edu or 615.966.5173.
Courses
All candidates seeking the Tennessee State Teaching License will take the following required 15 credit hours of major core coursework.
EG 5023 Principles of Learning (3)
This course is designed to introduce teachers to the profession of teaching and the field of education. In this course students will consider social, cultural and economic issues, which have shaped education and the impact of education on U.S. and global economic development. More specifically, the course will address human growth and development theories related to how people learn, social issues that impact schooling practices, the history of education, education in a multicultural society and emerging trends and issues in education today. Students will learn to engage in critical reflection and will be required to do substantial amounts of reading and writing.
EG 5053 Planning, Instruction & Assessment (3)
This course provides pre-service teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to evaluate and apply effective pedagogical practices in various classroom settings. Students will analyze teaching strategies and will critique and analyze lessons presented in various settings. Likewise, students will write and develop effective unit and lesson plans and corresponding assessments. Students in the course will analyze lesson plans, examine the essential components of effective lesson and unit plans and will develop plans for curriculum standards provided by the state of Tennessee. Likewise, students will be able to analyze effectively instructional practices and data in order to make sound curricular choices. Students will engage in practice teaching sessions in order to receive feedback from their colleagues and will design assessments in order to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts presented in the course.
EG 5303 Teaching the Diverse Learner (3)
This course will examine student diversity, including developing and using appropriate, related vocabulary. The student will learn differentiated instructional and assessment strategies that support academic achievement for all students. The course will also develop an understanding of English language learners and special education students within family and community contexts, including contemporary legal issues concerning diverse learners.
EG 5713 Balanced Literacy (3)
This course is an in-depth look into research on how children become literate and the practical implications of this research. It provides an understanding of research-based instruction regarding a balanced, comprehensive program of instruction in reading, writing and language arts. A balanced approach to reading/ language arts instruction includes explicit instructions in basic reading skills and comprehensive strategies for all students, including students with varied reading levels and language backgrounds. Reading readiness, emergent literacy, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and a variety of reading models are examined. Course objectives and topics are aligned with Tennessee teacher candidate standards for reading and research from the National Reading Panel (2000) and the International Reading Association.
EG 5063 Building Classroom Communities (3)
This course is designed to analyze the relationship among classroom environment, classroom behavior, and learning. Students will explore various classroom discipline and management models and their relationship to degrees of teacher and student control. Particular attention is given to understanding how a teacher’s behavior and/or instructional strategies, styles, and techniques affect student behavior and learning. This course will also explore the importance of family and community collaboration.
In addition to the required 15 credit hours, candidates will take the following courses as required for their licensure area.
EG 5143 Teaching Methods K-6 (3)
This is an integrated methods course designed to meet the developmental needs of children in the various subject areas found in the elementary school curriculum (K-6). It includes discussion of current research and practice relative to teaching/learning objectives, planning, instruction and classroom techniques. Students develop decision-making skills through actual involvement in planned demonstration lessons using traditional and new techniques and innovations, including computer applications.
EG 5143 is required for K-6 and 4-8 licensure candidates.
EG 5073 Language and Literacy Acquisition (3)
This course focuses on how early language practices from birth to age five impact how a child learns to read and write. It provides a wide variety of researched literacy practices for teachers of PreK-6 students. Course objectives include teaching phonemic awareness and phonics with an emphasis on speech production, teaching writing along with reading through children’s literature, understanding early literacy assessment tools, utilizing a variety of instructional groupings, and creating lifelong readers by focusing on story, vocabulary and comprehension. Course objectives and topics are aligned with Tennessee teacher candidate standards for reading and research from the National Reading Panel (2000) and the International Reading Association.
EG 5073 is required for K-6 licensure candidates.
EG 5723 Content Area Reading (3)
This course is designed for educators seeking licensure in all content areas in middle grades, 7-12 or K-12. The class includes information on the research basis, definitions of strategic reading in the content areas and formats for working within those essential components of reading /learning strategies. Class participants will earn and practice reading/learning strategies that can be used in classrooms. Course objectives and topics are aligned with Tennessee’s teacher candidate standards for reading and research from the National Reading Panel (2000), the National Reading Conference (NCr) and the International Reading Association.
EG 5723 is required for 4-8, 7-12 and K-12 licensure candidates.
EG 5153 Teaching Methods 7-12 (3)
This is an integrated methods course designed to meet the developmental needs of children in the various subject areas found in the secondary school curriculum (7-12). It includes discussion of current research and practice relative to teaching/learning objectives, planning, instruction and classroom techniques. Students develop decision-making skills through actual involvement in planned demonstration lessons using traditional and new techniques and innovations, including computer applications.
EG 5153 is required for 4-8, 7-12 and K-12 licensure candidates.
Additionally, candidates must take 541C Student Teaching (8) or EG513V Mentoring (4) (for individuals with Transitional Licenses only) to complete licensure requirements.