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Program Summary 

The ����Ӱ�� Single Subject Credential Program (SSCP) is designed for candidates who want to become credentialed to teach at the middle school and high school levels. At ����Ӱ��, the Single Subject Credential is offered in nine different subject areas including: Art, English, Health, World Languages LOTE (Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Latin, Mandarin, Spanish), Math (Foundational Mathematics and Mathematics), Music, Physical Education, Social Science, and Science (Biology, Chemistry, Geoscience, Physics, Foundational Level Science) 

Candidates must show subject matter competence in the area that they choose to pursue. At ����Ӱ��, subject matter competency can be met by completing a subject matter preparation program, through transcript evaluation or by passing the CSET exam in a specific subject area.  

The ����Ӱ�� SSCP comprises a total of 45 units over 9 courses (1 pre-requisites, 4 co-requisites, 4 core courses, a student teaching seminar course) and a semester of student teaching.  The program can be completed in 3 semesters (a year and a half) if a student attends full time. Candidates also may attend part time. Candidates are allowed 7 years from program admittance to complete the program. Each course is valid for 7 years from the initial semester taken.   

Working with over 40 school districts and charter networks in Southern California, the ����Ӱ�� SSCP is a large program and credentialed approximately 340 secondary teachers in 2019-2020 and 435 secondary teachers in 2020-2021. 

Program Design 

The ����Ӱ�� SSCP is a university-wide program and led by the SSCP Director who reports directly to the Dean of the College of Education. The SSCP Director supervises 9 Subject Area Coordinators in 4 different colleges. Apart from science, the Subject Area Coordinators also coordinate and administer the accredited Subject Matter Preparation Programs in their areas and these undergraduate majors serve as an important pipeline for generating credential candidates in the ����Ӱ�� SSCP. 

Communication within the credential program and with the institution. The Director, 9 Subject Area Coordinators, and a faculty representative from the Department of Teacher Education meet on a monthly basis to review program data on candidate numbers and performance and to assess, create and implement program curriculum, clinical practice and policies. The coordinators also meet monthly as a Petition Committee to enforce and approve exceptions to program policies where warranted. The ����Ӱ�� SSCP has identified faculty course leads for all the EDSE and EDSS courses listed below. Course leads meet with all faculty teaching the multiple sections of each course to share instructional innovations and to ensure fidelity to the course learning outcomes while also calibrating the assessment of candidate performance on signature assignments and fieldwork modules. There are normally 7 to 8 sections of the EDSE courses and 9 to 15 sections of the EDSE courses (noted below) offered each semester. A SSCP Summit is held each semester where faculty meet within and across course groups to share ideas and to support the appropriate sequencing of the development of candidate learning and skills between and within courses and fieldwork experiences. University mentors also meet within their programs as part of student teaching orientation as well as collectively across disciplines to calibrate expectations on student teaching performance as measured by subject specific formative and summative assessments.  

The SSCP Director serves as the institutional intermediary between the College of Education and the Teacher Education faculty who teach the EDSE courses below and the 9 home departments in 4 different university colleges where subject specific instruction and clinical practice takes place in EDSS courses noted below. Subject Area Coordinators and EDSS teaching faculty are represented on most College of Education committees including Assessment, Curriculum, Equity and Inclusion, Faculty Council, Technology and Student Affairs Committees. The coordinators and faculty also serve in department and college committees in their own specific areas. The SSCP Director communicates on a regular basis with Department Chairs and Deans that house our specific subject matter programs. Scheduling and staffing are coordinated between the SSCP Office and the subject area departments and the Department of Teacher Education. Most communication with the University Administration and Leadership takes place through the SSCP Director’s work with the Deans in the College of Education. 

Structure of coursework and field experiences in the credential program. SSCP candidates take co-requisite courses in Health Science, Educational Psychology and Educational Specialist programs that are taught with a secondary but not a subject specific focus. Candidates can meet their educational technology requirement in either a subject specific (e.g. ART 305) or general secondary (e.g. ETEC 444) course. As noted, the three required EDSE courses (noted below) are taught through the Department of Teacher Education in the College of Education and are not subject specific. The literacy course EDSE 457 is taught in distinct cohorts to candidates in Humanities and STEM credential areas. All EDSS courses including the pre-requisite EDSS 300, and student teaching (EDSS 472 A-C) and the student teaching seminar (EDSS 473) are taught in subject specific settings. EDSS 300 and the EDSE/EDSS core courses below all have an imbedded fieldwork component within them. Fieldwork in these courses is structured in distinct modules that each encompass 10 to 15 hours of classroom observation that focus on a specific question of critical inquiry aligned to specific TPEs and elements of classroom practice. Candidates complete 9 modules in total across these 5 courses. Each of these courses also has a major signature assignment common to all sections of the course that is aligned to the TPEs as well as components of the CalTPA to help prepare students for this assessment prior to student teaching.  

Candidates record field work hours, school sites, and reflections in an online platform called S4. By having candidates record all field practice in S4, the college is able to monitor and track all candidate fieldwork hours across the entire course of each student’s program as well as generate reports indicating which school sites candidates were placed in. 

Program modifications over the recent two years. The main change that has taken place due to the pandemic is that clinical practice prior to student teaching has been limited or prohibited at school sites. Consequently, candidates have been observing videos of instruction from collections such as ATLAS and the Teaching Channel, as well videos of our local cooperating teachers instructing classes.  

Means for stakeholder input. The SSCP has an Advisory Board of local stakeholders. In addition, local cooperating teachers serve as panelists in formal class discussions and during student teaching orientations. The majority of EDSS instructors are practitioners from local school district partners. 

Course of Study (Curriculum and Field Experience) 

Each subject matter area of focus requires prerequisite, co-requisite, and specialized subject matter courses.  Please see standard areas 4 and 5 for specific courses sequences for each subject matter area. 

Assessment of Candidates

Candidates in the SSCP program are assessed in multiple ways throughout the program. In all coursework students are asked to continually reflect on their lesson development and receive extensive formative evaluation from their instructors including on their fieldwork modules. In the student teaching seminar, students receive feedback on their lesson planning and assessments as well as drafts of materials associated with their CalTPA submissions. During student teaching, candidates are observed a minimum of 6 times per semester and receive feedback for improvement on the lessons observed. 

Summative assessments include the CalTPA assessments and Subject Matter Competency. Through the Subject Matter Competency Requirement, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing requires that Single Subject Credential candidates demonstrate adequate knowledge in all subject matter areas in which they plan to teach.  Demonstration of Subject Matter Competence may be achieved through completion of the CTC-approved ����Ӱ�� subject matter preparation program or by taking and passing the CSET examination. 

Candidates in the ����Ӱ�� Single Subject Credential Program must satisfy subject matter competency prior to student teaching. In EDSS 300, candidates meet with their subject area advisors for a transcript evaluation to assess progress toward meeting the subject matter requirement through coursework in the area Subject Matter Preparation Program. Those with evidence of progress are fully admitted. Candidates who cannot demonstrate progress at this time will be admitted provisionally and will be allowed to take core preparation courses. 

Provisional admits are advised to either continue and complete coursework in their Subject Matter Preparation Program or prepare for and pass the CSET examination in their subject area. Candidates that will be using the CSET to satisfy subject matter competency must have passing CSET scores for all required subtests to submit at the time of student teaching application.  Candidates that are completing a Subject Matter Preparation Program must have all courses completed prior to student teaching. Courses that will lead to the completion of the Subject Matter Preparation Program may be in progress at the time of student teaching application.

CalTPA Support

CalTPA support is provided not only in EDSS 473 but also through workshops and 1-1 coaching sessions in addition to coursework. SSCP candidates receive CalTPA support in many ways throughout the program. EDSS 473 is offered as a special seminar in which candidates practice and apply elements of Cycle 1 and 2. In addition to the seminar support, SSCP has a designated faculty liaison who is a trained CalTPA assessor. The liaison provides SSCP faculty and program coordinators with CalTPA updates and instructional guidance. The faulty liaison also offers four “Cracking the CalTPA” workshops each semester, two for Cycle 1 and two for Cycle 2. These workshops are open to current SSCP candidates and alumni. Additionally, 1-1 coaching support is offered to SSCP candidates who do not pass the CalTPA so they can be successful in the next submissions.

Description of process ensuring appropriate recommendation, including IDP process: 

At the completion of their final semester, the program coordinator provides a clearance form to the Credential Center indicating that the candidate has completed all program requirements.  A credential analyst will complete a final evaluation and confirm that all program and state requirements have been met prior to credential recommendation.  A credential analyst ensures that only qualified candidates are recommended for their Preliminary Single Subject Credential.  

7.1 Description of Credential Recommendation Process - Intern Pathway