Preparation for the Classroom: Wisconsin
Alternate Routes Policy
Analysis of Wisconsin's policies
Wisconsin authorizes programs to provide alternate certification under its Alternate Route Pathway requirements. The state operates nine different alternate route programs under this pathway. The state also offers a License Based on Equivalency (LBE) that offers another non-traditional route to licensure, as well as the Teacher Development Program, which gives school employees "who work closely to students" a pathway to obtain Initial Licensure.
Coursework requirements: Wisconsin does not provide guidelines about the nature or quantity of coursework for either of its alternate routes. There is no limit on the amount of coursework that can be required overall, nor on the amount of coursework a candidate can be required to take while also teaching. Candidates in either alternate route can be employed in school on an emergency permit or a professional teaching permit while they receive their alternate route preparation training.
Induction support: Wisconsin does not specify induction requirements for candidates in either alternate route. Although all beginning teachers on an initial license receive mentor support, Alternate Route Pathway and LBE candidates are not required to receive this support during their preparation and initial school placements while they teach on an emergency permit or professional teaching permit.
Supervised practice teaching requirements: Wisconsin requires that all teaching candidates seeking initial licensure, regardless of their route to entry, must complete student teaching consisting of full days for a full semester following the daily schedule and semester calendar of the cooperating school.
Recommendations for Wisconsin
Establish coursework guidelines for alternate route preparation programs.
Wisconsin should articulate guidelines regarding the nature
and amount of coursework required of candidates. Requirements should be
manageable given the time constraints of a novice teacher and contribute to the immediate needs of new teachers. Appropriate
coursework should include grade-level or subject-level seminars, methodology in
the content area, classroom management, assessment and scientifically based
early reading instruction. However well-intentioned, any course that is not fundamentally practical and immediately necessary should be eliminated as a requirement.
Strengthen the induction experience for new teachers.
Although Wisconsin requires that all beginning teachers on an initial license receive mentor support, the state should provide more explicit induction guidelines that ensure that alternate route candidates receive this support during their initial school placements while they teach on an emergency or professional teaching permit. Further, because it is unclear that the mentoring program is structured for new teacher success, Wisconsin should strengthen its induction experience by providing for: intensive mentoring with full classroom support in the first few weeks or months of school, a reduced teaching load, and release time to allow new teachers to observe experienced teachers during the school day.
State response to our analysis
Wisconsin was helpful in providing facts necessary for this analysis.
Updated: December 2017
-
Wisconsin
Select another topic
General Teacher Preparation
- Program Entry
- Teacher Shortages and Surpluses
- Program Performance Measures
- Program Reporting Requirements
- Student Teaching/Clinical Practice
- Teaching Methods
Elementary Teacher Preparation
Secondary Teacher Preparation
- Middle School Content Knowledge
- Middle School Licensure Deficiencies
- Adolescent Literacy
- Secondary Content Knowledge
- Secondary Licensure Deficiencies
Special Education Teacher Preparation
Alternate Routes
Hiring
- Requirements for Out-of-State Teachers
- Provisional and Emergency Licensure
- Licensure for Substitute Teachers
- Supporting New Teachers
Teacher and Principal Evaluation
Teacher Compensation
Retaining Effective Teachers
Early Childhood Preparation
How we graded
5B: Preparation for the Classroom
- Practice Teaching: The state should require a supervised practice-teaching experience.
- Induction: The state should require that all new teachers receive intensive induction support.
- Manageable Coursework: The state should ensure that the amount of coursework it either requires or allows is manageable for a novice teacher. Anything exceeding 12 credit hours may be counterproductive, placing too great a burden on the teacher. This calculation is premised on no more than six credit hours in the summer, three credit hours in the spring, and three credit hours in the fall.
- Targeted Coursework: The state should ensure that all coursework requirements are targeted to the immediate needs of the new teacher (e.g., seminars with other grade-level teachers, classroom management techniques, training in a particular curriculum, reading instruction).
The total goal score is earned based on the following:
- Full credit: The state will earn the full point if all four elements are required for all alternate route programs.
- Three-quarters credit: The state will earn three-quarters of a point if three elements are required for all alternate route programs.
- One-half credit: The state will earn one-half of a point if two elements are required for at least some of the state's alternate route programs.
- One-quarter credit: The state will earn one-quarter of a point if one element is required for at least one of the state's alternate route programs.
Research rationale
Alternate route programs must provide practical, meaningful preparation that is sensitive to a new teacher's workload and stress level. Too many states have policies requiring alternate route programs to "backload" large amounts of traditional education coursework, thereby preventing the emergence of real alternatives to traditional preparation. This issue is especially important given the large proportion of alternate route teachers who complete this coursework while teaching. Alternate route teachers often have to deal with the stresses of beginning to teach while also completing required coursework in the evenings and on weekends.[1] States need to be careful to require participants only to meet standards or complete coursework that is practical and immediately helpful to a new teacher.[2] That is, while advanced pedagogy coursework may be meaningful for veteran teachers, alternate route coursework should build on more fundamental teaching competencies such as classroom management techniques, reading instruction, or curriculum delivery.
Most new teachers—regardless of their preparation—find themselves overwhelmed by taking on their own classrooms. This is especially true for alternate route teachers, who may have had considerably less classroom exposure or pedagogy training than traditionally prepared teachers.[3] States must ensure that alternate route programs do not leave new teachers to "sink or swim" on their own when they begin teaching. It is critical that all alternate route programs provide at least a brief student teaching or other supervised practice experience for candidates before they enter the classroom, as well as ongoing induction support during those first critical months as a new teacher.[4]
[1] Constantine, J., Player, D., Silva, T., Hallgren, K., Grider, M., & Deke, J. (2009). An evaluation of teachers trained through different routes to certification. Final Report. NCEE 2009-4043. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED504313.pdf
[2] Walsh, K., & Jacobs, S. (2007). Alternative certification isn't alternative. Thomas B. Fordham Institute, National Council on Teacher Quality. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED498382.pdf
[3] Greenberg, J., Walsh, K., & McKee, A. (2014). Teacher Prep Review: A review of the nation's teacher preparation programs. Retrieved from http://www.nctq.org/dmsView/Teacher_Prep_Review_2014_Report
[4] For a further review of the research on new teacher induction, see: Rogers, M., Lopez, A., Lash, A., Schaffner, M., Shields, P., & Wagner, M. (2004). Review of research on the impact of beginning teacher induction on teacher quality and retention. Retrieved from http://www.newteacher.com/pdf/ResearchontheImpactofInduction.pdf