How to Choose a Teaching Program

Know your options for getting certified, and learn what to consider in a teaching program.

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To become a fully certified teacher in a public school, you need to complete an approved teaching program. You’ll get the skills and knowledge you need to teach in your chosen grade and subject. 

Let’s break it down and find the right path for you.

Completing a teaching program is one of several steps to earn your certificate. Get a full explanation of the process, plus a downloadable guide, on our Certification page.

On this page:

  • Explore pathways to teaching for undergraduates, college graduates and career changers.
  • Find a program that works for you.
  • Know what to look for in a teaching program. 
  • Explore key program hallmarks.

Four Ways to Complete Your Teacher Training

An undergraduate certificate and bachelor’s program may be a good fit if:

  • You know what subject and grade level you want to teach. 
  • You are in your first or second year of college—or you’re just starting out.

With an undergraduate program, you can:

  • Complete your teaching program as part of earning your bachelor’s degree.
  • Reduce the total cost and time you spend working toward your certificate.

This type of program may be a good fit if:

  • You decide later in college or after earning a degree that you want to teach.
  • You majored in something different than the subject you want to teach.

In a post-graduate program, you can:

  • Practice teaching with a mentor teacher before you lead your own classroom.
  • Explore full-time and part-time program options.
  • Control when you enroll in your program.
  • Take additional coursework to deepen your subject matter knowledge.
  • Choose between master’s degree programs and certificate-only programs.
  • Start teaching with a higher salary, if you earn a master’s degree.

Alternative route programs may be a good fit if:

  • You already have a degree in the subject you want to teach. 
  • You have some experience working with students and know you want to teach.
  • You want to teach in a high needs subject, such as high school math or K-12 special education.

In an alternative certification program, you can:

  • Start teaching (and earning a salary) while you finish your teaching program.
  • Gain on-the-job experience.

 

The residency model may be a good fit if:

  • You already have a degree in the subject you want to teach.
  • You don’t have much experience with students and would benefit from more mentorship when you begin.

In the residency program, you can:

  • Get hands-on practice while you learn teaching strategies.
  • Work alongside a mentor teacher while you take master’s degree coursework.
  • Get focused support working at a high-needs school.
  • Earn a stipend during your first year.

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Make sure your program works for you

Once you have an idea of which pathway is right for you, you’ll want to make sure that your must-haves are covered. 

Your teaching program should:

  • Offer a credential in the grade and subject you want to teach. Confirm that they have been accredited by one of the South Carolina-approved accreditation agencies.
  • Be approved for certification in South Carolina. TeachSC program explorer can get your search started.
  • Work for you financially.
  • Work with your schedule. Program coursework can be mostly online, in-person or a mix of both, and all programs require fieldwork in schools.  

Once you have these logistics covered, you can look more closely at the values and focus of the programs you’re considering, to find the best fit. 

What to look for in a teaching program

Each teaching program has its own approach to skill-building, mentorship and instruction. As you explore teaching programs, consider how you learn best and what skills are important to you. 

Current teachers, teacher preparation program officials and school district HR chiefs (you know, the experts) say that a strong teaching program should offer these hallmarks:

  • Lots of hands-on experience
  • Preparation to teach diverse populations
  • Mentoring and coaching
  • Commitment to continuous improvement

TeachSC offers support for every step of your teacher prep journey, including how-to guides, deadline reminders, application checklists and 1-on-1 support. Learn More.

Teaching Program Hallmarks and Tools

What is hands-on, pre-service experience? 

Pre-service experience refers to any teaching practice you get before you lead your own classroom. This experience can come in a variety of forms.

For many programs, that means “student teaching”

In traditional undergraduate, master's or certification-only programs, your pre-service program typically includes one or two semesters of working in an experienced teacher’s classroom. This is usually called "student teaching" and often occurs during your final year in the program. 

Why is hands-on experience important? 

Teachers are more likely to feel prepared for their first year in the classroom if they get plenty of classroom experience as a part of their prep program. Opportunities to observe other teachers and to practice teaching can make all the difference for early-career educators.

As a rule, more pre-service experience is better, but quality definitely matters. 

Make sure to ask any prospective programs about what their pre-service experience entails, including:

  • How long it lasts.
  • How the program selects mentor teachers.
  • How you will receive feedback on your practice.

What does “teaching diverse populations” mean? 

Your teaching program should prepare you to teach students with diverse learning styles, racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Preparation to teach diverse populations can include: 

  • Coursework that specifically addresses the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse student populations.
  • Training on Adverse Childhood Experiences or trauma.
  • Training on teaching students in poverty
  • Coaching and feedback on relevant pedagogy.

Why is preparation to teach diverse populations important? 

  • South Carolina schools have a diverse student population, with schools in many different settings—from rural to suburban and everything in between. 
  • There’s a growing body of research helping educators understand how to effectively support students from a wide variety of backgrounds, so that they are able to thrive in school.

South Carolina needs more teachers who are certified in critical need areas like special education. These teachers sometimes receive signing or yearly bonuses from their districts. You can find all current critical need subject areas on the SC Department of Education Critical Need Areas page.

Ask teaching programs about how they prepare teachers to work with diverse students, including:

  • What, if any, required courses focus on diverse populations.
  • What hands-on practice you’ll get working with diverse students.
  • What skills you’ll build to work with diverse students. 

What does “mentoring and coaching” mean? 

Your teaching program should provide an experienced and highly effective mentor and coach to give meaningful feedback during your training process.

Mentorship in the classroom

Most programs will put you in a classroom under the supervision of a mentor, master or host teacher (different names for essentially the same thing) during your pre-service experience.

You might start off only observing and then start teaching more and more. Mentor teachers give you constructive feedback to help you grow in ability and confidence.

Program coaches

Programs also send coaches to visit and observe you in your classroom at regular intervals. Coaches can give you additional feedback and help you think through challenges you're experiencing. 

Sometimes, coaches will visit you even after your pre-service experience is over, when you’re the primary teacher in a classroom. 

Preventing burnout 

Some teaching programs also dive into how stress might impact your well-being, and how to develop tools to keep you healthy and thriving in the classroom. After all, teaching—like all impactful professions—is challenging. Having strategies for self-care will help you avoid burnout. 

Why is mentoring and coaching important?

When you’re starting out as a teacher, you want to learn from someone whose work you want to emulate. Many teachers will tell you that having a mentor teacher, especially a mentor who is in a similar subject area and grade level, is critical for success.

Your mentor teacher will have a big impact on the kind of teacher you’ll become, your attitude toward teaching and your professional growth mindset. 

Ask prospective programs about their mentoring and coaching support, including:

  • How they select mentor teachers and coaches.
  • How they match you with a mentor teacher or coach.
  • What they expect from mentor teachers and coaches.
  • How they ensure that mentor teachers and coaches model effective practices and give helpful feedback. 
  • How they help teacher candidates learn to manage stress and avoid burnout. 
  • Whether they provide any continued support during your first few years as a teacher.

Be picky! You will be better prepared if your mentor is an engaged, highly effective teacher in your chosen field. The most highly rated teaching programs typically have strong mentor teachers.

What does “commitment to improvement” mean?

Your teaching program should show commitment to the continuous improvement of its teacher preparation practices. This might be the hardest criteria to spot as you shop for programs. 

Programs with a strong commitment to improvement might: 

  • Ask for regular feedback from students, recent alumni, partner schools, and districts. 
  • Research data on child development, learning styles, and instructional practices. 
  • Actively work to recruit and retain diverse teacher candidates, mentors, professors, and instructors. 
  • Partner with diverse schools, districts and professional enrichment programs.
  • Set clear goals and standards for student achievement and skill-building. 
  • Make changes in response to current events in education and policy. 

Why is commitment to improvement important? 

Our world is changing rapidly, and so are the skills you’ll need to teach students. To be prepared for the classrooms of today and tomorrow, you’ll want your program to be up-to-date on research about childhood development, serving diverse populations, and how humans learn and grow. This benefits you and your future students!

You can ask prospective programs about their improvement practices, including: 

  • How they collect, share, and use research and data with teaching faculty and students.
  • How they gather feedback from students and alumni.
  • How they assess partnerships with schools and districts.
  • How they respond to school and district needs. 
  • How they stay up-to-date on effective, relevant educational practices. 
  • What their goals are for their teaching programs’ growth.

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