The Master of Science in Elementary Education program incorporates the standards of the Council for Education of Educator Preparation (CAEP), the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC), and the Minnesota standards for Elementary Education and Standards of Effective Practice.

Field experiences are an integral part of the teacher preparation program at Walden. These experiences provide candidates with opportunities to apply course concepts in real environments that allow for increasing levels of responsibility. The field experiences relate to candidates’ professional goals, provide them with the opportunity to connect theory and practice, and prepare them for daily classroom responsibilities. Candidates are informed, monitored, and evaluated throughout all field experiences. The Office of Field Experiences secures all field experience placements for teacher candidates.

To help ease anxiety in the field experience process, Walden offers a 0-credit Field Experience Preparation course and 0-credit Demonstration Teaching Preparation course. These courses are structured experiences that guide students through the application processes and currently available readiness resources. The courses are designed to complement other pre-requisite courses needed in preparation for field experiences. There may be reasons why a field experience course needs to be postponed, or the readiness course may not be needed if a field experience opportunity has already been secured. In this instances, students may opt-out of the course.

Field experience requirements are outlined in the Field Experience and Demonstration Teaching Handbook for the program.

The Field Experience Forms are located in the candidate's ePortfolio. For more information about each of the below forms, please review the Teacher Candidate Guidebook and/or Field Experience and Demonstration Teaching Handbook.

1. Preferred Placement Form:  The Preferred Placement Form must be completed prior to starting field experiences. The form allows candidates to note the districts and schools within their geographic region, and is due two weeks after EDUC 6400 begins.

Click here for an instructional video on how to submit the Preferred Placement Form.

2. Professional Liability Insurance Verification Form:  The Professional Liability Insurance Verification Form must be completed prior to starting field experiences. The form is due two weeks after EDUC 6400 begins. The candidate may need to renew the professional liability insurance during the program to ensure coverage throughout all field experiences.

Click here for an instructional video on how to submit the Professional Liability Insurance Verification Form.

3. Plan of Study: A Plan of Study lists the course sequence a candidate plans to complete during the program, and is due during the second week of EDUC 6400. Candidates should work with their Student Success Advisor to create their plan of study. 

Click here for an instructional video on how to submit the Plan of Study.

4. Field Experience Timesheets:  The Field Experience Timesheets serve as documentation of completed field experience hours. A signed timesheet is due at the end of each 6-week course containing field experiences.

5. Host Teacher Evaluations:  The Host Teacher Evaluations are completed by the candidate's host teacher after each field experience course. A signed evaluation is due at the end of each course containing field experiences.

6. Application for Demonstration Teaching:  The Application for Demonstration Teaching is due several months in advance of the Demonstration Teaching quarter. It is due January 31 for candidates who plan to demonstration teach during the next fall quarter, and is due July 31 for candidates who plan to demonstration teach during the next spring quarter.

A Plan of Study lists the course sequence a candidate plans to complete during the program. The plan includes the 12 courses in the program (seven of which require 15 hours of field experiences), plus demonstration teaching (a full-time 12 week experience).

The Student Success Advising team will put together the plan of study when each candidate begins the program, and will send it to the candidate for approval. Candidates must approve the plan of study, and upload it to their ePortfolio by the second week of EDUC 6400. The Student Success Advising team will then register the candidate based on the approved plan. Any adjustments that a candidate needs to make to the plan should be made in consultation with a Student Success Advisor.

Candidates must review the plan of study each quarter, and send their approval to be registered for the next quarter to their Student Success Advisor. No changes to a Plan of Study can be made unless 1) the change does not impact when the candidate is scheduled to take a field experience course, or 2) the candidate is required to retake a course.

Academic Calendar

Information on the Demonstration Teaching Forms is included in the Field Experience and Demonstration Teaching Handbook.

Candidates are required to read the Teacher Candidate Guidebook and Field Experience and Demonstration Teaching Handbook for the program. The documents are located in the ePortfolio and below.

There are two reasons to seek a license in Minnesota: (1) if the candidate resides in Minnesota, or (2) if the candidate first needs a Minnesota license to transfer to his or her home state (license in hand). The Minnesota licensure exams for the Elementary Education program include:

1. MTLE Pedagogy: Elementary (Subtests 1 and 2)
2. MTLE Content Area Test: Elementary (Subtests 1, 2, and 3)

For more information on the Minnesota Teacher Licensure Exams, please visit: https://www.mtle.nesinc.com/

Candidates who are not seeking a license in Minnesota must consult the department of education website in their home state, as it remains the individual’s responsibility to understand and comply with the out-of-state licensure requirements for the state in which he or she seeks to be licensed.